The name Silverthorn is synonymous with boating and summer getaways (as in the Silverthorn Resort) on Shasta Lake (California). But the name is also a nugget of our county’s history.
The name was originally spelled Silverthorne, as in Dr (J.E.) George. Dr. Silverthorne came to northern California in 1852. Early on, he married a full-blooded Indian who took the name Lucy. She lived to be 105 years old.
A real entrepreneur, one of his very lucrative businesses was mining in Shasta County. Dr. Silverthorne was a major stockholder in a large gold, silver and copper mine, along with Major Pearson B. Reading (one of the two namesakes for the town of Redding, California). He also had a successful vineyard and winery on Silverthorne Mountain (who knew we had wineries then?). But his best-known venture was the Silverthorne Ferry.
The first (and the last) of its kind in the area, the ferry was run by four generations of Silverthornes. With mining so prolific on the Pit River, Dr. Silverthorne quickly saw a need he could fill. His ferry – a large, flat, rectangular barge – ran on a wire cable, carrying men and wagons to the nearby mining town of Copper City. It also ferried sheep and cattle herds across the river, though only in small groups. Fees for these runs, set by the Board of Supervisors, ran as high as four to six dollars, a large sum in those days!
The river was dangerous, especially in winter. Accidents happened regularly, tipping terrified people and horses into the swollen raging river. Silverthorne and his daughter would then have to make daring rescues in the treacherous waters. Still, his ferry was the mainstay for travelers and miners all year round.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Miners and Farmers Feud Part II
Continued from Part 1
Smelters in northern California caused a lot of problems. And this wasn’t just locally. In the early 20th century, courts from Illinois to Tennessee heard similar cases. One of these cases even made it to the Supreme Court. The issue was money and commercial interests versus the environment and quality of living.
After years of suing local mining companies, in 1907 local farmers were able to force the closure of Keswick’s smelter. Then they went after the biggest polluter of all– the Mammoth Smelter.
The farmers took Mammoth Mining Company to court. They didn’t succeed in closing the smelter, but the judgement did force the mining company to modify their equipment. Unfortunately, it ended up being too little, too late.
Noxious fumes, smoke & poisonous toxins killed vegetation and fish from Red Bluff to Mt. Shasta and east all the way to Chico. Even today, the balding of the hills around what’s now Shasta Lake is still evident. After over 100 years, the vegetation has been extremely slow to make a comeback.
Smelters in northern California caused a lot of problems. And this wasn’t just locally. In the early 20th century, courts from Illinois to Tennessee heard similar cases. One of these cases even made it to the Supreme Court. The issue was money and commercial interests versus the environment and quality of living.
After years of suing local mining companies, in 1907 local farmers were able to force the closure of Keswick’s smelter. Then they went after the biggest polluter of all– the Mammoth Smelter.
The farmers took Mammoth Mining Company to court. They didn’t succeed in closing the smelter, but the judgement did force the mining company to modify their equipment. Unfortunately, it ended up being too little, too late.
Noxious fumes, smoke & poisonous toxins killed vegetation and fish from Red Bluff to Mt. Shasta and east all the way to Chico. Even today, the balding of the hills around what’s now Shasta Lake is still evident. After over 100 years, the vegetation has been extremely slow to make a comeback.
Miners and Farmers Feud Part I
Spread Eagle, Early Bird, Afterthought. These are some of the mines honeycombing the hills across Shasta County. A map of these looks like big splotches of gold paint thrown onto a canvas. You can see this map at the Shasta County (CA) Historical Society.
Gold wasn’t the only thing found in our hills. Copper was plentiful too. Unlike placer gold, which was panned, copper had to be mined. And that created big problems.
Our area’s copper wasn’t pure. It had large amounts of zinc in it. Smelting – the heating process separating impurities - contributed to an on-going war between farmers and miners.
There were 5 major smelters in northern California from the late 1880’s to 1920,, including Bully Hill, Balaklala, Afterthought and Mountain Copper. The largest smelter on the West Coast, however, was above Kennet. Owned by the Mammoth Mining Company, it operated for 20 years. During World War I, when copper prices were highest, it employed almost 1000 men.
The war between farmers and the mines was simple and obvious. Every day, farmers and townspeople would wake to huge clouds of thick black smoke wafting down from the mines. The horrible stench of sulphuric acid, a product of the smelters, reeked for miles. Mineral by-products of smelting would run like rivers into nearby creeks, turning the water red, killing the fish. Wildlife grew scarce because of it.
Farmers complained of damage to orchards and crops; townspeople complained of health problems. Mining companies boasted that the smoke was beneficial to the orchards, accusing farmers of poor crop management. “Spin” (the art of taking something negative and telling people it’s beneficial) sure has been around a long time!
Gold wasn’t the only thing found in our hills. Copper was plentiful too. Unlike placer gold, which was panned, copper had to be mined. And that created big problems.
Our area’s copper wasn’t pure. It had large amounts of zinc in it. Smelting – the heating process separating impurities - contributed to an on-going war between farmers and miners.
There were 5 major smelters in northern California from the late 1880’s to 1920,, including Bully Hill, Balaklala, Afterthought and Mountain Copper. The largest smelter on the West Coast, however, was above Kennet. Owned by the Mammoth Mining Company, it operated for 20 years. During World War I, when copper prices were highest, it employed almost 1000 men.
The war between farmers and the mines was simple and obvious. Every day, farmers and townspeople would wake to huge clouds of thick black smoke wafting down from the mines. The horrible stench of sulphuric acid, a product of the smelters, reeked for miles. Mineral by-products of smelting would run like rivers into nearby creeks, turning the water red, killing the fish. Wildlife grew scarce because of it.
Farmers complained of damage to orchards and crops; townspeople complained of health problems. Mining companies boasted that the smoke was beneficial to the orchards, accusing farmers of poor crop management. “Spin” (the art of taking something negative and telling people it’s beneficial) sure has been around a long time!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Mrs. Brown and Red Bluff Part 4
Continued from Part 3
After leaving upstate New York with some of her 13 children, Mary Brown settled in Red Bluff in 1864. Faced with resentful transplanted Southerners and vicious attacks by one of three local newspapers, Mrs. Brown and her family managed to thrive. Helped by a generous fund raising campaign that snowballed across the northstate, she secured a home for herself and her children. Soon after settling in, though, trouble appeared.
On Valentine’s Day, 1866, barely a month after the Browns moved in, Mrs. Amanda Hoag filed a lawsuit, claiming the property where the house stood had been given to her as a gift. And who was her attorney? None other than her brother,
J. Granville Doll the real estate baron-turned-lawyer.
Now the plot thickens. When the judge began considering the lawsuit, he uncovered a question as to the ownership of the land where Red Bluff was standing! It all came back to 1850, when California became a state without the requisite land survey to determine boundaries. So, even though the townspeople had incorporated, they still could lose everything they thought they owned!
The judge in the case, Judge Warren Earl, then took an unusual step. To protect the town and land from any other claims, he bought the entire 297.38 acres of Red Bluff in the court’s name. The land was to be held in trust by the court until the legitimacy of the town’s existence was resolved.
Now Judge Earl was also the judge in the Mary Brown–Amanda Hoag lawsuit. As he now owned all the actual land in question, he then resolved the suit in Mrs. Brown’s favor!
But that’s not the end of the story. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior issued a ruling confirming Red Bluff’s legitimacy. Even the state legislature got into the act. More than two years after the original lawsuit against Mrs. Brown began, the California Legislature passed an act on March 6, 1868 authorizing the county judge, Judge Charles Brainard, to begin distributing titles to people that had already filed claims or were living on property in and around Red Bluff.
Mrs. Brown finally received the title to her house she’d moved into more than two years before, on July 6, 1868.
As a side note, the land bought by Judge Earl remained in the county court’s hands for years. Even today there are disputes as to where exact boundaries lay – be they alleyways, right-of-ways, etc. All this goes back to poor widow Brown.
Bowing to continued ill-will and threats, after only six years Mrs. Brown and her children moved on. But the small one-story house still stands. It’s almost been torn down twice, due to disrepair. It’s been occupied almost continuously since Mrs. Brown lived there. But the house has been moved south - one block west on Main, just south of Willow. It’s still on one of the original 4 lots, and rooms have been added on.
There’s still no plaque there to tell that the house holds a pivotal place in Red Bluff’s history. For if not for Mrs. Brown, the town just might not be here today!
After leaving upstate New York with some of her 13 children, Mary Brown settled in Red Bluff in 1864. Faced with resentful transplanted Southerners and vicious attacks by one of three local newspapers, Mrs. Brown and her family managed to thrive. Helped by a generous fund raising campaign that snowballed across the northstate, she secured a home for herself and her children. Soon after settling in, though, trouble appeared.
On Valentine’s Day, 1866, barely a month after the Browns moved in, Mrs. Amanda Hoag filed a lawsuit, claiming the property where the house stood had been given to her as a gift. And who was her attorney? None other than her brother,
J. Granville Doll the real estate baron-turned-lawyer.
Now the plot thickens. When the judge began considering the lawsuit, he uncovered a question as to the ownership of the land where Red Bluff was standing! It all came back to 1850, when California became a state without the requisite land survey to determine boundaries. So, even though the townspeople had incorporated, they still could lose everything they thought they owned!
The judge in the case, Judge Warren Earl, then took an unusual step. To protect the town and land from any other claims, he bought the entire 297.38 acres of Red Bluff in the court’s name. The land was to be held in trust by the court until the legitimacy of the town’s existence was resolved.
Now Judge Earl was also the judge in the Mary Brown–Amanda Hoag lawsuit. As he now owned all the actual land in question, he then resolved the suit in Mrs. Brown’s favor!
But that’s not the end of the story. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior issued a ruling confirming Red Bluff’s legitimacy. Even the state legislature got into the act. More than two years after the original lawsuit against Mrs. Brown began, the California Legislature passed an act on March 6, 1868 authorizing the county judge, Judge Charles Brainard, to begin distributing titles to people that had already filed claims or were living on property in and around Red Bluff.
Mrs. Brown finally received the title to her house she’d moved into more than two years before, on July 6, 1868.
As a side note, the land bought by Judge Earl remained in the county court’s hands for years. Even today there are disputes as to where exact boundaries lay – be they alleyways, right-of-ways, etc. All this goes back to poor widow Brown.
Bowing to continued ill-will and threats, after only six years Mrs. Brown and her children moved on. But the small one-story house still stands. It’s almost been torn down twice, due to disrepair. It’s been occupied almost continuously since Mrs. Brown lived there. But the house has been moved south - one block west on Main, just south of Willow. It’s still on one of the original 4 lots, and rooms have been added on.
There’s still no plaque there to tell that the house holds a pivotal place in Red Bluff’s history. For if not for Mrs. Brown, the town just might not be here today!
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