Sidewalk maker: E. L. George

21 March 2025

Edwin Lewis George (1847-1920) was born in New Sharon, Maine, one of four children of farmer James P. and Betsey L. George. He moved to Oakland in 1882; he’s listed in the 1884 directory as a farmer living at 484 25th Street. He was registered to vote in Rocklyn in 1884 and in Penryn in 1886, where he must have been a quarry worker. Later in his voter registrations in Oakland, he called himself an expressman (1888-92), a gentleman (1896), a laborer (1898), and a concrete worker (1906-08). He married “Millie/Nellie” Chapman (1848-1928) in Maine in 1866; they had no children. The couple occupy separate niches at Chapel of the Chimes.

As of 1900, Mr. George was carrying out his concrete business at 1046 62nd Street, where the couple moved in 1891. The house numbers appear to have been changed since then, though.

E. L. George marks are almost nonexistent in Oakland, and I’ve found only one with a date of 1912. This example is at 1229 55th Street in Emeryville, one of two on the property.

1936 – Schnoor Bros.

17 March 2025

2704 Derby Street, Berkeley

Schnoor Bros. made a statement here at this significant building in the Elmwood.

1925 – Jepsen Bros.

15 March 2025

2019 Derby Street, Berkeley

I spent some time with my fingers making sure of this date.

1918 – Schnoor Bros.

13 March 2025

1435 Derby Street, Berkeley

My interpretation of this weird mark is that the first Schnoor Bros. stamp had a hard 1915 date on it, and for a few years they coped with it by altering it with tool marks. Later on they mostly hand-drew the dates or carried a set of numbers.

1911 – J. O. Adler

11 March 2025

2130 Derby Street, Berkeley

A new year for John Olaf Adler.

1909 – Jepsen Bros.

10 March 2025

1806 Derby Street, Berkeley

I’m thinking this was hand-drawn. The oldest formal stamp I’ve found is from 1911.

1957 – C. Rapella

4 March 2025

2400 block Ward Street, Berkeley

C. Rapella marks are scarce; dated ones are quite rare.