Rising From the Lake Part 2

Continued from Part 1


A graveyard had survived more than thirty years under Shasta Lake, robbed when the waters drew back because of drought.

Imagine a boat pulling up, late afternoon or early evening. Several men get out. With a few tools, plenty of sweat and struggle, they pull the black sleek metal from its long embedded sanctuary. Did they think about the people buried there as they stole the boundary marking their final resting place? Or was this simply easy pickings – an opportunity to get cheap fencing? We’ll never know – no one saw them with their plunder.

Other things showed up that year. More than a hundred prehistoric Indian sites were revealed across the dried-up lakebed. Many of these had been along the original rivers and creeks. According to a retired archeologist of the Forest Service, some sites dated back more than 500 years!

Among the many artifacts found by the Forest Service were milling stones, net weights, things that go back as far as 4,000 years. When looting became rampant, many disappeared. The Forest Service later removed the artifacts, establishing collections at both Shasta College and at the Visitor’s Center at Shasta Lake. Many of these can still be seen.

Sad to say, much of our local history has disappeared. Though pictures remain, we forget the rich tapestry of lives and events that happened within the past hundred years.