USA > California > El Dorado County > Historical souvenir of El Dorado County, California : with illustrations and biographical setches of its prominent men & pioneers > Part 41
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remembered the names of W. and L. Grubbs, T. D. the burning pile of deceased friends.
Among the early settlers of Indian Diggings will be Heiskell, P. Gibson, G. and J. McDonald, H. C. Sloss, L. S. Bell (occupying still the same premises he did in 1851), J. R. Head (now Fiddletown), B. R. Sweetland, Hall & McPherson, hotel-keepers; J. G. Busch, now of Potter Valley, Mendocino county : . 1. Riker, now of Salinas county ; J. S. Locke, now San Francisco ; J. P. Cantin, San Francisco ; R. H. Redd, John Cable, John Patterson and A. J. Lowry, now Postmaster of Placerville. But of the town as it is now there is little to say. No one at all familiar with its early history can now visit the place without a feel- ing of regret that a place once the scene of so much business, excitement, sociability and enjoyment should so nearly be blotted out from the list of towns, and to be the abode of not to exceed thirty persons all told, and to find-in place of the daily stages, express and teams, its two livery stables, etc .-- the solitary mail rider, not even at the town-for the Postoffice has been removed to the adjoining town of Mendon, for- merly Brownsville-supplying the people with the mail once a week. Instead of nine stores we now find one ; in place of six hundred or eight hundred voters, the precinct polls about forty.
SARATOGA OR YEOMET.
In the fall of 1850, Edwin Beebee, John 1). Morrison and E. M. Simpson, who had arrived in California in 1849, coming by the overland route, settled at what has been generally known as the " Forks of the Cosumnes;" but has been also known as "Saratoga" and "Yeomet"-the latter being the name of the Postoffice, established at the place many years ago. The trading post established by Beebee, Morrison & Simpson was continued by them until '59.
These men were very popular with the miners, and hardly even would they refuse their assistance in money or outfit, whoever applied for it. The hotel and ferry, which were at Yeomet, were owned by E. P. Bowman. In early days this was quite a much traveled road, running from the northern to the southern mines of the State, crossing the Cosumnes river here. An Indian agency under charge of Dr. Rozencraft, was established here in 1850-51, and as a matter of consequence there were a great many Indians camped in the vicinety, who continued to hover about the neighborhood until nearly all have been removed by death. In the winter of 1852-'53 the small pox was epidemic in this neighborhood, and scores of Indians and many whites were victims to its ravages. For a long time from one to two Indians burnings of the dead took place daily; and during the long winter nights, the wailings of the mourners could be heard continuously as they danced around
PITTSBURG BAR
was situated less than a quarter of a mile above the present site of the bridge across the river. It was noted for being occupied and worked by a company who emigrated from Pittsburg, Pa. Those men were no less remarkable for their convivial habits than for their intelligence. One of them, Dick Butler, was formerly Superintendent of the U. S. Arsenal at Pittsburg; Dick was a natural wit, in 1850 he was County Clerk of Sonoma County, but the demon drink had sent him forth to wander with the early gold hunters. He was buried near the base of Sugar Loaf Mountain.
NASHVILLE
in early days more generally known as Quartzville, was settled by emigrants from near Nashville, Tenn .. Doctor Harris was the first Superintendent of the afterwards called Havilla mine. Nashville was quite a busy town in 1852; A. L. Chilton came there in 1851, and opened a store and boarding house. The Harvey brothers resided here for many years, engaged in mining at the Montezuma mine, the oldest one, Dr. B. C. Harvey died at Mud Springs. At Big Canyon, three miles east of Nashville, there was Dr. Duncon as early as 1851-52 on his ranch, while Geo. McDonald was engaged in mining with his brother John. Geo. was elected twice to the State Legisla- ture from this county. Dr. Thurston and his brother Joel were keeping store at Quartzville, in early days for a number of years, and moved subsequently to Mud Springs.
About three miles north-west of Yeomet, in what is known as the Sugar Loaf region, the Grosh broth-
RES OF E. MORTENSEN . MICHIGANFLAT.ELDORO, CO . CAL.
RESE AND RANCH OF WILLIAM WHITE.COLOMAVALLEY . ELDO,C .. CAL
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LOCAL HISTORY.
ers were engaged in mining in Hise's ravine. These two brothers, who subsequently discovered the cele- brated Comstock silver lode, in Nevada, were young men of remarkable intelligence, and as eccentric as they were intelligent. They found a valuable opal, which was valued at Philadelphia at $1,500. One of them died in Washoe, from the effects of a pick wound in his foot, the other perished in attempting to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains in winter. There was Francis Hoover familiarly known as "Governor Hoover," it is said he obtained the name of Governor by reason of a declaration, made when leaving his native State, Maryland, for California, that he would never return until he had been elected Governor. He kept his word. He was the life and soul of the most valuable developments of Sugar Loaf Mountain region.
There were many Mexicans and Chilanians at Yeomet in early days. On election day. in the fall of 1853, two Mexicans had been detected stealing some gold dust and coin from a miners cabin, were tried by a jury of twelve miners, with the understanding that a majority should convict and determine the punish- ment. For sometime the jury stood six for hanging and six for whipping. At last one of the jurors, in order to end the controversy, consented to vote for whipping. After having selected the place to admin- ister the punishment, S. E. Huse, who for twenty years past had been the proprietor of the bridge of Yeomet, was selected to enforce the judgment of the Court. It was night and the Board of Election was busy counting the ballots, but the result of the election be- ing the minor importance, the counting was adjourned and the ballot box was left on the table to take care of itself, until the Board could witness the execution of the law of the camp for stealing. The poor vic- tims were stripped and severely punished in the ap- proved style of the day.
The number of votes cast at this precinct at the above mentioned year was about 250; at the present time we think the same region is hardly able to muster 25 votes.
LATROBE
the town, after Latrobe, the civil engineer in the con- struction of the first railroad in the United States. The land of the town site covering 240 acres was owned by J. H. Miller, being enclosed in the Poss claim, and he gave Bishop one-half of it for the survey- ing and platting ; but when it became time to prove up, Bishop forfeited his part and Miller only proved up. Town lots were then advertised for sale at instance of Bishop with Miller's consent, and some 75 or 80 lots were sold at auction, and every one of the purchasers set on his property. The first store had been opened already before the town was laid out, by J. H. Miller. in 1863. After the town was built he sold out to Win. Kirkland ; Riebsam & Adams followed next with another store, and so on until the town was in the possession of Fix or seven stores, and the number of hotels from the first one, started by Miller, was growing in equal rapidity, up to four. The popula- tion in a short time accumulated to 700 or 800, sup- porting three blacksmith shops, one wagon and carriage factory, there were three doctors in town ; Dr. Treu- holtz, was there before the town was laid out, Dr. Barber and Dr. Taylor, together with two drug stores to look after the health of the population and attend to the sick, while a bakery and several butchershops provided for the healthy part. For quite a while the town controlled the whole trade of Amador county, and eight daily stages in connection with the railroad run, for the accommodation of the traveling people, to all different directions. But, though no mining town, this state of things came to an end, and from the population of about 800 there are at present only from 80 to 100 left, with one general store, one hotel, telegraph and express office, two blacksmith shops and one carriage & wagon shop to represent the whole business. The public school building is a two-story structure of considerable accomodation for all public assemblages ; the Masons and Odd Fellow's each have their own halls, Of old settlers in this vicinity and of town, we find the names of Thomas Hitchcock, now of Modoc county, was one of the earliest settlers here ; there were - Dugan, Robert Doan, Jesse Couch, Dr. Treuholtz, now of Petaluma, Charles Red, Riebsam & Adams, merchants still keeping store in town, C. W. Edwards, carriage maker, David Larrison, blacksmith, Richard Lane, George W. Ford, J. I., W. T. and Nathaniel Porter. farmers and miners.
Is located in the lower part, far southwest, of the county, where the character of the country in its transformation comes nearer to that of the plains of Sacramento valley. It is the youngest town acquisi- tion of El Dorado county, and owes its origin to the Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad, which The members of Cosumnes Lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F. are meeting at Latrobe on Saturday. established a station for the benefit of the neighbor- ing Amador county here on the crossing of the roads. The town started on completion of the railroad in SHINGLE SPRINGS, 1864, and was surveyed and platted by Chief En- situated at the eastern terminus of the Placerville and gineer F. A. Bishop, who also suggested the name of | Sacramento Valley Railroad, thirty-seven miles by
HISTORY OF EL DORADO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
wagon, and forty-eight miles by railroad, from Sacra- mento City. It took its name from a shingle machine used for the manufacture of shingles at a cluster of springs, situated at the western extremity of the village.
The first house was built by one Bartlett, in 1850, and was situated on the hill near the springs, was called the "Shingle Spring House" and was occupied as a stopping place for travelers. In 1851, another public house, the "Missouri House," was built a few rods east of the Shingle Spring House. In 1852, the "Planter's House" was built and occupied as a public house by R. S. Wakefield, and has served the same purpose without interruption, since that time. About the same time two blacksmith shops were built here also, and just back of the Planter's House on the so called shingle creek a steam saw-mill was erected, owned and run by A. P. Catlin, now at Sacramento City, and S. C. Cutler now a resident of Sly Park. This mill was in operation about two years, and it is said that lumber was sold at the mill for one hundred and fifty dollars per thousand, immediately after the fire of 1852 in Sacramento.
The place was surrounded by rich placer mines. and the canyons and gulches were soon lined with miner's cabins. We quote only Grizzly Gulch as one of the richest in the county, paying at one time two hundred dollars to the rokcer per day.
From 1852 to '56, miners drew their supplies from the village of Buckeye Flat, about one mile east of Shingle Springs, at that time quite a town with two or three stores, but since gone the way of many a moun- tain mining town. In 1857, the first store in town was opened near the Planter's House and did a good business with the miners of the vicinity.
Through all this stir and bustle Shingle Springs re- mained nearly in statuquo, little more than a way- station for the travel on the road to Placerville and Carson, Nevada, and so continued up to the com- pletion of the P. & S. V. R. R., which event took place in 1865. In June of that year the company an- nounced the completion of the road to Shingle Springs, on Sunday June 16th, the road was opened with a free excursion train to this place, which was then, and still is the terminus of the road.
Then a very heavy freighting and forwarding busi- ness was done on this road, to Placerville, all the mountain towns, and as the easiest and best mountain road cross over the Sierra range to the State of Ne- vada; this business was about to center at this place, and quite a rush to secure lots for business purposes was commenced.
The town of Shingle Spring had been surveyed,
laid out into lots, and maps drawn and exposed, and D. T. Hall, proprietor of the Planter's House, stood ready to transfer to those who wished to purchase. It don't take long to build a California town at the terminus of a railroad; a tribe of aborigines with their ready made tent poles and buffalo skin siding, could scarcely more than furnish an illustration.
This place was no exception to the rule. Houses were hastely constructed, both for business and resi- dence, a Postoffice, an express and telegraph-office es- tablished, the railroad depot 800 feet in length com- pleted, freight trains crowded the place by hundreds, two trains daily (Sunday excepted) were run from Sacramento, and many extra freight trains had to be run to furnish carrying capacity for the freight en route. Stages left daily, laden with passengers for points further east, and in an incredibly short space of time the town became one of business and activity, second to none of its size in the State.
It was not expected, however, that the amount of business it started with, would long remain with the place, as it was supposed at the time, that the railroad would be pushed on to Placerville as soon as practica- ble; the buildings erected, therefore, were not for the most part, of a very substantial character. But the railroad did not go to Placerville, and but for a still more formidable obstacle the place would have held its own. In the summer of 1866, the Central Pacific Railroad was completed over the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the freight carrying business and pas- senger traffic for localities beyond the mountains was diverted from the route through . Shingle Springs to th . new opened route. The business of the place fell off, merchants and others left for more prosperous locations, and it gradually subsided, becoming "smaller by degrees and beautifully less" until it stands at the present time, what its business as a shipping point and the trade and traffic of the sur- rounding makes it. The P. & S. V. R. R., not run- ning for about a year, on account of a pending law suit,.resumed activity about the 10th of July, 1882.
David B. Scott, in company with D. Ashley, who afterward became a member of the Legislature in Cali- fornia and died in Southern California ; A. Lawyer, Sweeney, Stephens, Bisby, George Withington, now of Ione Valley; Buckley, Wilson and Kertland, who acted as the captain of the company, left Monroe, Mich., in March, 1849, to cross the plains, and this was about the third train en route with Canadian ponies. They proceeded to the spot where Ragtown was built up afterwards, and sent Scott ahead to go as far as Sacramento, to look around and find out where the company could do the best when arriving in California. On this trip Mr. Sc tt, together with a
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LOCAL HISTORY.
Dr. Ormsby, camped on the present site of Shingle Springs, then heavily dotted with oak and sugar pine, and was so delighted with the location that, after hav- ing reunited with his company at Sly Park, and jour- neying together to Sutterville, where they disbanded, he made up another company, and with Withington, William Van Alstine and the Bartlett brothers, Henry and Edward, returned to the place, where, not far from the beautiful spring, they erected a shingle ma- chine, from which the name of the town arose. This shingle machine was operated by horse power, pro- ducing sixteen thousand shingles per day, worth $50 to $60 per thousand, delivered at Sacramento, and lumber was paid for as high as from $900 to $1,000 per mille. Seom time later Scott sold out to Mr. Bisby and departed for the Yuba river mines, where he staid from 1850 to 1851, and was elected Surveyor of Yuba county in 1851, holding this office for three terms. Then he was engaged as a surveyor of Washoe county, Nevada, and thereafter in the same capacity in So- noma county, Cal. He also has been engaged in building railroads for logging and lumbering in the mountains, and was for three years chief engineer of the Marysville and Vallejo Railroad.
The first store at Shingle Springs was kept by E. M. Hiatt, from Missouri, at the place now occupied by Slocum. Bartlett kept the first hotel. He paid to Ed. Perrine's wife $150 for cooking. He sold out to Humphrey Taylor, and he again sold to D. T. Hall. Wakefield kept the Missouri House, a log cabin which stood on the spot where the Planters' House was built afterwards. Mr. Hall was also the first Postmaster in the town. The Postoffice was established in 1855. The first school of the district was kept at
BUCKEYE FIAT.
The latter town received its name from the first sett- lers of the place, they being men from Ohio. The first store here was kept by Henry Kingsley. Henry Y'ealing, now of San Francisco, was the second store- keeper, with Fred Heldman, now of Logtown. The first hotel was opened by Rockwell, from Salt Lake.
NEGRO HILL.
The first mining work done in the vicinity of Negro Hill was on the east side, adjoining the river, by a company of Mormons, in the year 1848, soon after, but in the same year, a company of Spaniards went to work on the south side of the hill, in Spanish Ra- vine, from a strip of ground about a thousand feet in length by one and a-half feet in width, and three feet in depth they took out over seven thousand dollars. The next work was in a deep sand bank just at the mouth of Spanish Ravine, in the fall of 1849, by
August B. Newhall, from Lynn, Mass., a Negro by the name of Kelsey, a Methodist preacher, and other Negroes ; this locality was called Little Negro Hill, it being located between the river and the present Negro Hill. The gravel in said sand bank paid three hundred dollars and upwards, per day, to a company of five men. Little Negro Hill was discovered by Cornelius Van Noy, George Denett, Thomas Burns, Platt Southard, M. Fogety, John Farley and John Donelly ; the whole hill paid from two to three ounces per day to the hand, the dirt being carted to the river and washed through a long tom. About this time (fall of 1849) three men, Messrs. Vosey, Long and French started a store and boarding house, the house being known as the Civil Usage House, and a good business was done here. Soon after Mr. Fish built another store in the vicinity and did good business up to 1852.
In the spring of 1852, Conrad Benninger, Harvey Smith and Darius Clark sunk holes on the second bench back from the river, and found good dirt, it being a large flat. In one week after, there was every foot claimed and staked off for mining, and two Negroes from Massachusetts started a store and boarding house, around which quite a Negro village sprung up, and was called Big Negro Hill. On another portion of the flat the white men built quite a town, repre- senting the present Negro Hill. Here Thos. Jenkins and Richard Rickard built a store, and Thomas Be:1- nett and Wm. Trengove built a boarding house. be- ing each the first one in town. The same year (1852) Dewitt Stanford, a brother of Leland Stanford, built a grocery store at Negro Hill, as did Horace and Frank Barton. Another store was built about the same time by Ben. Avery, our late minister to China, he opened with a lot of drugs, Yankee notions, etc. A short time later, about the fall of 1852 or spring of 1853, the Chinese began to flock in the camp, and built on another portion of the flat. So that by the end of 1853, the town could boast of a thousand or twelve hundred inhabitants, with stores of every de- scription, saloons and dance houses by the dozen, and all seemed to do a thriving business.
In the year 1853,. Leander Jennings and Alex- ander Fraser built a ditch from Salmon Falls to Negro Hills, a distance of eight miles, which carried about 300 inches of water, sold at $1.oo per inch, by which nearly the whole of the top of the hill hax been sluiced off, and paid 'well. In 1855 Messrs. Clark, Boyd, Richards and Eastman built another ditch from near Salmon Falls, running it to Negro Hill, Growlers Flat, Jenny Lind Flat, Massachusetts Flat, Chile Hill, Condemned Bar and Long Bar, all of which are in a circuit of three miles; so as a
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HISTORY OF EL DORADO COUNTY. CALIFORNIA.
matter of course all the miners came to Negro Hill to buy their goods, and the result was, that business men did well for five or six years. After that the mines fell gradually in the hands of the Chinese and business rapidly declined. All the white men who remained in the district, with the exception of two or three, are now engaged in farming. There is plenty of mining ground in this district yet untouched, but the ditches are not high enough to carry water to it. A preliminary survey for a ditch from near Auburn to Negro Hill has recently been made, and reported upon favorably. When such a ditch is con- structed much treasure will be unearthed in this section.
We have to refer to a visit of Judge Lynch at this place in the time when Thomas Jenkins and Richard Rickard were building their store in 1852 ; a Negro claiming the illustrious name of Andrew Jackson, stole a specimen worth about $10.00, and some cloth- ing from the residence of Mr. Keith, the blacksmith, for which he was hung to a tree, near the Negro quarters, by a mob, before noon.
In 1855 a lot of drunken white fellows on Negro Hill attacked the Negro quarters and in the fight one Negro was killed, for which Mr. Drew and others were arrested and tried at Coloma but were acquited.
Growler's Flat was opened in 1852, by Henry Down, an English sailor, who was always growling, hence the name.
Jenny Lind Flat was opened by Nathaniel Sutton and others 1852.
Massachusetts Flat was opened in 1854, by Dr. Townsend. All paid well. At Jenny Lind Flat one night in 1853, a young man borrowed blankets to sleep in, the next morning he had forgotten about this fact, and walked off with the blankets ; a crowd went after him and brought him back, flogged him until the blood trickled down his heels; they then took up a subscription in money and gave it to him with the advice never to steal again.
Of late an agent of a Baltimore firm was here ex- amining a chrome iron mine, the lead is ten or twelve feet across, and picks very free, it can be traced from the North to the South Fork of the American river, a distance of twelve miles. The result of said examin- ation has been the letting of a contract for a ship cargo of chrome iron, to be delivered at Folsom at $6.50. There is iron enough in the mountains to supply the whole United States.
SALMON FALLS,
Located on the banks of the South Fork of the Amer- ican river, at the mouth of Sweetwater creek. The name of the town was derived from the cataract in the
American river near the site of the town, whither the Indians used to come down from the mountains to catch salmon, of which the river abounded. Early in 1849 very rich diggings had been discovered by Mor- mons at Higgins' Point, about a quarter of a mile be- low town, close to the river, and called after Higgins, the first person who settled here with his family -- sometime during 1848-coming from Australia to California, and he consequently opened the first store. R. K. Berry, from New York, arrived here in Septem- ber, 1849, in company with H. Passmore, Thomas Brown, H. Williams, Larraway Benham and
Barlow. O. Smith, who afterwards kept the first store at Uniontown, and one Haskell were arrivals of that year also. Up to this time it had been only a Mor- mon settlement, but Mr. Berry's idea was not satisfied with such things. With great energy, in the spring of 1850, he went on to take out a possessory claim of the land, laying out a town there, which was surveyed and platted by P. N. Madegan in May, 1850. The streets were laid out after a regular square network. Those running parallel with the river were named : Water, State, Government and Washington streets. Across, the Sweetwater creek was Sacramento street, and those running across, up from the river, were called High, Polk, Taylor, Clay, Brower and El Dorado streets. The population during the summer of 1850 was grow- ing fast, and plenty of town lots were sold. Among the purchasers we find the names of Riely, Fradion. Berry, Bowls, Cramer, Smith, Hunnewell, Coon, Plumb, Downs, Higgins, Burk, Beasly, Cooledge, Kel- ley, Haskell, Miller & Ford, Brooks, Richards, As- beel, Van Chausse, Whipple, Boyd, Gifford, Rice, Fulberton, Brownell, Kelley & Tate, Packwood, later of Pilot Hill; Friedschlager, Lamarre, who struck the first digging on the flat ; Ramsey, Markham, Spong, Walls, Brown., Dr. McMeans, Hayes and Otis.
Berry opened another store in the spring of 1850, located on the bank of Sweetwater creek, and got the appointment as the first alcalde of the district. Crug kept the first hotel in town, but he sold out to Berry and went east ; the first physicians in town were Dr. McMeans and Dr. Hook. Mrs. Higgins was the first white woman in the community, and kept on so for quite a while until Mrs. Berry and her sister arrived from the East, in the fall of 1852. A Post office was established here as early as 1851, with T. R. Brown postmaster, and a regular stage line to Sacramento passed here since 1851. School was first taught by Miss Charlotte A. Phelps, now Mrs. Ed. T. Raun of San Francisco, then of Coloma, who owned the bridges at Coloma, Spanish Bar, Kelsey and Salmon Falls. The first bridge across the American river here was built in 1853, this was washed away and an-
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