USA > California > Napa County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 83
USA > California > Lake County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 83
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
The business of the town is represented as follows : five stores, one drug store, two hotels, one livery stable, one meat market, one barber shop, three blacksmith's shops, three saloons, one shoe and harness shop combined, one
148
History of Napa and Lake Counties-LAKE.
jeweler, one doctor, one church, (a Methodist,) a school-house, a post, tele- graph and express office. The place is connected with all points on the Lakeport and Calistoga, and Lower Lake and Calistoga stage lines, by tri- weekly stages, and the mail service is daily. The population of the place is estimated at three hundred and fifty. The future of the village is cer- tainly as full of promise as the past has been, for though the mines are now closed down, the time is coming when they will all, and more besides, be at work again. There is a rich valley around the town, which will always support it at its present size.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS .- Friendship Lodge, No. 150, I. O. O. F., was organized December 25, 1868, at Guenoc, with the following charter members : William Farmer, T. H. Berry, O. Armstrong, M. Getz, H. H. Nunnally, William Amesberry and William T. Miles. The first officers were J. H. Berry, N. G .; O. Armstrong, V. G .; M. Getz, Secretary, and H. H. Nunnally, Treasurer. The following named gentlemen have filled the position of Noble Grand : J. H. Berry, O. Armstrong, George E. Mckinley, William Amesberry, J. M. Davis, D. W. Lilley, William Armstrong, W. P. Berry, M. Kerr, James Johnson, G. W. Rawson, A. G. Butler, D. Posten, P. Achey, J. L. Richardson, M. Mehan, J. Rienike and L. Wilkinson. The present officers are J. Wilkinson, N. G .; J. Atkinson, V. G .; G. W. Rawson, Secretary, and W. J. Armstrong, Treasurer. The present membership is fifty, and the lodge is in a most prosperous condition. The lodge moved their building from Guenoc to this place in 1871. In 1876 they desired a more com- modious building than the old one, hence they erected the present hall, which is 24x60 feet in size and two stories high. It is a fine building and the lodge room is well fitted up.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS .- On Monday evening, April 8, 1872, the following named persons met at Middletown, for the purpose of organizing a subordinate lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars: J. M. Hamilton, S. W. Williams, John Good, Jr., George Farley, Frank Mc- Call, Harris Brown, Rev. H. D. Bryant, S. Sibley, Lafayette Stark, John Good, Sr., R. Farmer, R. D. Nunnally, W. G. Cannon, A. R. Hamilton, Mrs. A. 1. Kellogg, Mrs. L. S. Cannon, Mrs. M. L. Young, Miss F. A. Kellogg and Miss Annie Hamilton. The obligation was administered by Lucas Willey, D. G. W. C. T., after which the following officers were elected : J. M. Hamil- ton, W. C. T .; Mrs. A. I. Kellogg, W. V. T .; S. W. Williams, W. S .; R. D. Nunnally, W. F. S .; W. G. Cannon, W. T .; J. Good, Jr., W. M .; Mrs. M. L. Young, W. I. G .; A. R. Hamilton, W. O. G .; and the appointed officers were declared to be, viz .: Miss F. A. Kellogg, W. R. H. S .; Miss Annie Hamilton, W. L. H. S .; R. Farmer, W. A. S .; Mrs. L. S. Cannon, W. D. M., and Rev. H. D. Bryant, W. C. This lodge was called Loconomi Lodge, No.
149
Lower Lake Township.
440 ; John Good, Sr., Lodge Deputy. This lodge held its last meeting May, 1877. At that time W. G. Cannon was acting as W. C. T., and J. B. Preble, W. Secretary.
On Saturday evening, August 7, 1880, a lodge of Good Templars was organized, and instructed in the work by Levi Leland, Grand Lecturer of the State of California. On permanent organization J. L. Read was elected W. C. T .; Belle Parriott, W. R. H. S .; Dora Capps, W. L. H. S .; Alice Capps, W. V. T .; J. B. Preble, W. S .; Lydia Parriott, W. A. S .; Daniel De Pencier, W. F. S .; Daniel Rantz, W. T .; S. B. Preble, W. M .; J. S. Capps, W. I. G .; J. G. Sturgill, W. O. G .; Mrs. E. W. Irish, W. C .; E. W. Irish, P. W. C. T. The rest of the Charter members were, Mrs. D. Rantz, G. W. Smith, J. H. Kellogg, Frank Perry, Jennie De Pencier, Mrs. A. I. Kellogg, Grant Read, Mrs. J. S. Capps, Annie Read, G. A. Sacry, Henry Sturgill, Susie Read, and Mrs. S. A. Edmiston. J. L. Read is Lodge Deputy. They have about sixty- five members, and meet on Wednesday evenings.
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION .- Lake County has been much neglected by many of the mission enterprises of the churches. But, not- withstanding that fact, there have always been some persons in the county who have sustained the missions by personal efforts and their means. In July, 1880, Rev. William E. Read was appointed Missionary of the Amer- ican Sunday-School Union for the Northern District of California. In May, 1881, he commenced work in Lake County, where he remained during the summer to organize Sunday-schools, supply schools with Sunday-school literature, etc. He is an earnest, eloquent preacher, a zealous, indefatigible worker, and, during the summer, made a record in his avenue of work.
MIDDLETOWN BREWERY .- Was established in 1875 by Messrs. Munz & Scott. The building is 40x25, and the brewery has a capacity of fifteen barrels a week. In April, 1881, Mr. Munz purchased Mr. Scott's interest, and has since conducted the business.
SPRINGS -- Mineral springs abound in this township, and many of the chief health resorts of Lake County are found within its confines. The proximity to San Francisco and the ease of access, added to the beautiful scenery, lovely and salubrious climate, and the health-giving waters, all conspire to add popularity to the springs in this section. Stages make close connections with the trains for all of them and some run their own stages. The ride is through cheering mountain scenery and is not of long enough duration to become either tiresome or monotonous. Five hours is sufficient time in which to reach the farthest away, while three hours will cover the time required to travel to those nearest by.
150
History of Napa and Lake Counties-LAKE.
HARBIN SPRINGS .- This well-known resort for those seeking health, rest, or pleasure, is located in a cañon about two and a half miles north of Mid- dletown and twenty-one miles from Calistoga, The elevation is one thousand seven hundred feet above the level of the sea, hence it will be seen that the air is light and dry, and this altitude, with the protection of the surrounding hills, affords an exceedingly fine climate, the temperature varying much less during twenty-four hours than at many other places where greater uniformity is claimed and reported.
At Harbin Springs there are twenty-five or more buildings, aside from small out-houses for various purposes. These buildings comprise a main hotel, an office, reading-room and bar combined, a dining-room and its attach- ments, several cottages, bath-houses, etc. The cottages are genuine. There is no " shake shanty " nor rustic log cabin about them, but they are inclosed with rustic siding, painted white, with nice doors and windows. There is a name painted over each door, and the list, with the number of rooms in each one, is as follows: "Tom Collins," two rooms; " Bartlett," two rooms ; "Fern," five rooms ; " Capital," twenty rooms ; "Yuba," four rooms ; " What Cheer," one room; "4th of July," two rooms; "Pine," four rooms; "Mills," four rooms ; "Haywards," four rooms; "Rose," four rooms; " Myrtle," four rooms.
The main hotel has eleven rooms above, and four bed-rooms below ; also a parlor and reading-room. In the bath-houses there are fifteen baths, as follows : one mud bath, five plunge baths, and nine tubs. The water to supply these baths comes from the hot sulphur and iron springs. All of these improvements have been made by the present proprietor, Richard Williams. The place has very much the appearance of a village, especially during the busy part of the season, when there are several hundred guests at the place.
The site of the buildings is mostly uneven ground, and there is not a building on it but the site it occupies has been made level by hard work in digging down the mountain side. The buildings are located on the left side of the cañon as you approach it from below, and the hills on either side of the place are very precipitous, especially on the right, and they reach an elevation of several hundred feet. Immediately back of, or up the cañon from the springs, is an elevation of ground extending nearly across the cañon, lessening the size of the latter to a little more than a ravine. This elevation of ground rises, perhaps, one hundred feet above the springs, and the top of it has been leveled off, and a flag-pole raised upon it, and seats provided for guests, and a croquet ground staked out. Winding paths lead- ing up in a most romantic way terminate at the summit, from which a most lovely and enchanting view of the sweet little valley below may be had.
In looking down upon the scene below, one may grasp something of an idea of the great amount of labor that had to be expended before the place
151
Lower Lake Township.
could be brought to its present state of perfect beauty and comfort. When the present proprietor, Richard Williams, and a partner, J. Hughes, pur- chased the place, something over a dozen years ago, there was nothing there in the way of improvements except a rough log cabin. The new owners tore it down at once, and began their work upon a basis of nature untram- meled even by the semblance of art. The only approach to the place then was a rude trail along the cañon, and a wagon could not be got within five hundred rods of the springs. Therefore, all the lumber used in making the earlier improvements about the place had to be dragged along the trail for this distance, and all else had to be packed in on horseback.
These springs have been known to white men for over thirty years now. The old Indians of this section used to be familiar with the medicinal vir- tues of these waters, and in former times visited them in vast numbers. In this way Captain Ritchie came to know about them at a very early day. He obtained possession of the springs, by location or otherwise, and retained them for six years, and then disposed of them to James Harbin, who owned the place for the next eleven years, and then disposed of it to Messrs. Wil- liams & Hughes. At the end of three years Hughes disposed of his interest to Williams. They paid $3,000 for the property with its one log cabin on it, and no road leading to it, and now that the improvements are made it has commanded $80,000, and more than that is asked for it.
The springs are as follows : One hot arsenic ; one hot iron and sulphur, the temperature of which is 108 degrees ; one hot sulphur, with a tempera- ture of 120 degrees ; one cold iron, and one cold magnesia-all coming out of the side of the hill at the same level, within a short distance of each other. The springs are designated from each other by the principal ingre- dient in the waters, though other minerals are in the water in greater or less degree. With the guests the hot sulphur seems to be the favorite, and the hot iron-sulphur is next in importance, while the cold arsenic and mag- nesia waters receive but little attention.
Some marvelous cures have been effected by these waters in cases of rheumatism, dyspepsia, neuralgia, skin diseases, chronic affections, etc., and often cases yield and permanent cures are effected where they have been pronounced incurable by physicians. It is said that these waters have a very beneficial effect upon those addicted to the use of alcoholic drinks. The Harbin Springs stage connects with all trains at Calistoga, and the time from San Francisco to the springs is nine hours.
ANDERSON SPRINGS .- These springs are located at the head of Loco- noma Valley, four miles from Middletown, and one mile west of the road leading from Middletown to Lakeport. They were located in 1873 by Dr. A. Anderson and L. S. Patriquin, and opened to the public in 1874. The springs comprise one soda, one cold iron, two sulphur-one of which is blue
152
History of Napa and Lake Counties-LAKE.
and the other white, one hot iron, and a spring which is cold, and the water has a white or milky appearance. The deposit from this spring is white, and tastes like alum. The improvements here consist of a main hotel, some half dozen cottages, and the bath-liouses. The place is decidedly rural, and is a delightful resort, and is very easy of access. It is exceedingly well adapted to camping. The hotel will accommodate about thirty guests, and was erected in 1873. The bath-houses are near the hotel, but the hot spring is two thousand five hundred feet away, the water being conducted through a wooden pipe or pump logs. There is also a steam bath arranged over a hot spring in the bank of the creek.
ADAMS SPRINGS .- These springs are located in the Pine Mountains, eight miles south of Clear Lake, two and a half miles south-west of Siegler Springs, two and a half miles from Glenbrook, on the Calistoga and Lake- port stage line, six miles by a good road from Harbin Springs, and twenty- eight miles from Calistoga, at which place connections are made with the Lakeport stage on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The springs were located upon by Charles Adams in 1869, and he sold the property to the Whitton Brothers in the fall of 1871. During that and the succeeding year they erected the buildings that are on the place, which consist of a main hotel and five or six cottages. In 1878 J. S. Friedman purchased the prop- erty, at least the title of Whitton Brothers to it. The matter of ownership is now in litigation, as it was Government lieu land and was filed upon by R. J. Mowry. E. R. Moses took possession of the place as lessee in 1877 for a term of five years.
There are four springs here, all of which are the same in character. The temperature is fifty-six degrees in summer, thus making it very cool and refreshing to drink-that is, if you like it. If you wish to know how it tastes just get a piecee of tarred rope from some sailing vessel and chew it. That taste is its twin-sister. The guests soon get accustomed to this little oddity of taste, however, and learn to relish it so that other water seems insipid to them. There has been a quantitative analysis made of this water with the following result. One gallon contains :
Carbonate of lime.
28.714 grains.
..
magnesia
99.022
soda
57.036
iron
.517
Chloride of sodium
4.112
Silica.
7.218
"
Organic matter
2.811
=
Salts of potash
Traces only.
Nitric acid.
Traces only.
Total solid contents in one gallon. 199.430 grains.
153
Lower Lake Township.
In addition to the foregoing, one gallon of water also contains three hundred and four cubic inches of free carbonic acid gas.
These waters are said to be especially beneficial in cases of rheumatism, dropsy, scrofula, weak lungs, dyspepsia, costiveness, catarrh, liver and kidney complaints, and all kinds of diseases arising from impurities of the blood. The elevation is two thousand nine hundred and forty feet, the air is pure, bracing and light, the scenery fine, the hunting and fishing good, the place is easy of access, and, all in all, it is a desirable place to spend a season.
HOWARD SPRINGS .- These springs are located at the south end of Siegler Valley, two miles from Siegler Springs, three miles east of Adams Springs, five miles by trail from Harbin Springs, six miles from Glenbrook, six miles from Lower Lake, and thirty-three miles from Calistoga. Passengers are met Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Lower Lake, and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Glenbrook. Parties can come in from Wood- land to Lower Lake and thence to the springs.
The springs were located by C. W. Howard, and he opened them to the public in 1877. In that year August Heisch became proprietor. There are a large number of springs here of all varieties known in the catalogue of springs in the world. The following are the principal ones, however : Two magnesia-potassium, one warm and one cold; one borax, warm; one alum- sodium, warm ; one silica, cold ; three iron, warm ; one soda, cold; and one sulphur, cold. The temperature of these springs ranges from 58 degrees to 109 degrees. The water in them all is very palatable, there being nothing disagreeable in the taste or smell.
There are six tub baths and one plunge, the supply for them being de- rived from a reservoir of hot magnesia water, which has a capacity of three thousand and fifty-four gallons. In the bottom of this reservoir there are thirty-seven springs of all sizes. The springs here all burst forth from a bed of lava, and that so many of them and of such a varied character should be found in such proximity is truly a marvel. These waters are purported to be efficacious in cases of dropsy, gout, rheumatism, female diseases, catarrh, dyspepsia, and all affections of the liver, kidneys or skin. They have per- formed some wonderful cures of dropsy.
The elevation is two thousand two hundred and twenty feet, and the air is balmy and sweet. The landscape is beautiful, and the facilities for camp- ing and divertisement unexcelled. Game and fish are near by in abundance. There is a main hotel and twelve cottages.
SIEGLER SPRINGS .- These springs are situated at the north end of Sieg- ler Valley, and about five miles from Lower Lake and six from Glenbrook, on the direct route between the two places. They were discovered by a
154
History of Napa and Lake Counties-LAKE.
man named Siegler many years ago, and were a favorite resort of the Indians long ages before the foot of white men trod the soil of Lake County. They had rude baths fixed up in the stream, below the hot springs, so that they could regulate the temperature of the water, not so much differently in prin- ciple from its present arrangement, though wildly different in appliances.
Dr. Boone began making preparations for opening the springs to the public in 1868 or 1869, by erecting a hotel, baths, etc. Alvinza Hayward and W. Cole of San Francisco, purchased the property in 1870, and started in on a grand scale to make it one of the most popular resorts on the Pacific Coast. Immense sums of money were spent by them in fitting up a race track, building barns, setting out trees, designing parks, adorning the grounds with landscape gardening, etc., etc. It is stated that the proprietors thought that the property was assessed very high, even in proportion to what it was worth, and exceedingly high as compared with similar property in the county, hence they stopped everything right there, and let the place go to ruin, almost.
Mr. Cole purchased Mr. Hayward's interest in 1878, and is the present owner of the property. The buildings consist of a main hotel, two cottages, a barn, and several bath-houses. There are two hot springs, temperature 106 degrees, which contain equal parts of soda, magnesia, iron, borax and common salt ; one arsenic spring, in which there is also soda, magnesia and iron ; one magnesia spring in which there is some salt and soda ; five iron springs, in which there is some salt ; a cold soda spring ; one hot iron spring with temperature of 126 degrees ; one arsenic spring, temperature 90 degrees, and a cold magnesia spring, temperature 50 degrees. These springs cover an area of perhaps five acres, and springs are to be found in an area of fifty acres, bursting out from the hill-side in every direction. At one of the hot magnesia springs there is a natural plunge bath, formed in the solid rock. The rock formation here is mostly tufa of different kinds owing to the deposit. It is mostly of a magnesia or borax nature. This plunge bath is about four feet deep and four by six feet in size. The water comes into it in a very large stream, and the temperature is just right for a delightful bath. The hot iron spring is located in the bottom of the creek, and comes out in an immense volume from in under a huge spur of tufa. The water issues just as if it were the vent-hole to a mighty cauldron of boiling water, and at the point of egress it seethes and boils like water in a small vessel on a red-rot stove. Quite a considerable amount of steam escapes also with the water, and when the day is cold and the state of the atmosphere right for its speedy and full condensation, the volume of it is immense.
Water is conducted from this hot spring to a tank over the bath-houses some distance below in the ravine, while water is conducted from the stream of cold spring water in the creek to a similar tank, and the bather admits
155
Lower Lake Township.
each until he has his tub full of water at any desired temperature. Cosy summer houses are erected over the cold magnesia and iron springs; and after bathing in the warm water, one finds the waters of these springs very grateful. Lovely forests of pine, fir and oak are near at hand, in whose shady recesses the tent of the tourist can be placed, and life can there be enjoyed to the full. Walks, drives and strolls through the shady copse can be engaged in, while to breathe the rich, balmy air, laden with the sweet odors of the forest, and to drink in the enchanting mountain scenery, bathed in a halo of golden sunlight, is to be in Elyseum, truly.
CARP PONDS .- The Carp ponds of Messrs. Swartz & Webber are located about three miles north-west of Middletown. The ponds of these gentlemen are quite extensive, the largest or breeding bond being perhaps as fine a one for the purpose as there is in the State. Mr. Swartz is well posted in fish culture, and is very enthusiastic over carp. He commenced operations at his present place about two years ago, with about seventy fish ; and he expects to have each year about fifty thousand carp to dispose of. At present, they are worth from 75 cents to $1 per pound in the San Francisco market. At these figures the profits are simply immense, as the expense, after the construction of the ponds, is comparatively nothing, and there is no danger of overstocking the market. They have five ponds, the largest covering . about one acre, stocked with an immense number of small fry. They are improving and increasing their ponds, and do not expect to rest until they have fourteen, embracing in all eight or ten acres of land. They have an abundant supply of water from a large trout stream, of forty to forty-five degrees in temperature, brought in by a ditch, and the flow regulated so as to keep the water in the ponds at about eighty degrees during the warm season. They have found the low, moist, black soil land more favorahle for holding water in ponds than the higher red soil and gravel land-and believe Lake County as good as any in the State for fish culture. The proprietor of Anderson Springs has taken water from the stream mentioned above, at a higher point, to supply a large pond made upon his former croquet grounds. Carp have also been placed in the very large ponds at Boggs' old mill site, between Glenbrook and Kelseyville.
CALIFORNIA BORAX COMPANY .- In 1856 Dr. J. A. Veatch, while on a prospecting tour, discovered the Borax Lake which lies south of East Lake a short distance. A company was formed consisting of Messrs. Peachy, Billings, Heydenfeldt, Ayers, Maynard and others, for the purpose of work- ing it for borax. In the spring of 1860 Dr. Veatch went there and began operations in a small way. He made an arrangement like a joint of a stove-
156
History of Napa and Lake Counties-LAKE.
pipe, which he would sink into the mud and then shut a lid down on the upper end, and thus hold the contents of his pump in it by suction. In this manner a small quantity was gotten out each day, but not enough to pay. Later in the season General W. S. Jacks, of Napa, was engaged to take charge of the work. He constructed two coffer-dams which were portable, and soon had large quantities of crude borax on the bank. He was fol- lowed by an Englishman by the name of Oxland, who put in steam ap- paratus. Colonel Lightner succeeded him, and the enterprise was finally abandoned from some cause or other.
STODDARD'S MILL .- Is located north-west of Middletown about three miles, on the road to Lakeport. It is the property of Joel Stoddard, and is run by water power. It is one of the neatest and best mills in Lake County.
157
Big Valley Township.
BIG VALLEY TOWNSHIP.
GEOGRAPHY .- The boundaries of Big Valley Township, as established by the Board of Supervisors, are as follows : Beginning at the highest point on Cobb Mountain, at the south-west corner of Lower Lake Township; thence following the township line of Lower Lake Township, as heretofore defined, northerly to Clear Lake; thence across the lake, following the Lower Lake Township line to the north-west corner of Lower Lake Township ; thence westerly across the ridge between Alter's and Woodward's to Clear Lake ; thence across said lake in a direct line to a point known as Peaks Point ; thence in a north-westerly direction, in a direct line, to the gap of the hills south of Ramsdale's rancho; thence following said ridge south-westerly to the top of the dividing ridge separating the waters of Clear Lake and Scotts Creek ; thence following said ridge north-westerly to a point half a mile below the outlet of Blue Lakes; thence across said outlet to a ridge ; thence following said ridge in a westerly direction to a point on the line dividing Lake from Mendocino County, about half a mile east from Dalton's cabin ; thence along the said county line south-easterly to the place of beginning. This was the Second Supervisors' District.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.