USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 7
USA > California > Lake County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 7
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Nolan's hotel burned at Caspar, April 9, 1898. Bobolink ashore on Kent's Point, March 22, 1898. Earthquake damaged Albion railroad several thousand dollars, April 14, 1898. Store fired, December 25, 1898. Ruel Stickney died, January 12, 1899, aged seventy-five years. J. E. Carlson died, April 16, 1899, aged seventy-seven years. Fire destroyed Gorman barn, Mendocino, and five horses, six coaches and buggies. Mendocino Discount Bank placed in liqui- dation. Albion steam schooner sailed for Alaska with 500 reindeer.
Little River shipped 100,000 ties in 1899. The timber king, Weyerhauser, owning a million acres in Western Washington, contemplated investments in Humboldt, but failed to make them. Albion Mill burned September 29, 1900, with 19,000,000 feet of lumber ; loss, $130,000. Schooner Sunol burned at Little River October 23, 1900. James Townsend died December 21, 1900, aged seventy years. Kaisen tract of timber sold at $30 per acre. Creamery established at Whitesboro, February, 1901. J. G. Jackson died April 17, 1901, aged eighty-four years. An oar of the Steamer Rio Janeiro was picked up in the Mendocino harbor April 15, 1901. G. Hagemyer died May 13, 1901. Dayton Torrence, five years old, playing in a tie chute, was hit by a tie, fell back on it, and was carried to the end without injury, at the speed of a mile in eighteen seconds. Almost a famine along the coast on account of vessels being tied up by a strike. 105,000 ties on the bank at Mendocino October, 1901.
February, 1902, 17.26 inches of rain. Wire chute put in on the point March, 1902, making loading much more expeditious. April 12, 1902, Men- docino Mill started up on the north side, having been idle fifteen years. She cut 51,375 feet from eleven logs out of one tree. At loggers' scale, the logger would receive $250 for it. Albion railroad surveyed (and incorporated) to Guntley's in Anderson, and mill completed, with electric lights installed. Ten-hour schedule adopted, 1902. C. A. Perkins died in July, 1902, aged
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sixty-three years. The Ford family sold out their holdings in the Mendocino Mill Co. to J. L. Ross. Charles Fletcher died August 14, 1902, aged eighty- three years. Navarro Mill burned November 7, 1902.
February 7, 1903. six inches snow at Comptche. Stage held up near there February, 1903. Mendocino Mill cut 572,000 feet in six days in Feb- rnary, 1903. Severance Hotel at Navarro burned March 7. 1903. Again is a combination of mills attempted. Rainfall for season, 1903-04: Mendocino, 44.37 ; Branscomb, 118; Ukiah, 51.49; Westport, 82.13 inches. Frank Farnier died October 3, 1904, aged one hundred and four years. Sotoyome launched at Albion January, 1904. New Catholic Church at Mendocino, 40x96, and Monastery, 30x71.
J. E. Chalfant died April 1. 1905, aged eighty years. Bank of Com- merce opened at Mendocino August 6, 1905. Results of accidents in one year ending September 30, 1905: Death, 9; serious, 26. Violence: Death, 4; serious, 2; suicide, 5. Mendocino Lumber Co. changes name to Mendo- cino Redwood Co., December 30, 1905. 20.000,000 feet cut in 1905. 24,000 logs in boom January. 1906. In three days. 7.12 inches of rain. W. H. Kent died January 29, 1906, aged eighty-five years. Albion Mill cutting 142,000 feet daily. Seven dry kilns of capacity of 450,000 feet; 22.000,000 in 1905. William Heeser died April 9. 1906, aged eighty-three years. The earthquake of April 18, 1906, shook down nearly every chimney in Mendo- cino. Occidental hotel moved five feet. Mill twisted ont of true. High school off its foundation. Monuments thrown down. Span of bridge down. Mill chimney built in 1864, of 1,000,000 brick, thrown down. From seven days' rain, 16.81 inches. February, 1907, water works put in for fire pur- poses. August Heeser died September 23, 1907. Contract let for Point Ca- brillo lighthouse, three dwellings and barn. Flashlight every ten seconds. Rain October 14. 1908. Fifteen hundred logs (800,000 feet lumber) rafted from boom to mill one day by three men.
S. W. Hills died July 10. 1909, aged eighty-four years. Smokestack of mill rusted off and fell September 29, 1909; had been up only three years. Experiment of making heavy wrapping paper from redwood bark, etc., suc- cessful; five tons of waste will make one ton paper; gallon of alcohol from six cubic feet of waste. On Stillwell ranch reported mine bearing silver. gold, tin, copper (not ready coined). In Mendocino boom 20.000 logs Jan- uary 21, 1911. September 7, 1912, rainfall for week, 4.25 inches. Apple fair, October 23 to 27, 1912. and November 18 to 22, 1913. Improvements in Big River mill of the latest patents in saws. steam rigger, Prescott carriage. simplifies and decreases the manual labor. The mill company owns about 35,000 acres of timber land, having on it about 1.500,000,000 feet of timber, which is estimated to be 40 per cent of the timber on the Big River drainage basin.
The Bank of Commerce is the only one now doing business at Mendo- cino. Its report for December 27. 1913, is as follows: Capital stock paid in. $25.000; surplus, $10,100; cash on hand. $17.412: deposits subject to check, $129.218.75. John S. Ross, vice-president: J. N. Rea, cashier.
The future of the town seems assured for years to come, as the mill company owns 35,000 acres of timber land, which is forty per cent of the estimated acreage on the tributaries of Big River, and the greater portion of the balance necessarily will pass through their mill.
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It would not be fair to close "Big River's" history without allusion to Comptche, sixteen miles east of Mendocino City, on the headwaters of the Albion. Originally a lumber camp, with small areas of open land scattered through the timber, by clearing up the land after the loggers were through, quite a prosperous settlement has resulted, which supports two good schools and some fine orchards. It is here that thousands of gum trees have been planted on the denuded lands of the Albion company. For some years there has been a creamery in operation here, sustained by alfalfa on cleared stump land. A shake mill has been operated here, and thousands of ties made in the vicinity. The Albion mill has been logging here for some years past. There is a large body of the finest timber in the township here, which was sold to an eastern speculator, to be taken off in ten years, with a proviso that it might remain longer on certain conditions. By suit in court, it has been determined that only four and one-half years more are allowed.
CHAPTER V Ten Mile Township
Ten Mile township extends along the coast from Hare creek (half a mile south of Noyo river) to Chadbourne gulch on the north. There is but one considerable town in it, Fort Bragg, whose population is 2403.
There is but little open land in this township, most of it being densely timbered, with a strip along the southern coast part covered with brush and scraggly pine. Much of this latter has been cleared out in the last ten years and made available for gardens and building lots. In the northern part of the township is as fine land as ever was cultivated and there are three large dairies maintained there. Here, too, is one of the longest beaches on the county's coast, with two smaller ones, to break the monotony of the bleak black bluff which presents its cold shoulder to the mariner. The whole story of the township centers about Fort Bragg, which is the liveliest, busiest town in the county. It was incorporated in 1889, with C. R. Johnson, V. J. Westover, F. Bucholtz, T. Clark and H. A. Weller as trustees; F. A. Whip- ple, recorder ; J. Wintzer, treasurer; J. C. White, marshal ; Fire Commission- ers, C. Stewart, J. Randolph and J. Bucholtz. In 1914 the following officers were elected: Sam Shafsky, Mayor; E. E. Brown, D. Miller, C. W. Mero, W. H. Dixon, trustees ; clerk, O. L. Johnson ; marshal, F. J. Smith ; treasurer, H. W. Little. Population, 2408; assessed value, $746,000; tax rate, $1.98 on the $100. Date of incorporation, August 5, 1889. Territory one mile square.
The first school, a private one, was organized in 1887, and the first school house was built in 1889. In 1895, a fine grammar school house was erected, two-story and basement. In 1901 the high school building was erected at a cost of $17,000, employing five teachers, with an attendance of seventy-five.
In 1911 the high school pupils issued a most clever and delightful brochure entitled, "Breath of Ocean," which for interest and information is the equal of any college publication in the state.
The town has had its catastrophies, but no trace of them remains. The worst was the earthquake of 1906, which leveled the I. O. O. F. hall, a brick structure, and others of like construction, but its chief damage was to chim- neys, and the fire consequent upon it, which swept through the principal
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business block, entailing a loss of $800,000. Like every other place, it had its vagaries in upsetting safes, and respecting jardiniers, throwing doors into the street, and leaving windows on either side intact ; upsetting a huge printing press and leaving a type rack undisturbed.
The streets are graded, but not paved; sidewalks cemented in the main part of town, and some of the residence districts. The town is supplied with water from mountain springs, and also has a pipe system from the mill for use in case of fire. The mill also supplies electricity at the rate of twelve cents per watt. Excellent order is maintained, and a cement calaboose con- tributes to its enforcement. The people are enterprising, liberal and intelli- gent, and with many thousand acres of the best redwood of the state con- tributory to the mill. Fort Bragg is sure to grow for many years to come.
Early History and Settlement
This whole township was selected as an Indian reservation in 1857. The government having decided to establish a reservation, T. J. Henley. then Superintendent of Indian Affairs in California, having headquarters at San Francisco, sent Lieutenant H. P. Heintzleman on an exploring expe- dition to Cahto, thence north to Cape Mendocino and down the coast to Noyo. His report decided the authorities to locate the reservation on the territory thus mapped out. In 1857, Lieutenant H. G. Gibson was ordered to establish a post, and his selection of a site was named after Colonel Brax- ton Bragg, of Mexican war fame. The present town of Fort Bragg was then a beautiful glade, sloping gently to the west. and completely surrounded by heavy timber, which shut out the harsh winds, and, in a great measure, the fogs that elsewhere rolled in so frequently. It had the most equable climate on the coast. Dr. A. C. Folsom, stationed there for eighteen months, assured the writer that in that time the mercury showed only a variation of thirty degrees. The cutting away of the timber north and west of the then open glade has let in wind and fog and greatly changed the climate. The officers' quarters were at the east end of the natural parallelogram, the barracks on either side, and the hospital on quite an eminence at the west end. The writer visited the "Fort" in 1864. Captain Hull and Lieutenant Knickerbocker then being in charge. That night Lieutenant Coffman, from Round Valley station, was there on military business. John Byrnes and George Wooster from Noyo were invited; "commissary" was on tap, and a regular jamboree inaugurated. Myself and Wooster vacated by way of a window, and "joy went on unconfined." The soldiers had nothing to do at that time but eat and drink and occasionally go out and bring in an Indian family or two to keep up the numbers to be reported. In 1867 the reservation was abandoned, and soon after the land was thrown open for purchase, actual settlers being allowed to enter, at the government price of $1.25 per acre. whatever they were actually in possession of, to the limit of six hundred and forty acres, and "possession" was very liberally con- strued. The tract embraced in the limits of the reservation contained over twenty-four thousand acres, and four stations were established: Fort Bragg ; Culle Bulle, just south of the Noyo river, of which John P. Simpson was agent and William Ray assistant; Bald Hill, three miles northeast of Noyo, with M. C. Doherty, agent. and John Clark, assistant; and Ten Mile, with Major Lewis, agent, and E. J. Whipple. assistant. Captain H. L. Ford was the first agent at Fort Bragg. Robert White, John P. Simpson, Sam Watts,
LOGGING SCENE, FORT BRAGG
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Hub Mitchell, Steve Mitchell. G. C. Smith, Harry Kier, H. Beall and Lloyd Beall. Sr., were employes at various times, and on the breaking up of the reservation, settled on some of the lands. Dr. T. M. Ames was the first physician, and was located at Bald Hill, which place fell to Fred Heldt on the final breakup. Graft was no name for expenditures of this and other reservations in those times. The Indians got little of it, the employes all. Only one or two profited by it in the long run, and nearly everyone died in poverty.
The moving of a mill from Ten Mile river to Fort Bragg in 1885, started the town, which for some years grew rapidly, especially when talk of a railroad to Willits became common, and a large grading outfit was landed at the Noyo. But this project fell through, and the low price of lumber caused stagnation. But times soon brightened. The logging road continued to ascend the Noyo river, until the distance intervening between its terminal and Willits was so inconsiderable that the project of rail connection with the outside world was revived, and is now realized. There are probably five thousand acres of open or cleared land in the township, and more being brought under cultivation, consequently, it is clearly seen that the welfare and support of the town rests entirely on the timber business at present. The company employs at times as many as one thousand men, and has exceeded that number. The payroll, therefore, brings to the coffers of the business men of the town $50,000 per month, no small revenue for a town of twenty-four hundred inhabitants.
There are in the town seven general merchandise stores; banks, two; hotels, nine; garages, two; clothing houses, four ; confectioneries, four ; drug stores, two; millinery, two; jewelers, two; bakeries, two; variety, one; sa- loons, fifteen ; photo galleries, one; barber shops, four; livery stables, three ; electrical, one; undertaker, one; furniture, one; newspapers, one, sometimes two; blacksmiths, four; bottling works, one; second-hand, one; restaurants, four ; tailors, two; moving pictures, two; job wagons, six; all licensed to do business. To a stranger business seems to be overdone-too many business houses for the country, as the rural population seems scanty, and farms of any size few and far between. But back from the main thoroughfare, along the coast, ranches and orchards are being carved out of the stump and brush land, and the trade of the workers in the woods and mills, especially of the two large ones in town and nearby, employing sometimes fifteen hundred men, affords support for them all. Then. too, the extension of the railroad to Willits has opened up an extensive trade with the interior. The Finn, the Swede, the German, the Italian, are making homes blossom where the average American saw no encouragement for exertion. And, too, an experi- ment in making paper pulp from redwood bark has resulted favorably in a small way, and may lead to a profitable industry. As the bark of a redwood is from two to eighteen inches thick the amount of material is illimitable, and no use is now made of it save to patch a culvert, fill a mudhole, or burn to get it out of the way.
A large, well equipped hospital is maintained by membership dues, and is an absolutely necessary adjunct to the mill business, as the record shows forty-six accidents in one year involving life or limb. The town supports one newspaper well and occasionally has another thrust upon it for an ephemeral existence. The Advocate was founded by Heeser and Bucking- ham in 1887, and it passed into the hands of C. J. Cavanaugh in May, 1889.
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From it we extract the following epitome of events: Of that date mention is made of a visit from J. E. Pemberton, "a rising young lawyer," now one of the first in his specialty in San Francisco.
A card received from Captain W. E. Hull, formerly in charge of Fort Bragg in 1863-4, now a dealer in grain, wood and lumber in Prior Lake, Minnesota. June 5, a subscription of $76, raised to send a young man to Ukiah hospital for treatment. June 24, election held for incorporation, car- ried by seventy-nine majority. Trustees elected: C. R. Johnson, Cal Stewart, O. F. Westover, Frank Bucholtz, and John Randolph; clerk, H. A. Weller; treasurer, J. Wintzer. July 3d. Steamer Noyo takes out the first log raft. A lot was purchased by the town for school house for $1.000. On the 24th the waterworks were completed by Horace Milliken, affording a supply of 1,000,000 gallons per day. Incorporated as a company January 10, 1890, a building and loan association was formed in September. In October the grand officers of the Red Men visited the local lodge. November 27, Schooner Protection ashore with a cargo of 175,000 feet lumber and 7,000 posts.
January 10, 1890, Baptist church completed. Shingle mill put in opera- tion and in May, I. O. O. F. lodge instituted. Teachers' County Institute held in Fort Bragg in June. A fire truck was purchased in February, 1891. South Coast ashore, but floated, repaired and sailed. July 22, Australian advices reported no sale for redwood lumber. Mill cut two and one-half million feet in July. Fire, December 15, burned Hotel Kimball, saloon, jew- elry store, Weller & Co.'s. Lieser's, Sternberg's, McMullen's, Hetherington's, and Moore's; loss, $50,000; insurance, $15,000. December 23, I. O. O. F. hall, uncompleted brick, blown down. In 1891 lumber was shipped, 16,614,- 186 feet; shingles, 4,219,400; shakes, 339,000; ties, 158,563; piles, 880 (some- times 120 feet long, three feet in diameter) ; posts, 74,409, and wood and bark, etc., nearly as much remaining in the yards.
May 12, 1892, a cigar raft containing 1.200,000 feet of piling was launched, but stuck in the mud, being twenty-one feet deep, thirty-five feet wide and 600 feet long. Later it was got under way, but broke in two, and the Noyo towed part of it into San Francisco. The town bought a chemical engine August 24; the tunnel from Pudding creek to Noyo river was completed for the railroad. James Brett built another cigar raft in the harbor, which was successfully launched, and landed in the bay at San Francisco. Fire, Sep- tember 27, destroyed six cottages. A reading room was established.
December 31, the Advocate was sold to C. J. Cavanaugh, who still con- tinues its proprietor. Again in January, 1893, James Brett launched a log raft of 1,200,000 feet, and an engine was put on the wharf for handling lum- ber. A table was shipped to the World's fair, Chicago, made with a jack knife by Charles Brown, a woodsman, of two thousand pieces of wood, with two years' work. It contained fourteen different native woods, and a con- cealed snake and other ingenious contrivances, spring actuated. A crash in the tie business entailed loss on many in June, 1893. Another log raft was sent off July 22d. A water tunnel was driven 450 feet into the hill back of town to augment the water supply. The Presbyterian society, organized in 1887, erected a church in 1888, which was blown off its base in December, 1892; was restored and a lecture room added at this date. Thirty-five build- ings were erected in 1893: Red Men's hall, 54x150, three stories; McMullen's, Randolph's and Higgins' of brick. A log raft, built by Robertson at Marsh- field, Ore., December 20, 1893, near Trinidad, eighty tons of chains being
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used in its construction, broke up. A combination of Mendocino and Hum- boldt mills, excepting Caspar and Gualala, was reported. The Daisy Kim- ball made a daylight round-trip to the Midwinter fair at San Francisco, at $4 for the trip.
June 20, 1894, application was made for franchise for electric railroad, and also for telephone. September 1I, a large amount of railroad tools was landed from the Steamer Noyo, and the town was full of expectant engineers, laborers, etc. One hundred and fifty horses also came on for the work. It was expected to run a road to Willits. October 6, 1895, a contract of $4,300 was let for school house. Colonel Whipple died at Eureka October 22, 1895. His brother, H. E. Whipple, died in San Francisco, October 6, 1893. Both were identified with the early history of the town and vicinity, and held in high esteem.
Application for franchise for electric lights was made October 30, 1895, and March 11, 1896, the light was turned on. In February, 1896, the mill doubled its capacity and extended the wharf. A Finnish commercial com- pany was incorporated and general store opened October 16. Dr. W. A. McCornack opened his hospital with drug store, April 14, 1897, the mill company assessing employes ninety cents per month each for its support. The mill shipped 1,000,000 feet of lumber in four days. The barkentine, C. F. Crexker, took on a million feet for Guayaquil, Ecuador. September 22 fire destroyed Kemppe and Aulin houses; loss, $3,800. The mill put up a 15,000 gallon water tank above the roof, and installed two and one-half miles of sprinkling pipe. An earthquake visited the town April 14, 1898. continuing for two days, wrecking most of the chimneys in town, and cracking the brick buildings. Shafsky Brothers erected a brick, 24x90, two stories, with ware- house in the rear, 24x40, April 19, 1899. Schooner Norma wrecked entering the harbor, November 15. The wind died down before she made her anchor- age, and she drifted on the rocks. She had been hove-to outside for thirteen days. The mill company put in a reading room at the boarding house Jan- uary 7, 1900. They also laid large water mains, connecting with the steam pumps up to and along Main street from Grand hotel to Jefferson's, and to connect with pipe heretofore laid to Presbyterian church.
July 1st, steam laundry put in operation. On the 10th an earthquake; no damage. April 17, 1901, seven houses in process of construction, Union high school, and another story on the Grand hotel. The mill put in a two hundred and twenty-horsepower engine and 3,000 light dynamo. Admiral, a four-masted schooner, loaded with one million feet of lumber for Ecuador, and the Steamer Buckingham, two million feet for same country. January 27-28-29, 1902, killing frosts, very unusual. White and Plummer sold the Noyo store to the Caspar company, whose logging camps were near. Dwell- ings of H. A. Weller and Alf Cary destroyed by fire May 10, and Bucholtz house the next week. Another sawmill was built up on the Noyo by Duffey and run for a few years at Alpine. Redwood conduits are being used for carrying electric wires under ground, as being more durable than iron or steel piping, and more convenient to repair. Mill here sawing for them. A great labor strike was inaugurated March 25, 1903, which practically paralyzed business in mill and woods, lasting some weeks.
April. 1903, the Ontario Power company ordered fifteen million feet of flume for conveying their electric power to Buffalo. Bottling works started, and a bank building of brick, 35x60, fourteen-foot story. 1
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April 25, 1905, the business houses elected to close Sunday, and every evening at 6 p.m., except Wednesdays and Saturdays, and first and fifteenth of each month, for six months. January 21, 1906, the great storm of previous week made of Fort Bragg an island, as the Noyo ran through the railroad tunnel to Pudding creek and raised one bridge up two feet.
April 18, 1906, the great earthquake struck Fort Bragg the hardest of any town in the county. Every brick building in town, except the bank, Gus West's and the Hardee block, was wrecked, and many of the wooden ones badly damaged; some off their foundations. Like San Francisco, fire com- pleted the work, wiping out an entire business block. The loss footed up nearly a million dollars and one life-La Poie. Perhaps no town in the State, in comparison to size, suffered more heavily. Rebuilding began at once, and better and more firmly braced structures were the order of the day. Brick was not to be thought of. September 17, Rone's house burned. January, 1907, several inches of snow fell.
In August, 1907, the Steamer Strathskey took on 2,000,000 feet of lum- ber and sailed for Puget Sound to take on another million. The Christian Bors loaded two and a half million feet for Valparaiso. In March, 1908, the high school building was finished. The high school was accredited May, 1909. The new Presbyterian church was dedicated October 1, 1910. On the 18th fire destroyed the planing mill, ice plant, blacksmith shop and stable belonging to the mill company.
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