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On February 8, 1873, The Yolo Democrat
reported, "Sam Ruland on Dead Cat
Alley was burglarized."
89 years later in 1962, Woodland City
Council officially proclaimed the lane on which Sam
was victimized as Dead Cat Alley. Now, four decades
hence, town folk and visitors are still fascinated by
the mysteries of our unique and historic passage.
You may ask, why is it called Dead Cat
Alley? Who lived on the alley? Who died there?
The novelty and potential did not escape
the Woodland Art Center in 2002, when the newly-formed
nonprofit organizaton "adopted" our little
landmark. The intent was to focus on improving the alley
with art work and other beautification projects to attract
tourists and to highlight its historical aspects. The
concept soon caught on with the Stroll Through History
Committee as they asked me to conduct a tour of the
maligned road.
The 70 plus strollers who assembled for
the first tour also seemed to like the idea. Even members
of the Din family arrived for the stroll up the alley.
The stack of note cards and map developed for that first
tour in 2002 evolved into a walking tour booklet distributed
during the 2003 Stroll Through History. The booklet
provides the curious with descriptions of 20
historically significant sites, with snippets about
possible origins of the alley's name.
To bring you up to speed, our town (known
as Yolo City) was born in 1853 when Henry Wyckoff built
a small box frame store on the southeast corner of what
is now First Street and Dead Cat Alley. The tour booklet
highlights the settlement's growth from that site as
commercial buildings spread to accommodate travelers
and farmers.
Tourists also see the location of Woodland's
original railroad. The first train traveled over the
Cal-P tracks in 1869 across the alley near College Street
(known as Railroad Street). The branch line connected
Davisville, Woodland, Knights Landing and Yuba City
– it also brought Chinese residents into the city.
A small Chinatown developed, concentrated
between Second and Elm Streets but extended between
Fourth to Walnut Streets. This part of Dead Cat Alley
(known as China Alley) became a source of lively tales
about Man Hop, Ah Min, Boy Ying, Ah Fat, Gee Lee and
Quong Sing. Admittedly, most people are attracted to
the tour and booklet by the possibility that the mystery
of the name will be revealed. Perhaps the name of the
alley arose from a rat problem in the area. Supposedly,
rats once roamed along the alley because of the garbage
from the many restaurants. The rodents were poisoned
and, in turn, the cats that fed upon them were also
extinguished.
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Local architect Gary Wirth, who ran a
firm at 666 Dead Cat Alley, suggested the alley was
simply a popular place to fling one's dead cat. Lenore
Sharp, whose family operated a grocery store on the
alley, remembered it as "Chiney Alley." She
reported that, "Nobody called it Dead Cat Alley."
Jack Din, whose family
operated Tai Lee Laundry from 1925 to 1947 said, "We
just called it The Alley. We didn't know it was called
Dead Cat Alley. There were no signs. None of the alleys
were named at that time. It was just the alley between
First and Second, off Main Street. But somewhere along
the line, they must have found dead cats – I always
found stray cats – so people probably started calling
it Dead Cat Alley
The name is definitely intriguing, but
the real attraction to the alley is the people who really
experienced it and shaped its history. People like the
Rulands, the Wirths, the Sharps and the Dins.
During that first Stroll Through History tour, Ruby
Din Yee and her younger siblings Lucy, Jack and John
(who were born on The Alley) returned to their Woodland
home and shared their stories with strollers. It is
the Din family's participation in the annual tour that
has led to the development of The People pages in this
Web site.
Click on the following to learn more about
the people who have brought the alley to life:
Ah Fat
Ah Min
Boy Ying
Din Family
Gee Lee
Ludovina, Paul
Man Hop
Quong Sing
Roddy, Jeff
Ruland, Sam
Sharp Family
Wirth, Gary
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