Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850, Part 36

Author: Fariss & Smith, San Francisco
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: San Francisco, Fariss & Smith
Number of Pages: 710

USA > California > Lassen County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 36
USA > California > Plumas County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 36
USA > California > Sierra County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 36

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).

" He often alluded to his wife, and also to his brother, a prominent lawyer in Maryland. The old man was fast going down to a drunkard's grave, when in the fall of 1854 I determined to make a last effort to save him. I sat down in my cabin and wrote a letter to his brother in Cecil county, Maryland, frankly stating the condition of his brother, and urging him to come out himself.

" As I was sitting in the store one winter evening the door opened, and a stranger, clad in unusual apparel, entered. He was dressed in the richest broadcloth, and wore a fine silk hat, which peculiarities of costume caused me much surprise. He approached and inquired for me, presenting a letter of introduction from a brother of mine then living in Washington, which invoked my kindly assistance for the stranger. This old gentleman had come all the way from Maryland to rescue from destruction his brother-in-law, George B. Mccullough. For three days we used all the moral snasion we were capable of on Mccullough, to induce him to go home, and finally succeeded. The boys all bade him a tearful adieu, and many a blessing from the kind-hearted miners followed him on his homeward journey. He reached his old home in safety, where his faithful wife awaited

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him; he was reinstated in the responsible trust he had left, and from that time became a reformed man. He lived twenty-five years after this occurrence, dying some two years since. To the day of his death it is believed he was never apprised of the first steps taken to save him."

ROBERT M. BLAKEMORE .- Among the thousands whom the golden magnet drew to this coast, none had more true nobility of character than Blakemore. He was a Virginian by birth, received a fair English education in his native state, and in company with B. F. Washington and J. E. N. Lewis, came to this state in 1849. He was unsuccessful in mining, and began packing goods to the northern mines. In 1855 he formed a partnership with Richard Irwin, and purchased the mercan- tile establishment of Clark, Wagner, & Co., on Rich bar, east branch of Feather. While in business here, one of his former schoolmates came from Nevada, took sick, and died. Blakemore was very much attached to his friend, and after the burial, took a mule and went eight miles up the river, where he quarried out several slabs of slate. These he packed back, and with chisels made by the village blacksmith of the period, he worked out a tombstone to mark the last resting- place of the deceased. Three weeks were consumed in this part of the work. The' slabs were carefully bolted together with iron bolts, and on the face was inscribed, " Edward Davis, of Jeffer- son Co., Va." Around the grave Blakemore constructed a stone wall and wooden palings, before the last offices prompted by friendship were complete. Some years later a stone-cutter came along that way, and remarked to his friends, " Boys, the man is a master of his art." Blakemore went back to Virginia in 1865. Upon his departure, he gave all his business interests to his partner, instead of selling out. In 1866 he was in New Orleans in business, when he took the yellow fever and died.

SPANISH RANCH AND MEADOW VALLEY.

Taking rank as one of the oldest and most important settlements in Plumas county, we find on the stage road from Oroville to Quincy the place known as Spanish Ranch. In July, 1850, the first camp was established in this part of Meadow valley by two Mexicans. Here they turned out to graze the horses and mules belonging to those miners who had packed their blankets, cooking utensils, and provisions on to the east branch; and having no further use for the animals at the time, the miners had intrusted them to the keeping of these Mexicans. The herders were also engaged in butchering cattle at the place, packing the meat to the miners on the river, who bought this necessity from them at the somewhat fabulous price of a dollar a pound. From its Spanish inhabitants the place derived the title of Spanish Ranch, the same element appearing in the name of the neighboring peak and creek also.

In the spring of 1851 the first cabin, of logs, was built for the purpose of storing goods, the convenience of the location making it a trading point of considerable importance. In the early spring of 1852 D. J. Gloyd and one Snodgrass erected a house upon the present site of the Spanish Ranch hotel, and kept an establishment for the entertaining of man and beast. They were also engaged in ranching stock. But little security could be obtained in those days for loose animals turned out on these mountain ranches, and many a miner who in the spring had left a fine mule upon the ranch would return in the fall to find it missing. The country was overrun with Mexi- cans, many of whom would frequently engage in their favorite occupation of stealing stock, driving the plunder to the stock market of Marysville or of Sacramento, where it was sold. Spanish Ranch soon became a distributing point for surrounding camps, and at one time could boast of three hotels, and an equal number of saloons. Later in the year 1852 the business dwindled to one hotel and a store, owned by Raney, Gloyd, & Snodgrass. Raney, who had been here since the early

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part of 1851, sold out to Mr. Wells in the winter of 1852, who, with his wife, kept the hotel. In the spring of 1853 I. J. Harvey purchased the entire place, and made additions and improvements to the property. In the spring of 1854 he sold to O. Fuller of Marysville, but repurchased the ranch in the fall. In 1855 W. W. Storey became a half-owner with Harvey, and a year after the · latter disposed of his interest to Judge Goodwin, and then began a banking business on his own account. In 1857 G. W. Miner of Boston bought the store, and kept it about a year, when the entire business reverted back to Harvey & Son, who, after their failure in business, were succeeded by Richard Thompson and Henry W. Kellogg, the present popular and enterprising proprietors of Spanish Ranch.

A post-office was established here in the year 1858, with I. J. Harvey as postmaster. He was succeeded in 1862 by R. Thompson. In 1868 Wells, Fargo, & Co. made Spanish Ranch an express office, with Thompson & Kellogg as agents. Large business transactions have been carried on by this office since its establishment. The shipments of coin and bullion for the year 1881 amounted to $114,076.65. The first school was taught at the toll-gate by A. Robinson, who built the house and kept a private school. Miss Slaven was the first teacher of the public school in the Spanish . Peak school district. Here were the office and headquarters of the Plumas and Spanish Ranch Ditch Company, composed of Joseph Winston, Dick Jacks, William Jacks, Morris Smith, and several others. Thompson & Kellogg do an individual business running from $65,000 to $100,000 per annum, all under the supervision of their head clerk and accountant, Norman K. Wright.

Two miles across the valley from Spanish Ranch is the Meadow. Valley hotel, kept by Thomas Hughes, who is also postmaster and keeps a store. There are also a blacksmith shop, shoe-maker's shop, saw-mill, and a number of residences, forming quite a village. This has been for years one of the regular stopping-places for the stage and express lines, and a rival to Spanish Ranch. This was the property of Clark, Shannon, & Co. when they failed, in 1861.

RICHARD THOMPSON .- This gentleman is a son of Isaac and Catherine (Sephton) Thompson, who were of English birth, and emigrated to Canada, where they were married in the city of Quebec. Here the subject of our sketch, Richard, was born on the twenty-seventh of November, 1824. He was the oldest of a family of five brothers and two sisters, all of whom were born in Canada. When a boy, Richard learned the blacksmithing trade, and for a short time followed it. The next venture for self-support was as a clerk in a grocery store in Quebec. There he remained until news of the great gold field of California reached Quebec. He then started, via Cape Horn, to San Francisco, where he arrived in September, 1850. He worked at his trade until February, 1851, when he started to Rich bar, and mined until the fall of 1852, when he came to Spanish Ranch and opened a shop, which he carried on till 1856. Then Mr. Kellogg joined him, and they opened a hardware store, continuing the business till 1861, when they purchased the Spanish Ranch, and opened a general merchandise store; and in 1882 we find them sole proprietors of Spanish Ranch, doing a farming, mining, mercantile, and banking business, together with blacksmithing and hotel- keeping. Mr. Thompson was married January 20, 1860, to Miss Sarah J. Russell, by whom he has had two sons : Charles Russell, born at Spanish Ranch August 23, 1863; and William Hundley, born December 27, 1865. Mrs. Thompson died November 19, 1872, and is interred in the Meadow valley burying-ground. Mr. Thompson was married again to Miss Alicia S. Keough of Meganti county, Canada, on the twenty fourth of August, 1874. He joined the order of Odd Fellows in Canada, and at present is a member of the Quincy lodge.

HENRY WATERS KELLOGG .- The subject of this sketch is now one of the enterprising firm of Thompson & Kellogg, at Spanish Ranch. He is the second son of a family of seven children of

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Otis and Mary Kellogg of Colchester, New London county, Connecticut. The names of the family in the order they were born are Abner, Henry W., Lydia, Caroline, John, Mary, and Charles. The last was killed in the first battle of Bull Run. Henry W. was born December 5, 1822, in Colchester, Connecticut. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm. When sixteen years old he went to Cazenova, New York, and learned the blacksmithing trade, and later that of a . molder. It was in this work that he was accidentally burned with molten metal. He sailed from New York for San Francisco in 1849, and arrived on the sixteenth of January, 1850. He was in Sacramento during the great flood, and repaired at once to Bidwell's bar, where he remained until February 1, 1851, when, in company with Millard H. Presby and George W. Chase, he went to Rich bar. This was the starvation winter in California, and Mr. Kellogg says he paid three dollars per pound for flour, and carried it on his back from Spanish Ranch. In 1852 he went to Santa Clara valley, and opened a blacksmith shop near Redwood city. In 1854 he returned to the mines at Fales' hill, where he worked with John Percy. In 1856 he removed to Spanish Ranch, and went into business with Richard Thompson, his present partner. May 16, 1864, Mr. Kellogg was united in marriage to Mary E. Carlisle, on Silver creek. By this union there were four children, two of whom are living, and attending school in the east. He was married a second time to Eleanor E. Keough, on the sixth of September, 1881. Mr. Kellogg is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Quincy.

NORMAN K. WRIGHT .- The only son of Sylvester and Cynthia B. (King) Wright was Norman K., and he was born in the county of Leeds, Canada, August 21, 1828. In 1843 he removed to Monroe county, New York, where he grew to manhood. His father died when he was three years old. After about six years of widowhood, his mother was again married to David N. Glazier. Most of young Norman's boyhood days were spent in clerking for his step-father. On the twentieth of March, 1852, he embarked on a vessel from New York for San Francisco, via Panama, where he was delayed seriously, awaiting the coming of the Monumental City, on which he completed his journey to San Francisco, arriving June 17 of same year. The time until October was spent at Sacramento in sickness; but later in the fall he went to Auburn and engaged in mining and hotel-keeping. In April, 1853, he went to the north fork of Feather river. Here he remained until the spring of 1855, when he settled at Eagle gulch. After a short time spent in mining and sawing lumber, he, in company with Andrew Robinson, on the seventeenth of June, opened the second store kept in the place, the first one having been opened by J. W. Hardwick. They continued in business until 1861, when the camp, failing to be a profitable place, was abandoned. On the twenty-first of September, 1863, he came at the request of Mr. Thompson, of the firm of Thompson & Kellogg, to take charge of their business for a few days, during their absence buying goods; and so efficient has he been in the discharge of duty that we find him there yet, in 1882. He was married, January 14, 1874, to Mrs. Carrie De Nayer, a native of Alsace, France.

THOMAS HUGHES .- Mr. Hughes is the son of Richard and Mary (Jones) Hughes, and was born in Wales, May 13, 1830. In his boyhood he followed gardening, and at the age of seven- teen emigrated to the United States and settled at East Dennis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. There he lived until 1854, when he came to San Francisco, and engaged in gardening in what is now the heart of the city. In 1855 he was mining on Rush creek. In 1857 he mined at Soda bar, on the east branch, and also opened a store and public house, which he kept until 1868. In the autumn of 1869 he purchased from M. D. Smith the Meadow valley hotel and ranch of 320 acres, on which he now resides. Mr. Hughes is now in the dairying business, has thirty cows, and makes

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3,000 pounds of butter annually. He is the postmaster at Meadow valley. Mr. Hughes was married April 24, 1854, to Elizabeth Pary, by whom he had two children; viz., Brainard B., born November, 18, 1857; Mary L., born August 18, 1859, at Soda bar, now the wife of E. E. Philps of Meadow valley, and the mother of one child, Verbenia, born March 6, 1881. Mr. Hughes is a member of Quincy Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F. He comes of a long-lived family, and will doubtless live to a good old age.

ALANSON A. HALLSTED .- Son of Joseph and Betsy Hallsted. This gentleman was born in Ohio, March 8, 1836. In 1855 he journeyed to California, via the Isthmus. He mined at 12-mile bar, Rich gulch, and Kingsbury's ferry until the spring of 1875, when he moved to Meadow valley and erected the residence and saloon he now owns. He was married February 14, 1865, to Miss Mary Damm, by whom he has had five children : Henry E., born January 14, 1866; Fannie, August 7, 1869 ; May Elizabeth, November 9, 1872; Louisa J., May 3, 1874 ; Asa D., March 13, 1877. He is a member of the United Workmen lodge at Quincy.

RICHARD JACKS .- In Howard county, Missouri, September 22, 1830, the subject of this sketch was born. In April, 1850, he started with a company for California, and having lost their cattle in the Missouri river, they hired a man to haul their provisions, and footed it across the continent, arriving at Placerville September 5. After mining a few months in various localities, he came to Poorman's creek, in this county, in April, 1851, mined there a short time, and spent the summer on Canyon creek. For three years he mined in different places, and in July, 1854, settled at Quincy. During the same year he erected a saw-mill in Meadow valley. In 1863 he prospected on Reese river, but was glad to return ; and in 1864 bought the property he has resided on since. In 1869 he went to Kansas to settle his father's estate, and while there was married to Florence Freemont Bell, January 11, 1871, by whom he has had four sons and two daughters, as follows : Doniphan R., Mary E., Solon J., Elias T., Florence J., and Andrew R. Mr. Jacks is a member of Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., and of Quincy Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F.

BUCK'S RANCH AND VALLEY.

Eight miles from Meadow valley, on the road to Oroville, lies the well-known landmark, Buck's Ranch. It is owned by William Wagner, one of the county supervisors, and Mrs. Julia Haley, and consists of a hotel and store in which is a post-office, large barns and farm buildings, and 1,200 acres of fine meadow, hay, and grain land. In the autumn of 1850 Horace Bucklin and Francis Walker, both from New York, located the valley. The honor of naming the place was accorded to Horace Bucklin, and as he was usually spoken of as Buck, he called it Buck's Ranch. In March, 1851, Colonel Healy became interested in the ranch, and the same year bought the whole property. In the fall of 1852 he disposed of a half-interest to Captain R. H. Fairchilds, and together they began the erection of a house. Then a man by the name of Philpot purchased Colonel Healy's interest, and the house was completed as it now stands, except a small addition made at a later date. In 1854 Captain Fairchilds became sole proprietor, and managed the place until 1859, when he sold it to Clark, Shannon, & Co. William Wagner came to the ranch June 18, 1860, as a hired man, and worked, in company with Mrs. Julia Haley, until 1863, when they purchased the place from the cred- itors of Clark, Shannon, & Co., and have since so managed and made improvements that it has be- come an exceedingly valuable property. The post-office was established in 1861, and Mr. Wagner has been the postmaster from the beginning. - Buck's Ranch has always been an important station on the stage and express route since its first establishment, and is the general supply point for

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miners for a number of miles around. A large stock of goods is kept, and a market supplies fresh meat to all who desire it. Many a man has been storm-staid here for days, and the old expressmen and more recent stage-drivers can tell how often they had just endurance enough to reach its hos- pitable doors before falling exhausted with their efforts to battle with the fierce storms of winter, and lie down in the snow to die. On the casing of a window is inscribed the following: "I have been here six days; raining for the last 72 hours ; the whole valley submerged. Buck Whiting, Jan. 11, '62. Attest, L. G. Dawson, Mch. 5, '72."

Mrs. Julia Haley filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States Feb- ruary 18, 1876, doing so for the purpose of placing herself in a position to acquire title to govern- ment land, such a step being necessary to all persons of foreign birth. Of course no further steps were taken in the way of naturalization. She is a most excellent and kind-hearted old lady, and scores can testify to her many acts of charity and general kindness towards the weary travelers on the road, coming in, as they often do, blinded and with weary and frozen limbs from their strug- gles in the snow. She presides over the household affairs, and the celebrity of her table for good things to eat has gone far and wide. Another familiar face is that of Thomas, the Indian, who has been with them since 1857.

WILLIAM WAGNER .- The owner of Buck's ranch was born in Fredericktown, Knox county, Ohio, on the twenty-sixth of April, 1828, and was the eighth son of George and Mary Wagner, who reared a family of twelve children. His father served with Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808, and emi- grated to America in 1810. To secure his passage expenses on the ship, he sold his time to a Penn- sylvania Quaker, and worked on Connestoga creek until 1821, when he removed to Ohio. In February, 1852, William left home for California, and in the fall of the same year was at Rich bar, in Plumas county, where he mined a short time, and then was engaged as clerk by Messrs. Clark, Wagner, & Stickney. Shortly after, he went to Devil's Elbow, near Spanish Ranch. This place derived its name from a remark made by Wagner, in which he referred to it as " a devil of an elbow." His associates that winter were James and A. J. Ford, S. M. Folger, J. M. Robinson, E. O. Parker, Lewis Keeler, and a Mr. Fales. In 1860 Mr. Wagner removed to Buck's Ranch, and has since been engaged in merchandising, stock-raising, and mining. He was the first justice of the peace at Buck's Ranch, and served for eight years. He has been a supervisor of the county for six years, and has been chairman of the republican central committee, and of the county conven- tions, for many years. In addition to the Plumas property, they own the Miner's ranch in Butte county, and Mr. Wagner has two valuable properties in Ohio, including the homestead on which he was born. He is a member of Elicott Lodge No. 267, I. O. O. F., at Fredericktown, Ohio, and of Kokosing Encampment at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He is also connected with Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., at Quincy.

J. A. EDMAN .- Among the pioneers of Plumas county, and one of its most persistent and enterprising miners, we may also mention J. A. Edman of Mumford's hill, now the principal owner of the Diadem quartz-mine and placer mines adjoining. Mr. Edman is a native of Sweden, and came to California at an early day, arriving in San Francisco in March, 1851. . After some years spent in mining on the lower Yuba and in Tuolumne county, he went northward, in company with his friend and present partner, A. E. Malmlund, and at first settled at Rush creek during 1853, where he mined for one year. Attracted by the fame of Eagle gulch, he went there during the summer of 1854, and for some time mined near Taylor's gulch. We next find him at work on Spanish creek, where he was quite successful. In October, 1856, Mr. Edman started on a visit to Sweden, where he remained for nearly a year, studying chemistry, metallurgy, and mining, and

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visiting the principal mines of Sweden and Norway. The next year he made a voyage of explora- tion to Honduras, where he examined several of the gold and silver mines on the eastern slope of the mountains. Compelled by ill health and the unsettled state of political affairs to abandon his project of engaging in mining in Honduras, he returned to California, arriving here in April, 1858. The first ripple of the Fraser river excitement was then perceptible; and investing his last dollar in an outfit, Mr. Edman left on the first steamer for the promised land, with as rough a crowd as ever went out of San Francisco. For one year he tried his fortune on the lower Fraser, with moderate success; but preferring the climate of California, he returned again in 1859 to his former haunts, and for some years found profitable employment mining in Cornelison's gulch. In 1864 he purchased the Mumford's hill placer claims, and since then has resided at Mumford's hill, chiefly engaged in the exploration and developments of the Diadem ledge, discovered by himself and Mr. Malmlund in February, 1865. With firm faith in his own judgment, with but little outside aid, and against the unfavorable opinions and comments of other miners, Mr. Edman has steadily, if slowly, developed his mine, until he now finds himself rewarded for his toil by the possession of one of the most valuable mining properties of the state. Since his return to California in 1859, Mr. Edman has been a close observer and student of geology and connected sciences, and has embodied some of his observations in an article for Raymond's " Mineral Resources," giving the geology of the south-western part of Plumas county, while he also has contributed some papers to the Geological Survey of California. From the data in his possession, Mr. Edman intends to publish a more extensive work on the practical geology of the county. Feeling a deep interest in the advancement of popular education, Mr. Edman has served one term as superintendent of schools, and at present is a member of the board of education of his county.

SPANISH PEAK AND MONTE CHRISTO MINE.

Towering above Meadow valley and Buck's valley, and nearly midway between them, stands the bold, rocky mountain known as Spanish peak, of special interest now as being the location of the Monte Christo gravel mine, of which so much is expected in the coming few years. The peak is the abrupt and rocky termination of a high ridge of mountains lying to the west and south of Meadow valley, and derives its name from the same source as Spanish Ranch and Spanish creek. The altitude of the peak is 6,920 feet, and the mouth of the tunnel into the Monte Christo claim 6,288 feet, as given by Mr. Mills.

Running through the mountain is one of those ancient river channels that formed the drainage of this region long before the convulsions of nature changed the face of the hills and the streams that form our present water-courses began to wear through the mountains those deep channels in which we see them running to-day. For ages the channel of gravel, rich with its deposits of gold, has been hidden away in the earth, waiting for the hand of the prospector to uncover it. The mine was first located sixteen years ago, and a tunnel was run into the hill a distance of 600 feet, when the claim was abandoned. In the spring of 1879 the ground was again located by Dr. W. Allstrom, C. Atwood, who died in August, 1880, and A. L. Patterson, of Chicago, and the Monte Christo Gold Mining Company organized. The location consists of four claims-the Spanish Peak, Tip Top, Hard Pan, and Wide Awake-each of which is a mile long. A United States patent has been secured for the first two, embracing 2,500 acres of ground. The company has a tunnel into the Monte Christo a distance of 2,540 feet, and cross-cuts every few feet from rim to rim of the chan- nel, which varies from 500 to 800 feet in width. In the Tip Top claim a prospecting shaft is being

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Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850, Part 36

Author: Fariss & Smith, San Francisco Publication date: 1882 Publisher: San Francisco, Fariss & Smith Number of Pages: 710

Author: Fariss & Smith, San Francisco
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: San Francisco, Fariss & Smith
Number of Pages: 710