Joseph Debendetti Building
JOSEPH DEBENEDETTI BUILDING
THE DECADE OF THE 1870'S SAW AN INFLUX OF EUROPEAN
IMMIGRANTS INTO THE HALF MOON BAY AREA AND OVER
TO THE COAST. IRISH, GERMAN, ITALIAN AND PORTUGUESE
MADE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE NEWCOMERS WHOSE
NUMBERS INCLUDED MERCHANTS, BUSINESS PEOPLE, DAIRY
AND FARMERS. JOSEPH DEBENEDETTI, A NATIVE OF GENOA
ITALY, WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST DRY GOODS MERCHANTS
IN THE AREA. IN THE LATE 1806'S DEBENDETTI TRAVELED
ON FOOT DOWN THE SAN MATEO COUNTY COASTSIDE WITH
A HEAVY PACK OF MERCHANDISE ON HIS BACK, SELLING
DOOR TO DOOR TO THE FARMERS ALONG IRISH RIDGE.
IN 1872, THE FIRM OF CEREGHINO AND DEBENEDETTI OPENED
A BRANCH STORE IN SPANISHTOWN WITH JOE AS MANAGER.
BY 1877 HE HAD MARRIED, CONSTRUCTED A RESIDENCE
ADJACENT TO THE STORE AND OPENED A THIRD OUTLET
IN PESCADERO. THE GENERAL STORE IN SPANISHTOWN
BECAME A POPULAR MEETING PLACE FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS
AND DEBENEDETTI ACTED AS POSTMASTER AND WAS A
MEMBER OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD. A DEMOCRAT
BY POLITICAL PERSUASION, IN 1896, HE BECAME THE FIRST
ITAILIAN AMERICAN TO BE ELECTED TO THE SAN MATEO
COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. HE WAS A DEDICATED
COMMUNITY LEADER.
The Debenenedetti Building
Build 1906
THE COTCHETT FOUNDATION
Submitted by @jqmcd.