USA > California > Lassen County > Fairfield's pioneer history of Lassen County, California; containing everything that can be learned about it from the beginning of the world to the year of Our Lord 1870 Also much of the pioneer history of the state of Nevada the biographies of Governor Isaac N. Roop and Peter Lassen and many stories of Indian warfare never before published > Part 34
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September 17th William Hill Naileigh was appointed Cor- oner to fill the vacancy caused by the failure of Z. J. Brown to qualify. The salary of the Superintendent of Schools was ordered to be $200 per year.
F. and S. say that the first term of the District Court was opened at Susanville, October 10, 1864, by Hon. Warren T. Sex- ton of Butte county. Present were the Judge; A. A. Smith, County Clerk; James D. Byers, Sheriff; and E. V. Spencer, Dis- trict Attorney. The first case entered on the record was that of John G. Newington vs. C. M. Kelley et al.
*Besides those given under the head of "The First County Court" the following were also summoned as trial jurors and answered to their names: Lew. Leith, John R. Lockwood, Charles M. Drum, Samuel Weatherlow, M. W. Pratt, and Jesse Williams.
At the December meeting of the Board of Supervisors the name of the Toadtown precinct was changed to Johnstonville. It was also ordered by the Board that any one could pay one half of his county tax in county warrants, or one fourth of his state and county taxes in the same way.
When Lassen county was organized it was supposed that there were about a thousand people in it. The amount of taxable
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THE YEAR 1864
property was small, and even with a high rate of taxation, not enough revenue could be raised to pay the expenses of running the county and erecting the necessary public buildings. War- rants were given for the payment of the county debts, but there was no money in the treasury to pay them, and before long they were of little value. Jurymen, witnesses, etc., paid gold coin for their expenses in Susanville and in return for their services received county warrants. Enos W. Fairfield, the Father of the writer, served about a week on the grand jury in the spring of 1867. He traded the warrant he received for a pair of halters and thought he made a good trade. In seven years the county debt amounted to $31,000.
The following from the "Humboldt Register" of July 30, 1864, tells how the Lassen county officers helped out the county revenue and what their neighbors thought about it.
"A SET OF LAND PIRATES IN ARMOR OF BRASS"
"Honey Lakers, for the purpose of more effectually preying upon the rest of the world, last winter got up a county organi- zation. They had no legitimate resources for the revenue neces- sary to conduct a county government and they knew it. But they have tax collectors and other officers, and these lie in wait for teams passing to and from Humboldt, and come upon the teamsters for taxes upon their property. Teams owned here and upon which taxes are regularly paid here, are obliged to submit to this outrage and measures should be taken to stop it. Civil- ized men fare better passing among the Indians."
Probably they told the truth about taxing teamsters in Sus- anville. For several years after this a teamster was compelled to pay taxes on his team in Virginia City, Reno, Oroville, Chico, perhaps any town in Nevada or California, unless he had a re- ceipt to show that he had paid the taxes on it somewhere else that year. It is said that Chinese miners paid taxes to almost every man who came along. Every white man was to them a tax col- lector of some kind, and when traveling they were supposed to pay taxes at every county seat they went through, and some- times between those places. Men who lived here at the time say that Sheriff Byers's deputies used to hold up the emigrants who passed through Susanville and make them pay taxes on their
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
teams. Roop said that poor men who were coming into the country ought to be helped instead of being robbed, and put a stop to it.
There was a presidential election this fall and political feeling ran high. Tunison's diary tells that October 20th there was a Union meeting in Susanville. The Home Guards (Honey Lake Rangers) paraded and Maj. John Bidwell, Republican candidate for congress, spoke at night. There was another Union meeting at that place the night of the 22nd. October 26th the Democrats had a meeting and a barbecue in the timber just back of Janes- ville. The way Tunison has it in his diary shows the feeling at that time. "October 26. The copperheads had a barbecue at Janesville yesterday. To-day they marched up to Susanville. I saw them promenade the street of Susanville." The last day of October the Union men of the neighborhood raised a flagpole at the Toadtown gristmill. It was 106 feet high and was dressed eight square to within 15 feet of the top-dressed with a plane. November second there was a Union meeting at Janesville. Judge W. R. Harrison was the speaker of the day and he was followed by John R. Buckbee. Three hundred and twenty-two men and women were in attendance-a very large crowd for the time and place. There was a dance that night at the Thompson ranch and nearly one hundred couples were present.
INDIAN TROUBLES. 1864
The people of Lassen county seem to have had a peaceful time with the Indians during this year. Probably they stole a few cattle from the ranges, but did no other damage.
HOW THE "TULE CONFEDERACY" GOT ITS NAME
In 1859 John M. Kelley located a section of land on the north side of the Big Slough near the lake. When the land was sur- veyed he could not hold it all-could hold only 160 acres and had to live on that. William S. Brashear, Chappel M. Kelley, and Robert Briggs crossed the plains in 1863, and Kelley wrote to them to stop in this valley and file on the land he claimed. They came here and each one filed on a quarter section of the land, but they had to skirmish a little with some other men who wanted it. The next year John Salling crossed the plains and claimed some land near them, and Joshua E. Briggs, who had also crossed the plains that year, stopped with him to rest his team. All of the
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THE YEAR 1864
above named men excepting John M. Kelley had been in the Confederate Army. In the fall of 1864 E. R. Nichols, the county surveyor, was doing some work for them, and when told this fact he said it was a regular Southern Confederacy. This led to some joking in regard to it and finally Nichols suggested that it was a "Tule Confederacy" and the name has been applied to that part of the valley ever since.
THE KILLING OF WALES AND BOODY
In June an unfortunate affair occurred which resulted in the death of Philip Wales and Jacob Boody, two men who were neighbors and who lived about half way between Janesville and Milford.
A short time before the tragedy occurred Boody took a wagon to Wales, who was a carpenter and wagon maker, to have it repaired. When the work was done he went after his wagon, but Wales refused to let him have it until he paid for the work, and it was left there. On the sixth of June Boody went to Milford and came home late, reaching the Wales ranch after dark. It is told that that about this time Wales heard a noise at the barn, and thinking that some one was meddling with his horses, took a pistol and went out there to see about it. There are a good many surmises as to what took place after he reached the barn, but nothing is definitely known about it. When the neighbors first got there, perhaps two hours afterwards, Wales was in the house on the bed. He was dead and there was a bullet hole in his breast. Boody was dead, too, and was lying in the road with a bullet hole in the upper part of his leg and a charge of shot in his back and side.
The next day the people of that vicinity gathered at the Wales ranch, and Dr. P. Chamberlain held an informal inquest. The bodies were examined and those who were supposed to know anything about the matter were questioned, but no further infor- mation was gained. No arrests were made and the county author- ities took no more notice of the affair. To this day there is nothing to prove how or by whom the two men were killed.
THE HONEY LAKE RANGERS
In the spring of 1864 the Union men of Honey Lake valley concluded to organize a company of Home Guards. There were several reasons for taking this action. About the time the Civil
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
War began the Southerners had tried to get possession of the United States forts, vessels, etc., at San Francisco, hoping by means of these to overawe the Union men of California and hold the state for the South. What was done in this valley by south- ern sympathizers in 1863 has already been told. The issue of the war was still in doubt, southern sympathizers were active, and there were many rumors flying about. One of them was to the effect that at any time the attempt to capture the state might be renewed. Of course this was only a rumor, but the Union men of the valley thought it would be well to be prepared for trouble if it came. Besides this, in case the Indians should again become hostile such an organization would be useful in fighting them.
Through the kindness of H. B. Van Horn the following was obtained from the office of the Adjutant-General of the state of California.
The citizens of Lassen county petitioned County Judge I. J. Harvey to apoint some one to open a book and enter thereon the names of volunteers for the organization of a volunteer com- pany in Lassen county. On July 4, 1864, the Judge appointed Frank Drake, a resident of the county, to open such a book. This he did and posted notices in four conspicuous places in the county. In a short time notice was given to the volunteers that a meeting would be held at the schoolhouse in Susanville on Wednesday, the 20th of July, 1864, at two o'clock P. M., for the purpose of electing officers and organizing said company. They met pursuant to the notice, and the meeting was called to order and presided over by Frank Drake, A. T. Bruce being Secretary pro tem. Fifty-six names were on the muster roll and forty men were present and answered to their names. They decided by vote to organize a cavalry company under the name of "The Honey Lake Rangers. " They then proceeded to elect their officers, and after this was done a committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the government of the com- pany. The members of this committee were W. N. De Haven, John S. Ward, and William J. Young.
This organization was mustered into the service of the state of California September 28, 1864. It was a cavalry company and was called Company A, Fifth Brigade, National Guard of California, Brigadier General John Bidwell, Commanding. It was also called "The Honey Lake Rangers." It was equipped
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THE YEAR 1864
with .54 caliber rifles, Star pistols, and artillery sabres and scab- bards. Uniforms were also furnished and saddles and bridles, but the men had to furnish their own horses.
Following is given the first muster roll of the company. The officers were the ones elected at the meeting of July 20, 1864.
OFFICERS
Frank Drake,
Naileigh, William Hill,
Sanders, Wilshire,
Second Lieutenant,
Burke, Thomas C., Junior
Second Lieutenant,
De Haven, William N.,
First Sergeant (Orderly),
Clemmons, William W.,
Second Sergeant,
Nichols, E. Richard,
Giddings, Czar, Brannan, Emanuel,
Third Sergeant, Fourth Sergeant, Fifth Sergeant,
Gray, Byron B., Perry, George W.,
First Corporal,
Second Corporal,
Third Corporal,
Fourth Corporal,
Bugler,
Farrier.
PRIVATES
Arnold, Henry E.,
Arnold, Matthew,
Arnold, Alex. T.,
Alvord, Charles E.,
De Haven, Henry A.,
Borrette, Valentine J.,
Funk, George W.,
Byers, James D., Bowman, Ed. D.,
Ford, Johnson P., Gilbert, Mark, Hulsman, John F.,
Barnes, Trueman B., Bangham, E. G., Brown, Alex. H.,
Course, William, Crane, William H., Chamberlain, Marcus,
Harrison, William R.,
Chamberlain, Philander, Cowan, John H., Conkey, James,
Campbell, Samuel, Dow, William,
Davis, John C.,
Arnold, Leroy,
Bruce, A. Taggart,
Borrette, Henry S., Clark, Charles,
Captain, Commanding, First Lieutenant,
Hill, William A., Huntington, James, Hines, Fred, Harrison, Socrates,
Judkins, Asa B., Jones, Newton, Kingsley, Rufus,
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Kneisley, A. A., Lockwood, John R., Lockman, Warren A., Lyons, George, Long, William B.,
Labarte, Edward B.,
Lybarger, George,
Lyons, Joseph, Moon, Abram G.,
Maguire, Michael J.,
Neale, Adam C.,
Peed, Frank,
Thompson, Henry F., Tunison, Abram, Ward, John S., Wilson, Sherald,
Parks, Hiram B.,
Phillips, Nathan, Priddy, Maurice,
Wilson, George,
White, Charles,
Roop, Isaac N., Rundel, York,
Wentworth, William.
The following is from a muster roll dated September 25, 1865. There were eighty names on it, the same number as on the previous roll. Some of the privates dropped out and new ones took their places. The names of the officers and those of the new privates are given.
OFFICERS
Frank Drake, Naileigh, William Hill, Smith, A. A.,
Bangham, E. G.,
De Haven, William N.,
Clemmons, W. W., Crane, W. H., Rundel, R. Y.,
Brockman, William,
Gray, Byron B.,
Perry, George W., Judkins, Asa B., Roop, I. N., Borrette, H. S., Strong, Frank,
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Captain, Commanding, First Lieutenant,
Senior Second Lieutenant, Junior Second Lieutenant, First Sergeant (Orderly), Second Sergeant, Third Sergeant,
Fourth Sergeant, Fifth Sergeant, First Corporal, Second Corporal, Third Corporal, Fourth Corporal, Trumpeter, Farrier.
Sparger, Henry L., Spencer, Luther, Spalding, Z. N., Spencer, Ephraim V., Smith, Albert A., Sodtrough, F., Straus, Gotleb, Strong, Frank, Stockton, H. Clay,
THE YEAR 1864
PRIVATES
Campbell, Sylvester,
Brown, Thomas,
Johnston, George,
Johnston, Robert,
Ward, Tro. H.,
Kingsbury, William C.,
Leroy, Albert R.,
Woodstock, Loyal, Wright, Henry.
This Company was re-organized under the Act of 1866 and again mustered into the service of the State on August 1, 1866. The muster roll of the Company as re-organized shows the officers to be exactly the same as on the roll of September 25, 1865. Comparison with the original muster roll of the Com- pany shows the following changes:
NAMES DROPPED FROM THE ORIGINAL ROLL
Arnold, Leroy,
Long, William B.,
Bruce, A. Taggart,
Labarte, Edward B.,
Burke, Thomas C.,
Priddy, Maurice,
Brannan, Emanuel,
Peed, Frank,
Clark, Charles,
Sodtrough, F.,
Chamberlain, Marcus,
Straus, Gotleb,
Cowan, John H., '
Wilson, Sherald,
Hill, William A.,
Wilson, George,
Kneisley, A. A.,
White, Charles,
Lockman, Warren A.,
NEW NAMES ON THE ROLL
Brown, Thomas,
Kingsbury, W. C.,
Cunningham, P. W.,
Leroy, A. R.,
Davis, Nathan,
Miller, John G.,
Elledge, Adam D.,
Miller, William T.,
Hutton, James,
Partridge, John C.,
Hamilton, William S.,
Pursell, George M.,
Hammond, S. W.,
Pratt, M. W.,
Hart, Jackson H.,
Smith, Cyrus,
Harrison, George,
Ward, Trobridge,
Johnston, George,
Woodstock, Loyal, Wright, Henry.
Johnston, Robert,
Partridge, John C., Pursell, George M., Pratt, Miller W.,
Several muster rolls were sent in, and the changes in officers and men will be given.
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
On the next roll there were thirty-one names. Naileigh was Lieutenant, Commanding, E. R. Nichols was Fourth Ser- geant, and John C. Davis was Farrier. New names since re-organization were Benjamin F. Wilson, J. W. M. Howe, E. W. Vance, Stephen J. Eldred, Leroy Arnold, and C. F. Williams.
On the roll of September 1, 1866, there were seventy-eight names. Frank Drake was Captain, Commanding. New names were as follows:
Brashear, William S.,
Long, William B.,
Broadwell, Isaac,
Peed, Frank,
Chapman, John F.,
Pine, John N.,
Hall, Samuel R.,
Steward, Joseph I.,
Hughes, S. B.,
Vary, Ladue,
Hauff, Earnest,
Wildner, John,
Johnson, Samuel,
Wright, Albert,
James, Preston R.,
Wright, A. S.,
Kingsbury, William V.,
Worm, A. W.
On the roll of October 12, 1866, there were forty-two names. Naileigh was Lieutenant, Commanding, E. R. Nichols was Third Sergeant, and W. H. Crane was Fourth Sergeant. New names were A. T. Bruce, Albert Conkey, William H. Hall, Joseph Todd, and William H. Van Alstine.
The following notice appeared in "The Sage Brush" of Janu- ary 12, 1867 :
"HONEY LAKE RANGERS, "TAKE ESPECIAL NOTICE.
"You are hereby commanded to return your arms to the Company Armory on or before the last Saturday of the month. "A demand for a part has been made by the State, and every member of the Company failing to comply with this call will be chargeable with such arms as he has withheld.
"Wm. Hill Naileigh, Lieut. Com. "Honey Lake Rangers.
"W. N. De Haven, Orderly."
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THE YEAR 1864
The muster roll of September 9, 1867, shows sixty-one names.
Albert A. Smith,
Captain, Commanding, First Lieutenant,
Naileigh, William Hill, Bangham, E. G.,
Senior Second Lieutenant,
Crane, W. H.,
Gray, Byron B.,
Nichols, Elton R.,
. Junior Second Lieutenant, First Sergeant (Orderly), Second Sergeant,
Brockman, William,
Partridge, John C., Dow, William,
Third Sergeant, Fourth Sergeant, Fifth Sergeant,
Perry, George W.,
First Corporal,
Vance, E. Walter,
Second Corporal,
Arnold, Leroy,
Third Corporal,
Conkey, James,
Fourth Corporal.
New names were John Borrette, G. H. Dobyns, Frank L. David, Thomas H. Holden, Charles League, Warren Montgomery, Charles B. Moore, Benjamin B. Painter, Jerry Tyler, and M. G. White.
The last muster roll was dated June 30, 1868. At roll call there were only nine men present. They were A. A. Smith, Cap- tain; William Hill Naileigh, First Lieutenant; William H. Crane, Junior Second Lieutenant; Alpheus T. Bruce, George Funk, Albert R. LeRoy, Isaac N. Roop, Z. N. Spalding, and John S. Ward. On this roll was written "Charles League killed by the Indians November 3, 1867. Rufus Kingsley, Died December 26, 1867."
In October, 1867, Jeremiah Bond hauled a part of the Com- pany's equipment to Oroville and turned it over to George B. Perkins. In the beginning eighty officers and men were fully equipped. On the last muster roll was the following report of the equipment: "29 sabers, 5 rifles, 20 cartridge boxes, 18 belt plates, 23 cartridge box belts, 24 waist belts, 22 waist belt plates, 4 gun slings, 12 cap boxes, 12 saddles, and 6 bridles." The writer was unable to learn what became of them.
The Honey Lake Rangers were mustered out of service June 30, 1868, and this ends the history of Lassen County's part of the National Guard of the State of California. As an organiza- tion this Company never saw any active service, although A. A. Smith was in command of a party that went in pursuit of some
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Indians in the spring of 1868 and some of the Rangers were with him. They drilled once in a while, and paraded a few times at Union meetings and at Fourth of July celebrations. Though they did no fighting, perhaps the fact that there was a body of men here armed and ready served a good purpose.
THE PRICES OF MERCHANDISE IN SUSANVILLE IN 1864
The following prices were taken from the books of a firm that did business in Susanville this year. Of course the prices of these things were higher previous to this, especially before the 60's. It will be noticed that tobacco and whiskey cost about the same as at the present time. In comparison to the wages paid the cost of living was much higher then than it is now.
2 lbs. Butter $ 1.50
I Linen Handerchief. $ 0.50
350 Cigars 29.25
2 lbs. Tobacco 1.00
3 lbs. Nails. .48
41% Gals. Whiskey .. 13.50
1 Neck Handkerchief 2.00
2 Cans Oysters
2.00
5 1b. Sack Salt .62
2 lbs. Crackers .50
1 1b. Tea. 1.25
8 yds. Calico.
3.20
1 Door Lock. 2.00
1 Pr. Buckskin Gloves 2.50
6 doz. Agate Buttons. 1.00
1 Paper Needles .50
1 Comforter 5.50
50 lbs. Flour. 4.50
4 lbs. Prunes 2.00
5 gals. Coal Oil 11.871/2
1 Box Candles 10.00
10 lbs. Dried Apples. .
2.50
4 lbs. Putty. 1.00
1 1b. Tobacco. 1.00
13 yds. Sheeting
6.50
1 Paper Pins. .25
2 Deep Dishes.
2.00
1 Pt. Turpentine .
.62
2 Sauce Dishes 1.00
1 Overshirt. 3.00
2 Plates. .75
1 Box Blacking .50
6 Tin Plates
1.25
1 Vest.
8.00
2 lbs. Coffee
1.00
1 White Shirt 3.00
2 Gross Screws 2.00
1 lb. Pepper
.50
6 Sticks Braid 2.25
1 Bottle Whiskey. 1.00
1 Doz. Eggs .75
5 lbs. Sugar. 1.50
1 Can Peaches. 1.25
14 lbs. Potatoes .70
1 Spool Linen Thread
.25
1 Gal. Coal Oil 2.50
1 Pr. Socks
1.00
1 Broom 1.00
1 1b. Raisins
.50
1 Pencil .25
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1 Lamp Chimney . ..
.75
1 Can Lard. 3.50
THE YEAR 1864
1 1b. Saleratus $ 0.37
1 Gal. Syrup 2.50
1/2 Gal. Vinegar .75 271/2 lbs. Bacon 9.62
1 Ax Helve. .75
2 Spools Thread. .25
3% lbs. Peaches $ 1.00
2 lbs. Starch 1.00
1 lb. Ginger.
.50
In the fall of 1865 the writer saw the clerk in the store at Milford refuse to sell a little boy a common slate pencil for ten cents. He wanted twenty-five cents for it. Probably the "freight" was the cause of this high price.
THE NEVER SWEATS
"The Humboldt Register" of April 30, 1864, says "That is the trite sobriquet given here to the people of Honey Lake val- ley. It is so easy to get a living there, that people acquire indolent habits, we suppose. Well, that will do to introduce our anecdote, anyhow. A man advertised for three able-bodied men. People who advertise get everything they want and in a few days three men-stout fellows-came in company and applied for the place. 'Ready to commence to-morrow,' he asked. 'Yes,' said the spokesman of the trio. 'O, I forgot! Where have you come from?' 'From Honey Lake,' they replied. 'Honey Lake be d- d' said he as he walked off, 'What do you suppose I want ? I want men to work. Honey Lake,' and he would not hear another word."
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CHAPTER XI
1865. SETTLEMENT
S USANVILLE. Susanville's first big fire took place this year on the 17th of March. It started in Wentworth and Wil- son's livery stable on the southeast corner of Main and Gay streets and burned that, and then going east burned the following buildings in the order in which they are given: Friedman's saloon, Jacob Smith's dwelling-house and brewery, Dr. R. F. Moody's eight square drug store, Samuel Peyser and M. Bien- stock's building, which was used as a dwelling-house, a store, and a tailor shop, and H. F. Tarrant's store. Everything on the south side of Main street between Gay and Union streets was burned excepting the Magnolia building. At that time the citi- zens of the place had nothing to fight the fire with and could do very little toward stopping it. The loss was about $20000, with- out any insurance.
The first of July, or not far from that time, the first number of "The Sage Brush" was published in Susanville. This was the first paper published in the county. It was a four-page, six- column paper, published every Saturday morning by A. C. Long- more subscription price $5 a year. Longmore's office was on the north side of Cottage street a little west of Lassen. F. and S. say that Longmore sold out to A. T. Bruce whose name appeared as editor on August 10, 1867. September 5, 1868, John C. Par- tridge bought the paper and changed the name to "Lassen Sage Brush." Some time after this he sold a half interest in the business to Daniel C. Slater, his brother-in-law. January 1, 1873, they changed the name to "The Lassen Advocate." E. A. Weed, who then owned the paper, changed the name to "Lassen Advocate" in October, 1878.
David Knoch opened a store on the north side of Main street between Lassen and Gay and a little west of the center of the block. In a year or two he moved across the street and for many years was one of the leading merchants of the town. E. D. Bow- man and John R. Lockwood commenced the business of selling goods on the south side of Main street between Lassen and Gay near the center of the block. They followed this business only a few years. Some time this year A. C. Neale opened a drug store
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THE YEAR 1865
a little to the west of the Steward House. It was the best estab- lishment of the kind that had ever been in the place. Neale could not put up prescriptions and this work was done by Dr. Spalding. J. W. White, a Methodist preacher, came to the val- ley this year. He was the first ordained minister to preach here.
This year the Richmond School District built a schoolhouse. Mrs. Orlando Streshly, assisted by Mrs. Frank Drake, raised enough by subscription to put up the building, some giving money and others materials. This building is still used as a school- house in that district.
Milford. L. P. Whiting, who had moved to Milford in 1862, this year started another nursery a short distance northeast of town and followed the business of raising trees and fruit nearly all the rest of his life. The Milford School District built a school- house on the south side of the road in the western part of town. Miss Philenda Montgomery (Mrs. E. V. Spencer) taught the school there that fall and the writer was one of her pupils.
The Soldier Bridge School District extended east from a line drawn north and south across the mouth of Willow creek. A schoolhouse was built about two miles in a southerly direction from Shaffer's station, and in the fall a school was taught there by Miss Lurana Walker (Mrs. James P. Sharp), who had crossed the plains this year. A private school had been taught in the neighborhood before this.
In February Patrick Bagin sold the Mud Springs station to Charles B. Clark. In a year or two Clark ran the Steward House, too, for a while.
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