James Witt Dougherty, another pioneer, came to California from Tennessee. Before that he lived in Mississippi where he had served in the capacity of county clerk and sheriff. In 1852 he embarked on the Ship Humboldt at New Orleans and sailed to San Francisco. He went fist to Sacramento where he opened a store.
The next year he returned to Tennessee where he must have been a one-man chamber of commerce, because he influenced many of his acquaintenances to come west, several of whom eventually settled in Dublin. He returned to Sacramento for a while.
Later, when his wife came out they moved to Dublin, after he sold off his Sacramento business. He auired 10,000 acres of land from Jose Maria Amador for $22,000. This price is less per acre than Murray and Fallon had paid, but Dougherty probably demanded a better price for making such a large purchase. To a land-poor man, which Amador had become, all that money (perhaps gold pieces stacked up ob a table) must have seemed an enormous sum.
By 1859 Mr. Dougherty's tax bill was $31,800 (44 1/2% more than he had paid for the 10,000 acres). Of course, in the six intervening years, he had added to his holdings which influenced his tax bill somewhat. He continued to add to his land holdings and was, at one time, the second largest landholder in Alameda County. Only Mr. McKaughlin, a railroad representative, had more land in his name and much of that was in the hilly areas surrounding the valley. Dougherty's lands were on the flats.
When Dougherty purchased the land, he had a partner, William Glaskin, who sold his share to Samuel B. Martin. In 1876 Dougherty was able to purchase the share held by Martin. A son, Charles M. Dougherty, inherited the whole estate. The Dougherty family lived in the Amador adobe for a decade, but the earthquake of 1863 damaged the home so badly that they abandoned it and built a frame house.
On February 1, 1867, James Witt Dougherty donated four acres of land to Archbishop Joseph Sardos Alemany, to be used as a cemeterey adjacent to the Catholic Hallowed Ground. For years the settlement at the crossroads was known as " Dougherty's Station." The Post Office under that name was established on February 15, 1860. On January 18, 1896, the name was shortened to just "Dougherty" and remained that until February 29, 1908. In checking the Great Register of Alameda County Voters, it is interesting to note that some of the men gave their residence as Dougherty's Station and some were using the name Dublin.
He built a fine inn which he naturally called Dougherty's Station. It stood on the north side of Dublin Blvd. opposite the present day "Village" which started life as John Green's grocery store. The building was nearly a century old and in excellent condition even to the gingerbread trim on the eaves when it was destroyed by fire in the late 1950's.
By this time someone had painted a huge mural depicting a waterfall which seemed to pour out of the upstairs window and splash down between tall trees and other plants so that the east end of the building resembled a huge painting. It was easily seen by people driving north on San Ramon Road.
In the late 1850's the little community was thriving. In 1858 a number of new settlers arrived: Edwin Moran, William Murray, J .F. Knapp, and Robert Graham. Dougherty would not sell any land, but he did lease to those men who put up fences and raised wheat. They had been inspired by Robert Livermore's success with that crop.