USA > California > A memorial and biographical history of northern California, illustrated. Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy...and biographical mention of many of its most eminent pioneers and also of prominent citizens of today > Part 45
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In early days land was considered as worth- less for farming purposes, and nothing was at- tempted except stock-raising. Early in 1852, however, Nathaniel Merrill and Augustus East- man began farming on the Moon ranch. In the fall of that year Henry Wilson and James
M. Kendricks located on Thomes Creek and also went to farming. At the same time Andy Winemiller settled on Elder Creek, and during the winter kept a public house at the crossing. Robert E. Warren also settled on Thomes Creek. In the same winter Thornelson and Woods set- tled about four miles north of Tehamna. This was the beginning of farming. In the spring of 1853 J. C. Tyler bought ont Winemiller. From that time on agriculture spread snecess- fully, until it covered the whole county and is now being displaced by fruit-raising, the land being capable of anything that can be raised in a semi-tropical climate.
The steamer Orient, in 1850, was the first one to enter Red Bluff. Later on she and the Plumas ran regularly to that point. From that time on till the completion of the railroad regu- lar water eonimunication was held. In May, 1854, the Belle, Captain Pierce, pilot, made her way through the canon above Red Bluff. Later several other boats went above the town, but it was only an occasional thing. See page 77.
The industrial beginning in Tehama County seems to have been made in 1845 when W. C. Moon, a hunter named Merritt and Peter Las- sen made a canoe load of grindstones on Stony Creek, and carried them down the Sacramento. They did not make a financial success of the undertaking, however, and never repeated it. In 1851 the first saw-mill was erected by a Mr. Payne on the Sacramento River above Mill Creek. The first grist-mill was put up on Mill Creek by Dr. Crosby in the same year. The representative of saw-milling now is the great Sierra Lumber Company, formerly the Sierra Flume and Lumber Company. It has 75,000 acres of timber land, has five saw-mills and a flume thirty- five miles long to carry lumber to Red Bluff, where its offices and factories are situated, in addition to as long a flume, chiefly in Butte County, to its office and yards at Chico. It began operations in 1875. In the flour-milling business there is more detail. In 1854 Bull, Baker & Co. erected a mill on the left bank of the Sacramento, removing after-
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ward to Colusa. In 1855 J. F. Dye built a small mill on Antelope Creek, six miles from Red Bluff. In 1857 Crosby & Kuetzer put up a mill one mile east of Red Bluff, being twice burned out. In 1870 M. C. Ellis put up the Red Bluff Flouring Mills.
Tehama County was organized pursuant to the act of the Legislature approved April 9, 1856. Until 1860 the county rented premises for court-house and other county purposes, ex- cept jail, which was erected in 1857. The present court-honse was built in 1860.
At the close of 1853 the first school meeting in the county was held at Red Bluff to organize a school district. In the fall of 1855 the first school building was erected in Red Bluff on the corner of Oak and Jefferson streets, at a cost of $3,000.
The first marriage ceremony in the county was performed by First Alcalde Captain J. D. Potts in 1849. The high contracting parties were a Mr. Webber and Miss May Hall. Miss Hall was a sister of Judge Newton Hall, who came to the county in the fall of 1849 with his mother, brother and three sisters, and started a hotel, long very popular, at a point seven miles south of Tehama. The second marriage took place in 1850 between Mr. Bessy and Miss Har- riet Sill, a daughter of Daniel Sill, Sr., to whom Lassen gave land. He brought out his family in 1849.
Among notable old landmarks in the county may be mentioned the " Massachusetts House," on the redlands south of Red Bluff, long used as a hotel. In the spring of 1851 the first stage line from Colusa to Shasta was started by Bax- ter & Monroe. In the spring of 1852 an oppo- sition line was put on the other side of the river by Hall & Crandall, between Marysville and Shasta. Marshall McCummings was the first man to drive a stage coach into Tehama.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was the pioneer church of Tehama County, coming up and holding services in 1854. In 1855 they rented a building in which to hold services, but did not build until 1878. The Baptist Church
was organized July 21, 1860. They built in 1874. The Presbyterians organized a church November 11, 1860. They built their church in 1862, but have added to it since. The Ro- man Catholic Church came in 1864 for the first time.
The Red Bluff Beacon was the first paper issued in Tehama County, appearing at Red Bluffin June, 1857. Its proprietors were Steve Clark and Blanton. In September, 1858, the Tehama Gazette was published at Tehama. In August, 1860, the Independent was issued as a semni weekly. In October, 1865, the Tehama Observer made its debut. In March, 1867, was published the Sentinel. In March, 1872, the Tehama Independent appcared for a season. All these have died. The Sentinel was after- ward revived and is now ably conducted by Dr. W. B. H. Dodson & Son, as a daily and weekly. In September, 1874, the People's Cause, now the oldest paper, was first issued. The Pendle- ton Brothers now carry it on, making it a bright and spicy paper, also daily and weekly. In Angust, 1875, the Tocsin was first published. In 1883 the name was changed to the Democrat, and again in 1887 to the News, under which name a lively and interesting daily and weekly is now published by E. F. Lennon. The cen- tral importance of Red Bluff may be seen when it affords field and scope for three such able papers as the Sentinel, People's Cause, and News. The latter is Democratic, and the two former, Republican in politics.
MODERN TIMES.
BY J. D. SWEENEY, OF TEHAMA.
Tehama County is situated in the north cen- tral part of California. It is bounded on the north by Shasta County; on the east by Plumas and Butte; on the south by Butte and Colusa, and on the west by Mendocino and Trinity.
The county extends across the Sacramento Valley from the Sierras on the east to the Coast Range on the west. The Sacramento river flows through the county from north to south, dividing it into two nearly equal divisions.
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Cottonwood and Battle Creeks on the northern boundary, Antelope, Reed's, Red Bank, Payne's, Dibble, Mill, Elder and Thomes creeks are among the principal streams of the county flow- ing into the Sacramento.
The California & Oregon Railway, under the control of the Southern Pacific Company, enters the northern part of the county at Cottonwood and passes through Red Bluff to Tehamna along the western bank of the Sacramento. At Te- hama the railway diverges, one line continuing on the same side as before, through Corning into Colusa County: the other division crosses the river on one of the finest bridges in north- ern California, and passes through Vina into Butte County. These two routes again unite at Davisville, Yolo County.
The principal occupations of the people of the county are farming and sheep-raising, though frnit-raising is beginning to attract many persons. The Sierra Lumber Mills at Red Bluff give employment to abont seventy- five or 100 men. The grain crops of the county are large, Tehama standing in the front rank as a wheat and barley county. The lands lying immediately along the river cannot be surpassed in the State for fertility.
The leading farmers of the county are J. S. Cone, J. S. Butler, J. C. Tyler, W. W. Finnell, John Finnell, Fountain Finnell, R. H. Blossom, A. Gallatin, Hiram Rawson, H. Kraft and Le- land Stanford.
" Berendos" is a beautiful tract of land east of Red Bluff and abont two and one-half miles distant. Though planted to trees but three years many of the orchards are now bearing. Many of the citizens of Red Bluff own ten or fifteen acres here. It promises to be the garden spot of northern Tehama.
RED BLUFF,
the county-seat, is situated on the right bank of the Sacramento River, between Reed's Creek on the south and Brewery Creek on the north. The city is about 200 miles distant from San Francisco. Red Bluff is a growing steadily
town; there has never been a boom here yet; still, the population has nearly doubled during the past ten years, and is now in the neighbor- hood of 5,000. The town is situated on a low plateau, not as high as the surrounding country. The streets are wide and cleanly kept, the town is lighted by electricity, the plant being on An- telope Creek, about five miles east of town. The water used by the town is brought from the same creek.
The court-house, between Washington and Jefferson streets, is one of the finest structures of its kind in northern California. The hall of records was added to the northern part of the court-house about five years ago. The jail is on the south side of the court-house and is neatly and comfortably kept.
The county hospital is one mile west of Red Bluff, and is valued at about $20,000. It is a neat, commodions building, well ventilated and supplied with modern contrivances.
The railroad company have here a large semi cirenlar round-house, with stalls for fifteen en- gines. The depot is large and does a heavy business, the receipts often reaching $2,000 daily. Tickets are sold to all parts of the East- ern States.
Wool, wheat, Inmber, and produce are ex- ported, and machinery, merchandise and pro- visions imported.
Recently the citizens held a mass meeting to consider C. P. Huntington's probable railroad from Eureka to Red Bluff, and fromn Frnito to Red Bluff. If these roads are completed, and it is probable they will, they will open a rich country and make Red Bluff an important center.
Besides the railroad works there are several other manufacturing enterprises in Red Bluff among them ; Bidwell's carriage factory, a broom factory, glove factory, and the Sierra Lumber Company's door and sash factory.
The latter factory manufactured last year about 45,500 doors. 27,700 sash, and several thousand blinds-not counting the thousands of feet of lumber cleared, moldings, etc. The
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company owns 60,000 acres of timber, seventy miles of flume, and about twenty miles of rail- way.
About 200 men are employed by the corpora- tion here and in the forests.
The wool industry is enormous, Tehama County producing as much if not more than Wyoming, Utah, Montana and other States in that vicinity. The annual exportation is about 2,000,000 pounds. Red Bluff has the hand- ling of this vast amount, which is about one- fifth of the product of the State. Much interest is taken in the proposed woolen-mill, which would enhance the value of Red Bluff property greatly.
The finest business house in Red Bluff is that of the Cone & Kimball Company. This building is situated on the corner of Main and Walnut streets, in the business center of the city. It was completed in 1886, at a cost of $65,000. The dimensions are 100 x 115 feet, two stories high. The lower story is used by the company in their extensive general merchandise trade. The upper story is fitted for offices. The whole structure is of brick. A large tower surmounts the whole-containing a town clock. The com- pany have large warehouses in town and a store in Vina.
The I. O. O. F. building was dedicated March 26, 1883. It is situated on the corner of Wash- ington and Oak streets, fronting Oak. The building is 45 x 100 feet, with twenty feet ceil- ing in the upper story. The building with the grounds is owned by the lodge. The cost was $16,000-lot, $3,500, and furniture $2,000; total, $21,500. The lodge rooms are on the second story, the lower being fitted up and oc- cupied by business men. Swain & Hudson were the contractors.
The Opera House, owned by G. L. Kingsley, situated on Main street near Oak, is one of the largest houses in town.
The Postoffice building, corner of Oak and Main, is owned by H. W. Brown. The lower portion contains the postoffice and a grocery store. The upper story is occupied by several
fraternal lodges-F. & A. M., K. T., I. O. G. T., G. A. R., W. R. C., S. V., etc.
The Bank of Tehama County is on Main, between Pine aad Oak streets. In the same building are the offices of Wells, Fargo & Co., the Western Union Telegraph Company and County Treasurer's office.
Nearly opposite the Bank of Tehamna is the banking building of H. Kraft. The upper story is occupied by Chipman & Garter, attorneys at law.
The Town Hall on Main street deserves but little mention. The main things the town needs at present are a good town hall and hotel. The town has a very efficient fire company, con- sisting of a steam engine and a hook and ladder company. Many dollars have been saved by the efforts of the gallant citizens who are in the organization.
The residences of Red Bluff are beautiful and attractive. The main dwellings are on Wash ington and Jefferson streets, which are as de . lightful places for homes as can be found in California. Among the fine residences are the homes of G. G. Kimball, G. W. Westlake, V. P. Baker, H. Kraft, C. B. Ashurst, and many others. Major Cone has a delightful residence on Antelope Creek east of Red Bluff.
Many drug stores, clothing stores and gen- eral merchandise honses with two hardware firms speak well for the prosperity of the metropolis of Northern California. Besides these there are several stables, a candy factory, and two photographers.
The Tremont and National hotels are the leading hotels in Red Bluff and do a good business.
As to newspapers, see page 264.
In many portions of the town various hand- some church edifices, well attended, and neatly kept, argue well for the religious tendencies of the people of the city. The Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Catholics, Christians, Baptists, Methodists (North and South), have churelies.
But the crowning gems of the many in Red Bluff are her public schools. These are two in
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number -- the Oak Street, which is a fine brick structure, and the Lincoln Street School, com- pleted in 1888, one of the finest public schools in the State. The system of instruction is well developed under the able supervision of Prof. O. E. Graves, who for ten years has been principal.
In 1880 there were but six or seven teachers, now (1890) there are thirteen, and the school really needs more. There are about 900 census children in the district, ont of which abont 800 are enrolled on the school register. In the county there are but about 2,700 school children, so it can readily be seen that almost one-third of the children attend school in Red Bluff. Well may Red Bluff be proud of her educational facilities, which are something unusual in a town of her size:
In addition to the public schools an academy conducted by the Sisters of " Our Lady of Mercy," gives instruction to seventy-five or cighty young ladies.
Taking all in all Red Bluff is picturesque and attractive. It will compare favorably with any town in the State in regard to healthfulness, the death rate being but a little less than nine per cent. during the past few years. It is steadily growing and increasing both in population and wealth.
TELIAMA,
situated about twelve miles south of Red Bluff, is the second town in the county. In the early history of the county this place was the county seat. The population is about 350. The coun- try round about Tehama is among the finest in the State, and immense quantities of grain are annually grown here. The most thrifty farm- ers of the county are found in the vicinity of Tehama; among these are the Finnell Bros., J. S. Butler, S. Chard, L. Schultz, Hon. W. P. Mathews, Charles Tait, S. A. Gyle & Co., Andrew Simpson and J. C. Tyler.
The river is here spanned by a large railroad and wagon bridge. The California & Oregon Railroad, from the east side of the river here connects with that from the west, and makes Tehama a central point for trade and travel.
The Star Flour Mills just across the river furnish excellent flour, and the demand is such that the mill often runs day and night.
John Simpson runs one of the best and largest assorted hardware stores north of Sacramento: one can find anything in that line from a sewing- machine needle to a harvester if necessary.
Christain Heider, proprietor of the noted Heider House, is one of the most enterpris- ing citizens. His house is as well conducted as many of the hotels in large towns. Mr. Heider owns a number of dwelling houses in town and also conducts a large livery stable.
The Tait House is ably conducted by Charles Tait, one of the heavy men of the county, and does a thriving business. Mr. Tait is a farmer on a large scale.
I. B. Ashbrook and S. A. Giles & Company are the leading general merchants.
Dr. W. P. Mathews owns and conducts a neat drug store.
John Tait and J. R. Kelly are the leading blacksmiths.
The Presbyterian and Catholic churches are both neat and commodions.
The public school of Tehamna is a fine frame building, two-stories high, and crowned with a belfry. The school is the second in the county, being next to Red Bluff. The number of pupils enrolled is 100, average daily attendance seventy- five. The principal at present is J. D. Sweeney, who is a very popular young teacher. Misses Sallie Owens and Nellie Lowry are his able assistants.
Corning, southwest of Tehama, is the third town in the county, and is situated on a tree- less plain in the midst of a grain growing coun- try. The town supports one weekly newspaper, The Observer. The public school is one of the best of the kind in the State. Professor Webb has been the principal for a number of years.
VINA.
If one wishes to see a vineyard-the largest in the world-he must visit that of "The Leland Stanford, Jr., University" property at Vina,
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near the southern part of the county. The town though small is pleasantly situated on the rail- road not far from the river, which is west of town. A goodly number of business houses are found in the little hamlet.
The vineyard is the leading feature in this vicinity: about 4,000 acres are planted to vines and fruit trees. Besides a vineyard and orchard a large grain farm is owned by the same insti- tution. The large wineries contain millions of gallons of wines and brandies. A number of thoroughbred stock is to be found on the farm. About 200 persons find employment in and about the ranch.
OTHER POINTS.
Kirkwood, near the Colusa County line, is a small village in the midst of a fine farming land. Paskenta and Henleyville are small towns southwest of Red Bluff. Champion and Belle Mills are lumber camps high up in the Sierras. Proberta is a small station south of Red Bluff.
A chrome mine of some valne is operated near Lowrey's, southwest of Red Bluff.
The land west of Red Bluff is at present not very fertile. A scheme is on foot to build a reservoir on Red Bank Creek, near Jackson Eby's place, abont fifteen miles west of Red Bluff. If such a plan can be found feasible and the reservoir constructed, thousands of acres will be rendered valuable which are now com- paratively barren. The hills west of town afford abundant location for such reservoirs.
GRAIN AND FRUIT.
Tehama is really a great county and ranks among the first in the State in the production of grain. The area of the county is about 3,000 square miles, or about 1,920,000 acres; of these 400,000 are under cultivation and abont 700,000 yet nnsold. The average yield during the past few years has been about 10,000,000 bushels of grain, the average acreage being about twenty bushels of wheat and thirty bushels of barley.
Near Teliama fifty-eight bushels have been harvested and forty bushels is nothing unusual.
The land here can defy the State to equal the above.
All varieties of fruit grow in abundance. The lemon and peach, orange and pear, olive and apricot, citron and apple, grow side by side. Bartlett pears, of the finest quality, grow. Prunes and grapes also grow abundantly. Oranges at present bid fair to rival those of Riverside in Southern California, and may become a staple product.
May Tehama come to the front in the next ten years, and when the new century is ushered in may there be none to compare with grand Tehama with her glorious climate, rich soil and picturesque landscapes.
In the State Assembly Tehama County has been represented by John F. Ellison, in 1885, and others for the other years, a list of whom is given on pages 126 and 234.
TRINITY COUNTY.
Trinity Bay was so called from having been discovered on the anniversary of the festival in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, June 11, 1775, by the second naval exploring expedition under Captain Bruno Ezeta and Juan de la Quadra Bodega. Trinity River received its name from P. B. Reading, who trapped on its headwaters in 1845. It was so named because he supposed it emptied into Trinity Bay, an error which misled thousands of gold-seekers in 1850, who sought to reach its famous mines by entering the bay in vessels and passing up the stream.
This county is bounded on the i orth by Sis- kiyon and Humboldt, on the east by Shasta and Tehama, on the south by Mendocino, and on the west by Humboldt County. It is 55 x 150 miles in extent.
Trinity is a mountainous county, its eastern third being covered by the Coast Range, or Trinity Mountains, the summit of which divides this from Tehama and Shasta counties. Bully Choop, Baldy and other peaks in this range reach an altitude of over 6,000 feet, some
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of the summits in the Salmon Mountains, in the northern part of the county, being still higher. The latter are also remarkably steep, shooting up in spires so precipitous, that the snow is unable to lie upon them, but sliding off into the deep rents remains there all summer. The hydrography of this county is very simple, the Trinity River and its confluents draining all parts of it. Heading in the Scott Monn- tain division of the Coast Range, this river, after flowing south for sixty miles, makes a de- tour to the northwest, which course it holds for another sixty miles, when it passes into Hum- boldt County, uniting a little farther on with the Klamath.
Nearly the whole of this county is heavily timbered with pine, spruce, fir and cedar, oak and madrona forming a part of the forests at lower altitudes, while the wild grasses afford much pasturage. Trinity contains compara- tively little good farming land, though for the lardier fruits both the soil and the climate are especially well adapted. As in most mining sections, the auriferous belt varies, some of the veins being in slate, some in granite, while others are on the contact between slate and granite. The deposits of gravel are as vast as any found in the State.
TRINITY GOLD MINING COMPANY'S MINE
is located four miles west of the town of Weaverville, in the Weaverville District. The claim has been worked for the past fourteen years. It was located in 1851 and incorporated in 1874. Before incorporation it was known as the Ward Placer Mine. The claim contains 430 acres. The channel runs abont east and west, extending from Oregon Gulch to Weaver Basin. On the summit of the mountain the gravel belt is abont one-half a mile wide. The altitude here is 3,100 feet. The bedrock is clearly defined on both sides; its character is slate; the gravel belt tapers down to the foot of the mountain, a distance of three-quarters of a mile. The altitude here is 2,050 teet. From the summit to the gulch is an unbroken stratum
of gravel, and is estimated to be from 200 to 400 feet in depth. At present the supply of water is insufficient to work the mines. The owners assert that with 2,000 inches of water the property will produce $500 daily. An abundant supply of water can be brought from Cañon Creek, a distance of twenty-six miles, at an estimated cost of $150,000. Last year, owing to the light supply of water, the com- pany worked only 369 hours, and produced, the superintendent states, about $8,000.
There are a few other mining industries in the county.
Major Reading, the first discoverer of the mineral wealth in that region, says : " In the spring of 1854 I left Sutter's Fort for the pur- pose of trapping upon the waters of Upper California and Oregon. My party consisted of thirty men, with 100 horses. In May I crossed the inonntains from Sacramento River near a point afterward called the Backbone. In about twenty miles' travel I reached the banks of a large stream which I called the Trinity, suppos- ing it to lead into Trinity Bay, as inarked on the old Spanish charts. I remained on the river about three weeks, finding the Indians very numerous but friendly disposed. On leaving the Trinity I reerossed the mountains at a point which led me to the Sacramento River about ten miles below the Soda springs. I then passed into the Shasta and Klamath set- tlements, prosecuting iny hunt. Having been successful, I returned in the fall to Sutter's Fort.
" In July, 1848, I crossed the mountains to the Coast Range at the head of Middle Cotton- wood Creek, struck Trinity at what is now called Reading's Bar, prospected for two days and found the bars rich in gold. Returned to my home on the Cottonwood, and in ten days fitted out an expedition for mining purposes. Crossed the mountains where the travel passed about two years since, from Shasta to Weaver. My party consisted of three white men, one Delaware, one Walla Walla, one Chinook and about sixty Indians from the Sacramento Valley
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