James Parley Eaton (1859-1916); Proprietor and Pharmacist of Eaton’s Emporium Drugstore in Redding.

James Parley Eaton was born in Boone County, Illinois, in 1859 to James Samuel Eaton and Sarah (Tisdale) Eaton. The entire Eaton clan uprooted their family to Shasta County, California, and they settled here in 1861. James Parley Eaton became well-educated in life and started teaching school in Shasta County, but his passion for medicine grew stronger and he became an apothecary and druggist. His business ventures made him very successful in life. In 1903 he established Eaton's Emporium Drug Store in Redding which he controlled for thirteen years before his death in 1916 and he bequeathed this pharmacy to his children who operated it for another fifty-six years until it was closed in the late 1960s, Until the building was demolished to make way for a new shopping mall in Redding in 1972. Find out more in the video above. [Note: this family has no blood relation to the family of the Shasta County Superior Court Judge, Richard B. Eaton.]

Resources:

1860 U.S. Census

James Parley Eaton in the California, U.S. Voter Registers 1866-1898

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S. Census

The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 3, 1883

Our Merchants - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 8, 1883

Death of William L. Eaton - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 1, 1885

The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 15, 1885

1900 U.S. Census

James Parley Eaton in the California, U.S., Voter

Registrations, 1900-1868

1910 U.S. Census

A Shasta Pioneer Dies In Oakland - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 2, 1908

Died - The Oakland Tribune newspaper of Oakland, December 2, 1908

Pioneer Eaton Laid To Rest - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 3. 1908

James P. Eaton Is In Hospital- The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 23, 1916

Pioneer Druggist Dies At Early Morning Hour - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 14, 1916

Will of J.P. Eaton Is Filed For Probate - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, April 16, 1916

First Telephone Operator Sends Congratulations - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 13, 1927

Eaton’s Enlarge Their Drug Store - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 29, 1929

James Parley Eaton in the California Death Index, 1905-1936

Redding Cemetery Records, Section NW, block W, plot 1

James Parley Eaton in the U.S. Finda A Grave Index, 1600s-current. 

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949.

Shasta County, California Marriages, 1852-1904

Images of America: Redding by Shasta Historical Society with Al M. Rocca ©2004. Published by Arcadia Publishing. ISBN: 0-7385-2934-6

EP-002 Eaton, James Samuel, Pioneer Plaque File available at the Shasta Historical Society.

Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record: James Samuel Eaton, dated April 23, 1943

Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record: Mary Winifred Eaton, dated April 23, 1943

George W. Smith (1858-1891)

George W. Smith (1858-1891). The above photograph was taken in September of 1877, possibly at Redding, California, at the age of 19-years-old. The photographer is unknown. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

This short blog chronicles the life of George W. Smith who was born in 1858 in California, his father, Gottlieb George Kaylor Smith, was 46 and his mother, Elizabeth Jane (Lamberson) Smith, was 25 at the time of his birth. He had three brothers and six sisters during his parents' union. George W. Smith was raised at Horsetown, a son of a local farmer in Shasta County, and he attended school in the area as shown in the 1870 U.S. Census. He later became a mill worker at the Eagle Creek sawmill near Eagle Creek, (now Ono). Smith was accused of poisoning the livestock of a local rancher named George Fenwick whose ranch was on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek. 

On May 23, 1891, George W. Smith was caught by Fenwick trespassing on his property, and Fenwick charged at Smith in which a fatal quarrel took place with Fenwick shooting and instantly killing Smith on his land with a loaded gun. Smith died on May 23, 1891, at the Fenwick Ranch on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek at the age of 33. The local sheriff was called to the scene and a coroner's inquest report was held by the local coroner the shooting was documented as suspicious and the sheriff took Fenwick into custody it was later determined that there was not enough evidence to hold George Fenwick for murder. Fenwick was discharged from custody and released from the Shasta County Jail in early June of 1891. George W. Smith (1858-1891) was my maternal great-great-great granduncle. He is supposedly buried on Rainbow Lake Road on land that is now private property. He is one of two burials at this small cemetery on Rainbow Lake Road the other burial is that of his younger brother Issac Jonas Smith (1870-1876) who died young.

Sources:

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S Census

The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 30, 1891

The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 6, 1891

THE NICHOL'S BOARDING HOUSE AT BALL'S FERRY, CIRCA 1880.

Above: a partially faded photograph of the Nichol's boarding house a two-story clapboard style farmhouse structure at Ball's Ferry, circa 1880, with the family and boarders of Stacy Mahlon Nichols standing in front of the building. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle. 

Stacy Mahlon Nichols was a native of Loudoun County, Virginia who was born to Isaac Gibson Nichols and Louisa (White) Nichols on July 25, 1856. By 1860, his family settled at Mount Gilead, Virginia, where his father was a farmer and he attended school in that area. Later, they relocated to Springfield, New Hampshire County, West Virginia, where Stacy is documented at the age of thirteen-years-old but is recorded on the 1870 U.S. Census as "Tacy" which is incorrect. He became a well-educated person. 

On May 27, 1879, Stacy registered to vote at the age of twenty-two-years-old recording his place of residence as Shingletown where he was farming. Then on, June 4, 1879, Stacy Mahlon Nichols married Amanda Ellen Hammans, my paternal great-great grand aunt, and a daughter of Shasta County pioneers, Henry Hammans Sr., and Hannah (Moss) Hammans. They were joined together in holy matrimony at Darrah's Mill, by Justice of the Peace, J.S. Darrah, in eastern Shasta County, near Shingletown. To this union, Amanda bore Stacy five children consisting of:

1.) Mary Letetia Nichols (May 1, 1880 - August 19, 1881) [She is buried at Shingletown in the historic Ogburn-Inwood Cemetery. Her first name is mistakenly etched on her headstone as May]

2.) Grace Estelle Nichols (April 29, 1882 - July 29, 1972) married first: George Henry Bacon and married second: Isaac Benjamin Ury

3.) Bertha Irilla Nichols (November 15, 1884 - February 27, 1918) married William H. Martel

4.) Mabel Inez Nichols (July 3, 1886 - December 28, 1982) married first: James Garfield Jessie Durst and married second: Oscar Louis Zeis 

5.) Lola Gertrude Nichols (January 23, 1888 - May 7, 1937) married Elbert Cox Harrell

According to the 1880 U.S. Census, Stacy Mahlon Nichols is living in the 92nd Enumeration District, more notably situated at Ball's Ferry. His occupation was noted as a farmer. His household consisted of his wife, Amanda Ellen (Hammans) Nichols, their daughter Mary L. Nichols, and his sister-in-law, Nancy Jane Hammans. Around this time period Stacy pursued additional career opportunities and began running a boarding house out of the above building. In 1886, he registered to vote while living in the Ball's Ferry area, and after that he relocated his family to Ludwig's Bridge on Cottonwood Creek where they remained while Stacy and Amanda operated the boarding house together at Ball's Ferry.

Nichols also purchased the Ball's Ferry flouring mill (a mill which was erected by Alexander Love and formerly owned by Jonathon Carver.) Stacy Mahlon Nichols relocated this flour mill from Ball's Ferry to another milling site which was formerly owned by his father and situated on Ludwig’s Bridge at Cottonwood Creek and Nichols combined the two mills together. Nichols sold out to Andrew Leslie about 1889, and this mill site became known as Leslie’s Flour Mill. Later, it was owned by Luke Lukes and his brother Jason Lukes. The mill was sold about 1912 to Ed Carter, M.T. Howell and Otto Trautz and they relocated the flour mill to Cottonwood as the Cottonwood Milling Company.

Stacy Mahlon Nichols relocated his family south to Oakland, Alameda County, California, where his wife Amanda Ellen (Nichols) Hammans died on October 3, 1897. She is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery at Oakland. Stacy survived his wife and is recorded as living at Alameda, in Oakland, California, in 1898 and according to the 1900 U.S. Census. His occupation at that time is listed as a railroad inspector. A search for Nichols in the 1910 U.S. Census oddly failed to accumulate any results, but a 1911 City of Oakland Directory book lists him as living in Oakland and working as a watchman. 

The Shasta County pioneer Stacy Mahlon Nichols died on September 20, 1916, in San Francisco, California, at the age of sixty-years-old. He was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery at Oakland next to his beloved wife, Amanda. 

Above: back row, L-R: my paternal great-great grand aunt Amanda Ellen (Hammans) Nichols and her husband Stacy Mahlon Nichols. Front row L-R: Mabel, Grace and Bertha. Circa 1886.  From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

Resources:

1860 U.S. Census

1870 U.S. Census

1879 California Voters Registration 

Married - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, June 12, 1879

1880 U.S. Census

1898 California Voters Registration 

1900 U.S. Census

1907 City of Oakland Directory

1911 City of Oakland Directory

1912 City of Oakland Directory

1913 City of Oakland Directory

1914 City of Oakland Directory

1915 City of Oakland Directory

Stacy M. Nichols in the California, Death Index, 1905-1939

Stacy M. Nichols in the San Francisco Area, California, Funeral Home Records, 1850-1931

Stacy M. Nichols in the California, Wills and Probate Records 1850-1953

Redding's Chevrolet Automobile Dealership: Thatcher & Lowden.

Above: this circa 1950s photograph was taken by Broderick Haskell, of Redding, which shows the exterior of the second Thatcher and Lowden building located at 1724 California Street. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Shasta County natives Howard Vilas Thatcher (1900-1968) and his business partner Edward Harold Lowden (1900-1979) was deeply rooted in Shasta County, California, descending from pioneer stock in the region. Thatcher and Lowden were schoolmates of each other until they graduated from Shasta Union High School together in 1918. They had a lifelong friendship together. Eventually, they acquired this car dealership on a transfer from D.D. Desmond and son, early on, in 1929 and during February of 1929, they celebrated the grand opening of their brand-new Chevrolet automobile dealership, parts service, and store which featured Firestone tires and accessories. A business which they called Thatcher & Lowden it was located at 711 Market Street in Redding. 

By 1931 the address of this location was modernized to 1734 Market Street. This lot had two buildings on this property which they utilized, and eventually, they outgrew that location and relocated their business in 1939 to 1724 California Street, at the corner of California and Placer Streets as seen in the above photograph. According to the July 7, 1939, Redding Record Searchlight newspaper, it reported that "they purchased the lot across the street from their sales room and offices on California Street and began the construction of their new station which will be opened Saturday morning. On the west end of the lot is a brick and steel building 50x220. The north portion of the structure will be used for new car storage. Directly in front of it is a used car lot 120 feet wide." [SIC]

In 1941, Thatcher and Lowden employed my paternal grandfather, Myles Kidder Tuggle (1920-2007) as a mechanic and Tuggle began working for the above company at that time. During the year 1961, Lowden sold his interest of their business to Thatcher. Thatcher promoted his son Mark Thatcher (1928-1972) as a co-owner of the company, and he changed the name to Thatcher & Son. Mark previously had eleven years of employment with his father's company, and he held a manager's position within the company as well. Later on, the elder Thatcher retired and sold the business in May of 1964 to John W. Geer of San Francisco. Thatcher’s automotive dealership served the City of Reddling for thirty-five years and is still well-remembered by longtime residents. Afterwords, it was Lowden who became associated in the Lowden medical building, which was located at 2020 Court Street in Redding, which was named for him as well.

Above:  an interior view of Thatcher and Lowden's store at 1724 California Street. Note the Firestone merchandise and advertising. Date unknown. Photographer: Broderick Haskell. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Resources: 

1910 U.S. Census 

1918 The Shasta Daisy Shasta Union High School Yearbook

Shasta High School Has Many Graduates - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 10, 1918

1920 U.S. Census 

Chevrolet Agency Is Taken Over by Thatcher & Lowden - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, February 6, 1929

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, February 6, 1929

The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 18, 1929

1930 U.S. Census 

1931 City of Redding Directory 

1938 City of Redding Directory 

Thatcher & Lowden Open Finest OneStop Service Station in the North - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 7, 1939

1940 U.S. Census 

U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Myles Kidder Tuggle, dated: July 1, 1941.

1950 U.S. Census

Lowden To Manage Properties - The Redding Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 5, 1961

Howard Thatcher To Retire - Sells Auto Firm to SF Man - The Redding Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, May 2, 1964

Howard Vilas Thatcher Obituary - The Redding Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 26, 1968

1961 City Of Redding Directory

A Snapshot of Piety Hill

Above: the town of Piety Hill, date unknown. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

Piety Hill is a fine example of a present-day ghost town, which was located in western Shasta County, California. This town was located about a quarter mile east of the present-day town of Igo, on what is now Cloverdale Road, and northward for 0.7 miles, however, the majority of these historic relics from this community is situated on private property which most of them are viewable by-passing motorists from the roadside. Piety Hill was established in 1849 as a gold mining camp and it eventually boasted of 1,500 residents including 600 Chinese settlers nearby due to the local mining claims in the area producing gold. The Chinese mined and worked their vegetable gardens here, there was no China town at Piety Hill.

In 1853, the lucrative Hardscrabble mine began its production of lucrative minerals by the Dry Creek Tunnel and Fluming Company, which began the construction of a water ditch by Chinese labor that is seen in this YouTube video here. It became a 22-mile-long water ditch which diverted water from the North Fork of Cottonwood Creek, Eagle Creek, Andrews Creek and the South Fork of Clear Creek. Then in 1857, gold pans yielded miners working their mining claims at Piety Hill from $60 to $190 per pan. At that time, the community was home to a few families in the area with children when they organized a school at that place and erected a schoolhouse. It was a booming up-and-coming place to live. In 1858, a man named Eugene Crowell kept a general merchandise store at Piety Hill which was a very successful business venture for him due to the production of gold from the local mining claims.

There are two stories of how Piety Hill received its name. Both are quite interesting and easy to believe. One account is that a family named McKinney moved into the area, having come from Piety Hill, Michigan, and the family members named their new home after their former hometown. Another explanation suggested by some historians is that this mining camp was occupied by religious groups which chose to name the community Piety Hill. Piety Hill does appear on the first official map of Shasta County which was surveyed by Colonel William Magee in February of 1862.

The present-day town of Igo began as the relocated community of Piety Hill. Residents moved in 1866, probably to segregate themselves from Chinese miners who were settling in Piety Hill, but also because people learned there was an ancient river channel under the community, making it reliable for well digging. George McPherson was the superintendent of the lucrative Hardscrabble mine as well. It was their hydraulic mining methods which also played a part in declining Piety Hill's growth while the nearby town of Igo burgeoned with success. 

In 1867, my paternal great-great-great grandfather the Reverend William Samuel Kidder, a pioneer Baptist minister, school teacher, farmer and miner, among other things, was recorded as living at Piety Hill, that year, after relocating his wife and children from French Gulch. His registration is found in the California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898. His occupation at that time was a post master but Piety Hill lacked a United States Post Office to send and receive mail which this notation meant that Kidder was employed as post master for the French Gulch United States Post Office. My ancestors eventually relocated from Piety Hill to Eagle Creek (now Ono) at a later date.

By 1868, it was generally thought that the local mines in the area of Piety Hill were worked-out but that wasn't the case. McPherson and his men at the Hardscrabble mine cleaned up from its tailings or dump pile several thousand dollars from gold which was the largest assessment of gold ever produced at that location. That year also witnessed the erection of a brand-new sawmill in the area by Petty & Company, yet this lumber mill was a short-lived business venture.

A year later, Shasta County resident Charles McDonald, a well-known stage proprietor operated an express called McDonald's Express which took passengers from Shasta amongst the following western Shasta County communities: Middletown, Centerville, Piety Hill, Horsetown, Janesville (now Gas Point), and Roaring River. Roaring River was the farthest southwest which this stage line traveled to at that time. Later on, in 1870, Alamarin W. Baker, a resident of Eagle Creek (now Ono) operated a stage line called Baker's Shasta & Red Bluff Express which took passengers from Shasta to Red Bluff (in Tehama County), while making stops in between at Piety Hill and Horsetown.

Even though Piety Hill appeared to be in a declining state the local schoolhouse in May of 1871, had forty-one students enrolled into their one-room schoolhouse. The teacher at that time was Joanna T. Casey. While locals were still prospecting the area for new prospects other mining claims were still being patented in the region into the 1880s and 1890s, and by the turn of the twentieth century, Piety Hill suffered quite a loss from local mines failing at their production of ore while very few residents remained at Piety Hill.

In 1915, the Hardscrabble mine at Piety Hill was worked by miners mining away in drifts and toiling away in shafts on the property while utilizing hydraulic mining methods as a source to extract the gold from this mine, which was located in Section 27, 34 and 35, Township 31 North, Range 6 West, 1/2 mile south of Igo, and consisting of 1,700-acres, of patented mineral land. The owners were the Happy Valley Land and Water Company of Olinda. A. E. Bowles was the president of this company. This company owned the old Dry Creek Tunnel and Fluming Company's water ditch, which was then known as the Happy Valley water ditch as seen in the above YouTube video.

Remaining points of interest from Piety Hill include a reservoir, the Dry Creek Tunnel and Fluming Company's water ditch, also known as the Happy Valley water ditch, pieces of structures and depressions in the ground which were from the cellars below the Chinese buildings. Look for these historical relics along Cloverdale Road the next time you drive by in your vehicle. You might be amazed at their existence. The death knell of this community which never established a United States Post Office to send and receive mail came in 1920 when the last two residents of Piety Hill died.

Resources:

Condition of Our Public Schools - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 30, 1858

To Miners - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 3, 1858

S. Of T. - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 23, 1858

Mining Improvement - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, May 21, 1861

California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898

Enterprising - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 25, 1868

Letter From Piety Hill - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 6, 1868

School Report - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 20, 1871

Notice of Application for Patent To Mining Claim - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 4, 1873

Big Interest in Shasta Are Sold - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, July 21, 1911

Happy Valley to Be Transferred - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, July 30, 1911

U.S., Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971

REPORT XIV OF THE STATE MINERALOGIST - MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA - CHAPTERS OF STATE MINERALOGIST’S REPORT BIENNIAL PERIOD, 1913-1914. CALIFORNIA STATE MINING BUREAU, CALIFORNIA STATE PRINTING OFFICE, SACRAMENTO.

Mines and Mineral Resources of Shasta County, Siskiyou County, and Trinity County, by G. Chester Brown, ©1915 published by California State Printing Office.

My Playhouse Was a Concord Coach, an anthology of newspaper clippings and documents relating to those who made California history during the years 1822-1888, by Mae Hélène Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949.

Way Back When - Myrtle McNamar, published by C.A.T. Publishing of Redding, California, 1952. 282 pages.

The Story of Western Shasta written by R.S. Ballou, The Covered Wagon, 1964, published annually by the Shasta Historical Society

Place Names of Shasta County by Gertrude A. Steger revision by Helen Hinckley Jones, ©1966 by La Siesta Press, Glendale, California

Mines and Mineral Resources of Shasta County, California – County Report 6 – by Philip A. Lydon and J.C. O’ Brien ©1974 by California Division of Mines and Geology

THE FORMER SITE OF THE REDDING GOLF CLUB, NOW LAWNCREST CEMETERY.

The 9-hole golf course of the Redding Golf is shown here with golfers enjoying this golf course. Now, it’s home of the Lawncrest Cemetery. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Originally, the golf course pictured in the above photograph was designed and developed by W.B. Tucker and L. Hawkins, of Redding, in 1923. It was a 9-hole golf course which was owned and operated by the Redding Golf Club. It was located on the east side of the Sacramento River and laid out on Lawncrest Road in Enterprise. The golf course stayed in business for many years. Then in 1950, a man named George Stetler, founded a new funeral parlor in downtown Redding, which he named Linn and Fulkerth Funeral Home, and the land which this former golf course was situated on transitioned into a cemetery under his ownership, and it became the Lawncrest Cemetery. Its namesake was the road it was located on. Eventually, this road was widened and later renamed Cypress Avenue. This cemetery is still in use today, and generations of my family on both my maternal and paternal side are buried here including my eldest son, Jason Meyer Tuggle (born & died on: July 16, 2009.) 

RESOURCES:

Golf Fans Are Thick On New Course Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 26, 1923

Golf Enthusiasts Organize At Meet Wednesday Night - The Courier-Free Press, March 8, 1923

Invite Redding Golfers To Red Bluff Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 28, 1923

Redding Golf Fans To Play At Red Bluff - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 11, 1923

Redding Golf Club Goes To Corning Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 31, 1923

Redding Golfers Divide Matches - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 5, 1923

Golfers Will Put On Drive For Members; Seek Grounds - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 21, 1923

Golf Schedule Is Announced - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 12, 1923

Golfers Like Fine Weather - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 27, 1923

Local Golfers Victorious At Chico Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 29, 1923

Local Golfers Beat Arbuckle Players Here - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 12, 1923

Golf Tournament Is Postponed - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 5, 1924

Local Golfers Plan Ladder Tournament - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 11, 1924

Cummins Tops Golf Ladder - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 17, 1924

Golfers Change Position On Ladder - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 19, 1924

Golfers Draw Big Gallery - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 21, 1924

Cummins Gives Few Rules To Be Observed On Golf Course - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 23, 1924

33 Match Games Of Golf Over Weekend - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 25, 1924

Klukkert New Top Player On Ladder - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 18, 1924

Redding Plays Biggest Golf Match Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 22, 1924

Cummins Now Tops Golfers - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 23, 1924

Redding Golfers Defeated - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 25, 1924

This Golf Match Ought To Create Healthy Interest - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 26, 1924

Golfers Will Work On New Course Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 15, 1924

Cummins New Golf Leader - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 24, 1924

Golfers Play For Big Store Trophy Sunday Afternoon - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 12, 1924

Ritchie Wins Big Store Golf Trophy Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 1924

New Course To Be Built Soon By Golf Club - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 15, 1924

Red Bluff Golf Players Here On Sunday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 10, 1924

New Directors For Golf And Country Club - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, December 19, 1925

Red Bluff Golf Players Coming Here Tomorrow - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, November 28, 1925

https://riverviewgolf.clubepay.com/history

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/funeral-homes/redding-ca/lawncrest-chapel/2483

THE SITE OF THE FORMER EUREKA SCHOOLHOUSE ON SALT CREEK (1875-1980)

Above: the Eureka Schoolhouse is pictured here with Olive (Meyer) Chatham (1881-1980) standing beside it. She was educated here as a child, and later in life, she was employed here as a teacher. She was a daughter of Shasta County pioneers Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., and Caroline Louise (Notten) Meyer of Cow Creek. This photograph was taken in 1974. This building was demolished in 1980. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

The Eureka School District, of Shasta County, held this school's grand opening on August 3, 1875, which pre-dated the establishment of the town of Bella Vista. The Eureka schoolhouse was a one-room clapboard style structure with a stove. The property included a well on the lot it stood on, and an outhouse. Today, nothing remains of these additions. This building was built primarily for education purposes and community meetings in the Cow Creek region. This area at that location was an agricultural area before it evolved into a busy lumber community known today as Bella Vista. 

This building was located a few hundred feet north of Salt Creek and in between the Meyer and Lemm family ranches. It was the only school within the boundaries of the Eureka School District. By the 1970s, the building was left abandoned, and the structure was not brought up to county code and regulations for it to be salvaged. Then in 1980 this schoolhouse was demolished after it was in existence for 105 years. Today, the lot this schoolhouse formerly occupied remains vacant however the landscape hasn’t changed much over the years.

The following is a partial listing of known schoolteachers at the Eureka Schoolhouse:

1887 - Mary (Meyer) Love 

1891 - Mary (Meyer) Love

1895 - Annie Durkee

1897 - Mary (Meyer) Love

1899 - Alma Sheppard

1906-1907 - Katherine (Smith) Lemm

1908 - Donna Dennis

1911-1912 - Olive (Meyer) Chatham

1912-1913 - Franklin R. Love

1915 - Ethel M. Williams

Above: formerly located on this flat surface of grassy land just off of Blue Sky Road (formerly Aloha Road) outside of Bella Vista, and a few hundred feet north of Salt Creek is the site belonging to former Eureka Schoolhouse. This land is located on private property. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on September 27, 2022.

Resources:

Shasta County School Districts Plan Merger - The Chico Record newspaper of Chico, March 20, 1920

School Districts of Shasta County, 1853-1955

The Meyer Family written by Edna (Chatham) Wallace and Suzanne Kershaw, The Covered Wagon 1974, published by Shasta Historical Society.

The Meyer Family Memories of Olive (Meyer) Chatham written by an unknown author, date unknown. Available at the Shasta Historical Society.

VF 979.424 Bella Vista on file at Shasta Historical Society

Shasta County’s Historical Rural School Eureka School by Ruth Martin and Jane Long PF 371.9 Martin (available at the Shasta Historical Society.)

The Historic Meyer Ranch: Established 1853.

     

Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., (1829-1916). From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

Video filmed on location September 17, 2022. 

Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., was born on April 17, 1829, in Bremen, Germany, the son of John Meyer. He arrived at the town of Shasta in 1851 and mined until 1853 as records indicate, yet he does not appear on the 1852 California State Census. He was also a farmer who raised beans and corn and from his own grapes on his property he made wine as well. Some of which he sold. He had eight sons and six daughters with Caroline Louise Notten between 1861 and 1890. Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., died on December 30, 1916, in Bella Vista, California, having lived a long life of 87 years, and was buried at the Millville Masonic Cemetery in Millville, California. Explore the history of the historic Meyer ranch in this YouTube video I produced. The Meyer Ranch is still in existence today owned by my cousin Betty and her husband Ernie. See video. The children of Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., and Caroline Louise (Notten) Meyer are the following:

1. Anna Meyer (1861–1889) married Alva McBroom Sr.,

2. Mary Fredricka Meyer (1862–1960) married Franklin Reading Love

3. John Meyer (1864–1865)

4. Elizabeth Meyer (1866–1896) married Edgar Wade Howell

5. William Henry Meyer (1868–1932) married Mary Ellen Douease

6. Frederick Valentine Meyer Jr. (1870–1963) married Hattie May Cravens

7. Herman Meyer (1872–1958) married Grace Gertrude Gray

8. Caroline Louise Meyer (1875–1960) married George J. Boyle

9. Adah Julia Meyer (1877–1919) married William Yank

10. Charles Edward Meyer (1879–1962)

11. Olive Meyer (1881–1980) married John William Chatham

12. Albert Meyer (1883–1964) married Ollie M. Thomasen

13. Walter Byron Meyer (1886–1966) married Muriel Catherine Eells

14. Harry Andrew Meyer (1890–1971) married 1st: Eva Bullard, married 2nd: Annie Lucille de Bar Kellog

Caroline Louise (Notten) Meyer (1841-1908), the wife of Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., she was the mother of 14 children. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

RESOURCES:

Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, Shasta County, California, 

U.S., Naturalization Records, 1852-1932 for Frederick Valentine Meyer.

Land Surveys - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, February 6, 1858

Deed Book G., Page 80, John Schrader to Frederick Meyer, dated May 8, 1858

SHASTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - GENEALOGICAL RECORDS 7-59. One card page front and back. INFORMANT: MARY FREDRICKA (MEYER) LOVE (1862-1960).

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

1860 U.S. Census

Leased - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 4, 1869

Fire - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, November 1, 1873

North Cow Creek - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 20, 1878

Shasta Items - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 8, 1879

Born - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, May 29, 1879

1880 U.S. Census

Married - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 3, 1881

Private School - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 14, 1887

Alva McBroom - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 21, 1887

Alva McBroom - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 15, 1889

Mrs. A. McBroom - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 29, 1889

1900 U.S. Census

Fred Meyer Jr. - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 13, 1908

Lived In County For Forty Years - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, August 29, 1908

1910 U.S. Census

Births, Marriages And Deaths - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, January 2, 1917

Pioneer Farmer Passes Beyond - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 2, 1917

Left Eleven Sons And Daughters And 55 Grandchildren - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 3, 1917

MEYER'S ESTATE IS WORTH $6,000 - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 25, 1917

Veteran Teacher Of The County Passes - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, December 29, 1918

McBroom Sr., Is Dead At The Bay - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 3, 1919

Meyer Farm Sold In Court For $6,027.50 - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, November 27, 1920

Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record - Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., dated: June 7, 1943

Frederick Valentine Meyer Sr., Pioneer Plaque file, MP-033 at Shasta Historical Society in Redding, California.

The Meyer Family Memories of Olive (Meyer) Chatham written by an unknown author, date unknown. Available at the Shasta Historical Society.

Meyer Burials, by an unknown compiler, in possession of Cindy L. Nelson and Jeremy Tuggle 

The Notten Family History researched and compiled by Marti Notten.

William Joshua Hammans And The Founding Of Project City

Above: William Joshua Hammans (1876-1937) the founder of Project City wearing his police uniform and badge, next to his vehicle in Redding. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

My paternal great-great grandfather was William Joshua Hammans who was born at Shingletown on May 9, 1876, to Henry Hammans Sr., and Hannah (Moss) Hammans his parents came to Shasta County in 1865, they lived at both Shingletown and at Ludwig’s Bridge west of Cottonwood. He married Charlotte Sarah Kidder on April 23, 1899, at Ono. She was a daughter of Reverend William S. Kidder and Mary Elizabeth (McFarlin) Kidder. Early on, Hammans was a farmer, and a stockman of western Shasta County, who served as a Justice of the Peace of the Ono township from 1908 to 1916. Then he became a police officer in Redding who later served as the 13th City Marshal of Redding, from 1923 to 1926, City Marshals are now known as Police Chiefs. 

Then, William J. Hammans bought land in 1931 near the town of Mountain Gate, and in 1935 William and his son Earl Eugene Hammans erected and operated a restaurant and merchandise store on their property, which they named Midway Associated Service Station and Cafe. In 1937 William and his son Earl started to subdivide the area with the help of W.T. Lanning, a real estate agent. Their subdivision was called the Hammans Tract located on Grand Coulee Boulevard which would also feature commercial frontage as well. People started purchasing from them that year and the area of Midway became a flourishing town later known as Project City. It was Hammans and his son who founded Project City, in Shasta County.

Above: is the Midway Associated Cafe and Service Station, owned and operated by William Joshua Hammans and his son Earl Eugene Hammans. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

William J. Hammans was also an apartment complex owner that owned and operated Hammans' Apartments on Yuba Street, in Redding and, a grocery store in Redding called Hammans' Cash Grocery. Later in life, Hammans was a janitor at local Redding area schools and a prison guard at Folsom State Prison. He died in Chico, Butte County, California, on February 27, 1938, at the age of sixty-two. He is buried in Redding Memorial Park at Redding.

During May of 1938, W.T. Lanning proudly boasted about Project City in an article which appeared in the Searchlight newspaper, of Redding, and stated that his lots would all be located on 50 to 60 foot wide streets. Lanning also told the local media that he would build a lumber yard at Project City to make the demand of lumber sales easier for local residents to assist them in the erection of their future residential and commercial buildings in the area. One of the first commercial buildings erected at Project City was completed by Dr. Donald B. Marchus who was a local physician in the area. This medical facility was the first of its kind here and it remained to be the only medical facility in the Shasta Dam Boomtown region.

At a meeting on April 12, 1939, property owners of the area adjacent to the intersection of Highway 99 and the Kennett road, nine miles north of Redding, voted 38 to 52 that night to call the region "Project City" instead of Hammans which was the other name presented. There was an estimated population of 1,500 persons at that time according to one newspaper article. Over 200 people attended the meeting but only property owners were allowed to vote on the naming of the community. The suggested name of Hammans which would have been named in honor of William J. Hammans lost by four votes. However, a Hammans Voting Precinct was also created for the Project City area as well.

Then on, October 10, 1939, a second class United States Post Office was established at Project City which was located eight miles north of Redding, and one mile east of Central Valley, with the appointment of Howard P. Nelson as the first postmaster for this place. A one room schoolhouse was erected at Project City, that year, by E.J. Phillips. Phillips was then awarded another contract on May 21, 1940, to enlarge the school with a two room addition for a contract of $6,720. Project City saw a large influx of students enroll into the upcoming school year, and the school needed more space to accommodate their students.

Years later on, March 26, 1975, the second class Project City United States Post Office changed to a branch of Central Valley, and still controls the mail for the area today. The Project City branch United States Post Office is located on Cascade Boulevard.

Above: the Project City Market at Project City, near Shasta Dam, California. This photo was taken by J.H. Eastman. Courtesy of David Stuart.

Above: the headstone of William Joshua Hammans (1876-1938) who is buried in the Redding Memorial Park at Redding. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on August 1, 2014.

Above: the headstone of Earl Eugene Hammans (1907-1974), a son of William Joshua Hammans and Charlotte Lottie (Kidder) Hammans. His headstone states: "A Founder of Project City". Also buried next to him is his wife Virginia (Dare) Hammans (1915-1998) in the Ono Cemetery at, Ono, Shasta County, California. This photograph was taken July 4, 2018 by Jeremy Tuggle.

Above: the Project City branch U.S. Post Office still exists today on Cascade Boulevard. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on August 19, 2022.

Resources: 

Brevities - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 7, 1908

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, October 3, 1911

Mrs. Leschinsky Buy Big Farm West of Ono - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 17, 1914

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 23, 1915

The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 10, 1917

The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 16, 1917

W.J. Hammans to Be City Marshal at Opening of Year - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, December 22, 1922

W.E. Smith Is Marshal - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, June 17, 1926

W.J. Hammans for Justice of The Peace - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 17, 1926

W.J. Hammans Called Beyond - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 28, 1938

William J. Hammans Rites Held Wednesday - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 2, 1938

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, May 8, 1938

Project City Selected as Name of Area - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 13, 1939

The Sacramento Bee newspaper of Sacramento, May 21, 1940

Redding Police Department History Project

Oral History of the Hammans Family by Linda (Hammans) Vest by the Honorable Judge Richard B. Eaton

The Hammans Family written by Virginia (Dare) Hammans

The Shasta Dam Boomtown Community Building in the New Deal Era written by Al M. Rocca, 1993, 162 pages. Published by Redding Museum of Art And History Center. ISBN: 1-884055-00-1

The Story of William Joshua Hammans by Jeremy M. Tuggle - The Covered Wagon 2004, pages 91-93, published by Shasta Historical Society. 128 pages. ISSN 0574-3680

ENTREPRENUER: JOHN DURWOOD WEAST & HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SHASTA COUNTY

Above: a young John Durwood Weast. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle

EARLY LIFE

John Durwood Weast was born to Jacob Gordon Weast and Elizabeth (Reasson) Weast on January 1, 1859, at Palmyra, Fluvanna County, Virginia. At the age of one year old in 1860, John was living with his parents at Rochelle, in Madison County, Virginia. His father was a miller by trade. He was the youngest child in their household at that time, and an older sister by the name of Sarah was living with them at the age of three.

In 1870, the Weast family were living in Rapidan, Madison County, Virginia, which recorded John at the age of eleven years old. His parents kept having additional children as well. John became well-educated throughout his adolescence, and at the age of twenty-one years old he was living with his parents and siblings in Palmyra, Fluvanna County, Virginia, in 1880. This is where he was employed as a miller. 

FIRST MARRIAGE

John was first married to Emma John King about 1881, a native of Fluvanna County, Virginia, and the daughter of Pleasant James King and Mary (Thomas) King. To this union the following children were born to John Durwood Weast and Emma John (King) Weast:

1. Mary Myrtle Weast (1882-1909) married Floyd M. Tyler

2 . Ruby Elizabeth Weast (1885-1981) married Henry U. Rush

3. James Gordon Weast (1888-1963) married Lillian M. Watson

4. Lutie Hazel Weast (1893-1977) married Charles M. Tucker

5. Frank P. Weast (1895-1958) married Juanita M. Arbogast 

Sometime between 1896 and 1898, John and Emma were separated and divorced, a search for their marriage license yielded no results or for any documentation of their divorce. In 1898, John Durwood Weast, enlisted into military service serving his country during the Spanish-American War as a private in Unit 3 Virginia Infantry, Company B., at the age of thirty-nine. Two years later, John was living in the Francisco District, of Buckingham County, Virginia, where he became the hired hand of a man by surname of Baldwin. Weast was working as Baldwin’s farm laborer at that time. The 1900 U.S. Census indicates that he was single. No children were recorded for him and it fails to record him as being divorced, separated or widowed.

As for Emma, she was residing with her children in the Court House Precinct, of Albemarle County, Virginia, where she is recorded as being widowed and the mother of five living children. However, John Durwood Weast was alive and well living in Buckingham County, Virginia, as its detailed in the above record.

ARRIVAL IN SHASTA COUNTY

After divorcing his first wife Weast departed Buckingham County, Virginia, venturing west to California leaving his kids behind with their mother, because he wanted to live near his brothers who were already residing in Redding. John Durwood Weast arrived in Redding during March of 1902, and the March 22, 1902, edition of the Daily Free Press newspaper, of Redding, exclaimed the following about him:

"J.D. Weast, eldest brother of the Weast brothers of this city, is here extrolling the virtues of an insect exterminator. Mr. Weast is a resident of the old state of Virginia." (SIC)

John eventually purchased some property at Copper City, which is where he settled. Copper City was a thriving mining town which featured an U.S. Post Office called Ydalpom. Copper City was situated on Squaw Creek (now under the Squaw Creek arm of Shasta Lake) and the town was in the boundaries of the Pittsburg mining district, of Shasta County. Weast was employed as a teamster for a local mining company in the area.

The 1910 City of Redding Telephone Directory for Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity Counties records him as working at Merrill's Livery Stable at Redding. Merrill’s Livery Stable was owned and operated by Abbott Merrill, a former mayor of Redding. By the time the 1910 U.S. Census was enumerated in April, of that year, it recorded Weast at the age of fifty-one years old living in east Redding and being the head of his household.  

Weast was living with his son James and a boarder named William M. Reidy, at that time, who was employed as hostler at a local livery stable. Eventually, Weast established his own livery stable called J.D. Weast Stables on the corner of Pine and Yuba Streets in downtown Redding.

Above: a J.D. Weast Stables receipt for the account of Jacobson Grocery Company, of Redding, dated May 31, 1917. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

SECOND MARRIAGE 

Three years later, Weast married a second time to Creosa Alma Doll, a daughter of Shasta County pioneers Valentine Doll and Harriett Emma (Smith) Doll, of Ono, on February 23, 1913,  in Redding. This was Creosa's first marriage, and she is the author’s maternal great-great aunt.

Then on, June 16, 1915, the Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, heralded the following article:

"Weast Is Awarded Knob Mail Contract

(Special To The Union)

Redding, (Shasta Co.,), June 15 - Leslie Alward has resigned the mail contract to Knob and Washington has awarded the contract, one of the most important in the state to John D. Weast, well known liveryman, who will take up the work Monday morning. Under the provisions of his contract Weast will get $4,095 a year for handling 600 pounds of mail daily to Knob. All over 600 pounds he will get $1.45 a hundred: 40 cents a hundred to Ono and 25 cents a hundred to Igo. Alward's contract called for $8,400 a year with $200 a hundred over 600 pounds."

Above: one of the trucks belonging to the J.D. Weast Trucking Company, in Redding, is loaded with 14,000 pounds of bridge girders [steel], to be hauled to the La Grange mine near Weaverville in Trinity County. John D. Weast had a contract to haul supplies and additional materials for the La Grange Mining Company. The men in the photograph are employees of Weast., their names are unknown. Circa 1918. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

LATER LIFE EVENTS

In April of 1925, The Searchlight newspaper of Redding reported that, "the railroad commission has granted to John D. Weast of Redding a franchise to operate an automobile passenger, express and freight service between Redding and Pit No. 4, and also between Montgomery Creek and Mud Springs. Weast already has a franchise for a line from Redding through Ingot, Montgomery Creek, Burney and Fall River Mills to Bieber. The franchise just granted authorizes him to operate a branch from his line between Montgomery Creek and Pit No. 4., which is near Big Bend on the Pit. Pit No. 4., will be a busy camp before the year ends. In fact it already has become a little settlement."

Then, in July of that year, Weast was in the process of having a brand-new state of the art building erected in replace of his old building at the corner of Pine and Yuba Streets in downtown Redding for his company, J.D. Weast Trucking (formerly J.D. Weast Stables). A local newspaper mentioned that its  size was:

“100x140 feet, is being built of brick and glass and will be one of the finest structures of its kind in this part of the state. When it is completed it will have cost Weast at least $30,000.”

However, it caused Weast a major dilemma as he was trying to decide to keep the building for a garage for his business or to turn it into an union stage depot for Redding which was being requested of him to do so by local citizens and staging companies at that time. He eventually kept this building to be used for his garage.

An interesting note is that his ex-wife, Emma, was living in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1929, and she still claimed that she was the widowed wife of J.D. Weast. She must have known that John was alive since their son James lived with him in Shasta County in 1910. Once again, John D. Weast was alive and well residing in northern California, and happily married to Creosa.

Then, on September 11, 1938, John’s first wife Emma John (King) Weast died at the age of seventy-eight years old at Swiss Village, Albemarle County, Virginia. Her death certificate claimed she was divorced from John Durwood Weast. The informant named on the death certificate was their daughter, Lutie (Weast) Tucker.

John Durwood Weast became an active member of the International Order Of Odd Fellows, Reading Lodge No. 271, at Redding, and he continued living with his wife Creosa at 1314 Oregon Street where he died on June 28, 1948 at the age of eighty-nine. After his death, Creosa married a second time to an O. Brown, and she died in Redding on September 25, 1965.

Above: L-R: an elderly John Durwood Weast standing on crutches and wearing a hat, while his second wife, Creosa Alma (Doll) Weast, stands beside him holding a toy doll in front of their Oregon Street residence in Redding. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle

The headstone of John Durwood Weast (1859-1948), at Redding Memorial Park, in Redding, This photo was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on December 7, 2021.

The headstone of Creosa Alma (Doll) Weast-Brown (1882-1965), at Redding Memorial Park, in Redding. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on December 7, 2021.

RESOURCES:

1860 U.S. Census


1870 U.S. Census


1880 U.S. Census


1900 U.S. Census


The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 8, 1902


The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 22, 1902


https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=003-1902-052


California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 for John Durwood Weast


1910 U.S. Census


The 1910 City of Redding Telephone Directory for Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity Counties


The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 8, 1912


Weast-Doll - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 28, 1913


Redding-Knob Mail Contracted Awarded - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 1, 1915


Weast Is Awarded Knob Mail Contract - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 16, 1915


Redding Business Men Raise $1,000 - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, July 15, 1916


Shasta Board Grants Auto Stage Permits - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, July 14, 1918


1920 U.S. Census

Charlottesville, Virginia, City Directory, 1929, available online through Ancestry.com
Franchise Granted To John D. Weast - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 14, 1925


Redding To Have A Union Stage Depot - The Courier-Free Press newspaper, July 31, 1925


1930 U.S. Census


40 Dogs Die By Poisoning At Redding - The Colusa Herald newspaper of Colusa, April 9, 1931


The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 22, 1932


Death Certificate for Emma John (King) Weast dated, September 12, 1938, Albemarle County, Virginia available on Ancestry.com.


1940 U.S. Census


John D. Weast Passes At 89 - The Redding-Record Searchlight and the Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 28, 1948


Services Set For John D. Weast - The Redding-Record Searchlight and the Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 29, 1948

WILLIAM B. SMITH (1859-1917)

Above: William B. Smith pans for gold along a rocky creek in the Sunny Hill mining district. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

William B. Smith was born to Gottlieb George Kaylor Smith and Elizabeth Jane (Lamberson) Smith, at Eagle Creek (now Ono) on May 10, 1859, and during the following year the Smith’s settled their family at Horsetown. He was the fourth of ten children born to his parents. William was educated at the Eagle Creek schoolhouse in Eagle Creek.

William grew up to be a life-long miner. He also married Elizabeth Rester at Igo on March 12, 1890, the bride was the daughter of John Rester, and his wife Annie. Their wedding was performed by the Reverend William S. Kidder. To this union there were eight children born to them:

1.  Anna Smith

2. Esther May Smith

3. Louisa Bella Smith

4. Gladys Smith

5. Willie B. Smith

6. Earl Douglas Smith 

7. Ruth Elizabeth Smith

8. Howard Smith

William and his wife Elizabeth purchased a residence at Sunny Hill, a few miles from the town of Ono. This is where most of his mining was done in the boundaries of the Sunny Hill mining district of Shasta County. He was a family man and he was a mining partner of Valentine Doll, who was also his brother-in-law, and married to William’s sister, Harriett.

By December of 1897, William B. Smith and Valentine Doll issued advertising Proof Of Labor notices in the local media for the Manzanita and Honeycomb Quartz Mines in the Sunny Hill mining district. There is a real estate transfer in April of 1898, stating the following:

"W.B. Smith and Elizabeth Smith to V. Doll and Hattie E. Doll, F. Barlow. H.A. Root and D.E. Alexander - Bond for deed $3,800 Honcycomb Mine, extension of Honeycomb Mine with mill right, ditch, and water right at Jerusalem Creek, Sec. T.30 N., R., 8., W., also two placer claims included."

William died on November 27, 1917, at Sunny Hill due to an illness of the stomach. There was no doctor present at the time of his death so the coroner was called in from Redding to perform a coroners investigation on his body. William B. Smith is buried at the Redding Cemetery (now Redding Memorial Park) next to his son Willie B. Smith.

William’s wife Elizabeth (Rester) Smith survived her husband by six years. She died on October 14, 1923, she is buried in the same cemetery as her husband. 

Note: Gottlieb George Kaylor Smith and Elizabeth Jane (Lamberson) Smith are the author’s great-great-great-great maternal grandparents, and William B. Smith is my great-great-great maternal uncle. I descend through his sister Harriett Emma (Smith) Doll.

Above: the headstone of William B. Smith at the Redding Memorial Park, in Redding. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on January 10, 2021.

Resources:

1860 U.S. Census

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S. Census

Married - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 22, 1890

Proof Of Labor - The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 1, 1897

Bond For A Deed - The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 16, 1898

Proof Of Labor - Honeycomb and Manzanita Quartz mines dated December 27, 1899

1900 U.S. Census

Proof Of Labor - Honeycomb and Manzanita Quartz mines dated January 8, 1901

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, August 30, 1908

1910 U.S. Census

William B. Smith Dies At Sunny Hill - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, November 28, 1917

Resident Of Ono, Shasta County, Dies - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, November 29, 1917

1920 U.S. Census

Calvin Jefferson Smith, Mining Man written by Thelma Phillips Smith, The 1986 Covered Wagon, published annually by Shasta Historical Society, pages 42-45.

Valentine Doll written by Jeremy M. Tuggle, The 2011 Covered Wagon, published annually by Shasta Historical Society, pages 43-49. 

SP-037.1 Smith, Gottlieb George Kaylor, Pioneer Plaque File available at the Shasta Historical Society.