A 1939 $100,000 JAIL REMAINS ABANDONED IN REDDING

On July 30, 1888, the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper, of Sacramento, reported the following future improvements for Redding which became Shasta County’s brand-new county seat, that year;

"SHASTA'S COURT-HOUSE

A new Court-house for Shasta County is to be erected at Redding. The plans and specifications of the architect, A.A. Cook, of this city, have been accepted by the Board of Supervisors. The building completed is to cost in the neighborhood of $40,000. The plan shows a neat and tasty edifice. There will be three main entrances, a large court-room, numerous vaults, and the structure will be ornamented by a beautiful dome, on which will stand a statue of Justice. The jail will occupy the ground in the rear of and connecting with the court-house, and is to cost $10,000.” [SIC]

Construction on the City of Redding's first Shasta County Jail was completed prior to April of 1889, when a fire insurance map was surveyed for the city, that month, which describes this courthouse property exactly like the above article states. Years later, severe damage was done to the Shasta County Jail from attempted jail breaks to natural effects and nature related damages. Then in 1903 the jail reached its maximum capacity of prisoners and it made the Shasta County Board of Supervisors re-evaluate the jail structure. They determined that the smelter smoke fumes most notably from the Mountain Copper Mining Company, LTD., at Keswick, was eating through structures of the Shasta County Courthouse and the Shasta County Jail. However, most of the damage was caused to the tin roof of the jail at Redding.

Another fire insurance map was surveyed in February of 1904 which shows another new addition in the form of a fountain in the front yard of the Shasta County Courthouse facing Court Street, and additional features were added to the Shasta County Jail in the rear of the Courthouse by that date. This jail now featured a wood shed in the back yard, and an additional structure with cells to incarcerate their insane prisoners. These new features were located in the jail yard which had a fifteen foot brick wall wrapping around it's perimeter backing West Street.

On August 2, 1912, a freakish nature related incident occurred when a single bolt of lightening during a lightening storm struck the Shasta County Jail at Redding, although the location of the strike was never found the sound echoed through the city, while it shook the building. Not one person inside the jail was injured from the strike of lightning. Even the incarcerated inmates inside the jail at Redding were displeased with the accommodations of the structure and found it poorly unfit through out the decade leading into the 1920s.

Above: is Redding’s first Shasta County Jail which was erected in 1888 for $10,000, along with the Shasta County Courthouse. It was situated in the rear of the courthouse property which also included a registered street address of 1313 Court Street. Courtesy of the Shasta Historical Society. 

Oddly, opium found its way into the Shasta County Jail in 1922, while the inmates who were non drug users witnessed other prisoners heating "hop" in spoons and administering it in their presence inside their jail cells. Additional narcotics were also distributed as well while prisoners passed them around from cell to cell by placing the drugs in hats and shoving across the aisle of the corridor with brooms and using them to get high. In 1925, narcotics from the evidence locker room of the jail disappeared and they were distributed amongst the inmates. Surprisingly, local authorities discovered that it was an inside job by one of their own officers. 

During the 1930s, the City of Redding was filled with tons of illegal activity and unsavory criminals while the city’s Red Light District (or tenderloin) was booming and the Ladies of the Night kept their clients returning for more satisfaction inside the brothels these women worked in downtown. While prostitution was rising the increase of syphilis cases climbed in Redding, it was District Attorney, Francis J. Carr who ordered all prostitutes to leave the city, or he would be forced to take legal action against anyone violating his orders which were based under the red light abatement law which was approved that decade and made it illegal for them to work in their profession. 

In addition, the construction of Shasta Dam began in 1938 and it’s construction was steadily progressing to be finished in 1945. Meanwhile, the Shasta Dam construction workers visited Redding quite often to drink in the local saloons and they caused many saloon brawls, and outdoor public intoxication. Drunk driving was also a regular occurrence which made local headlines and there were additional disturbances which were cited by local law enforcement. 

While the arrests were doubling by the local authorities, due to all of the above activity, the present jail, pictured above, reached it’s maximum capacity of prisoners again. This jail needed major repairs even though it was utilized by local law enforcement until 1939, for a total of fifty-one years. Eventually, the building which was unsound made the Shasta County Board of Supervisors apply for a grant for a new jail through the federal government. 

Above: the three-story 1939 jail remains abandoned next to the present-day Shasta County Courthouse on Court Street. A fence protects it with video surveillance around the abandoned jail property. This photograph was taken through an open space of the fence line by Jeremy Tuggle on January 16, 2021.

$56,000 was already placed into a special fund by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors to be utilized to pay for the brand-new jail. This was required to prove to the federal government that their portion of the jail cost was available before a $44,000 grant was awarded to them by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works to pay for the remaining cost of the construction of the brand-new jail. The jail was designed as a three-story building by a San Francisco architectural firm called Masten & Hurd.

The new jail was erected on the north-west lot of the present Shasta County Courthouse property on Court Street. It was C.H. Dodd a contractor from Stockton who was awarded the contract of the new jail. He placed a bid at $92,452, and Dodd was instructed to begin the construction process by September 26, 1938. 

The Courier-Free Press newspaper, of Redding, heralded this article about the construction of the brand-new Shasta County Jail building on February 22, 1939:

“Work Progresses On County Jail

The structure of the new county jail has been completed, and work of installing cells has begun. Half of the first floor cells have been put into place, and work is also being started on installation of the second floor block. All pipes have installed, and plumbing fixtures will soon be put into place. Each cell will have individual plumbing.”

The interior of the facility contained cellblocks which were known as cells. Each cell was measured at 4.5 feet wide by 8 feet long and it included two bunks with a toilet and a sink for the inmates. The sheriff and his deputies called them "tanks." Tanks Number 1 and 2 had two bunks each, and tanks Number 3 and 4 housed four people in each cell. The facility also included a kitchen, an enclosed prisoner drop off area, a dining room, a visitor center, a narcotics evidence locker room and an evidence locker room, with a laundry room.

Eight months later after the above article was printed, Shasta County Sheriff, William W. Sublett, transferred his office from the Shasta County Courthouse into a room of the newly completed jail building along with Constable W.A. Houston’s office, on October 4, 1939. The transferring of prisoners from the former jail to the new jail took place on October 5th, and Ferol Thorpe, of Redding, had the distinguish honor to be the first attorney to interview a prisoner in the brand-new facility. She interviewed her client an inmate named William D. Moore. Moore was charged with automobile theft.

Above: on a private tour of the 1939 Shasta County Jail, local historian and author, Jeremy M. Tuggle, is shown here inside a jail cell. This photograph was taken on March 26, 2016. 

Other inmates who were transferred amongst that first group of prisoners to the new jail were Buddy Giboney and Rudolph Phenegar. Giboney was held and awaiting to be charged for his role in the murder of a local woman. Phenegar was charged with assaulting a woman with the intention to commit rape in the Burney area. It was Superior Court Judge, Albert F. Ross Jr., who sentenced Phenegar to a term of 1-20 years at San Quinten State Prison.

The most famous inmate housed at this jail was local serial killer and rapist Darrell Rich, a resident of Cottonwood, known as the “Hilltop Rapist” and “Young Elk”, Rich was arrested by authorities in 1978 for the murders of three adult women and a young girl between June and August of 1978. He was later sentenced to San Quinten State Prison, where he was executed under the California death penalty during the year, 2000. Presently, this facility has been abandoned and this historic jail was saved from demolition under Shasta County Sheriff, Jim Pope. This Shasta County Jail was utilized for forty-five years until the John J. Balma Justice Center was opened on West Street in Redding in 1984.

RESOURCES: 

Chico Weekly Enterprise newspaper of Chico, May 25, 1888

County Seat Expenses - Chico Weekly Enterprise newspaper of Chico, June 15, 1888

Redding Improvements - The Press Democrat newspaper of Oakland, July 24, 1888

Shasta's Courthouse - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Shasta, July 30, 1888

Chico Weekly Enterprise newspaper of Chico, August 10, 1888

Redding Jail Full - The Chico Record newspaper of Chico, March 30, 1903

Eating A Courthouse - The Chico Record newspaper of Chico, July 21, 1903

Lightning Hit Jail At Redding - The Chico Record newspaper of Chico, August 4, 1912

City Jail Real Opium Den, Says Night Guest - The Sacramento Daily newspaper of Sacramento, February 26, 1921

Disapprove Of Redding Jail Accommodations - The Chico Record newspaper of Chico, December 10, 1922

1313 New Number of Redding Jail - The Colusa Herald newspaper of Colusa, December 27, 1929

Establish Fund For Shasta Jail - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 7, 1938

Jail Will Be On Northwest Corner Of Lot - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 25, 1938

Contract For New County Jail Building Awarded Friday - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 16, 1938

Ingratitude - Organized Labor newspaper of San Francisco, September 17, 1938

PWA Has Resident Engineer Here - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 24, 1938

New County Jail Equipment Arrives - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 29, 1938

Shasta Picketing Is Resumed - The Madera Tribune newspaper of Madera, March 6, 1939

Spreading Prostitution and Syphilis - The Organized Labor newspaper of San Francisco, June 3, 1939

New Jail Is Now Nearly Ready - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 11, 1939

Occupy Jail Wednesday - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 3, 1939

Sheriff Moves To New Jail Building - October 4, 1939

Move Prisoners To New Jail - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 6, 1939

Phenegar Is Denied Probation By Judge - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 23, 1939

Movie Gallery In County Jail - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 24, 1939

Phenegar To Prison - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 31, 1939

Carr Orders All Prostitutes To Leave Redding At Once - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 2, 1939

Prostitutes Start Exodus - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 4, 1939

Carr Reports Prostitution Houses Closed - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 5, 1939

Work Progresses On County Jail - The Courier Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 22, 1939

Supervisors Name Panel To Study New Shasta Jail - The Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 11, 1977

Changing Skyline - The Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 27, 1982

New Jail Starting To Fall in Place - The Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 16, 1983

VF 364 Shasta County Jails on file at Shasta Historical Society

Three Known Murderers Had North State Victims - The Record Searchlight newspaper of Redding, November 20, 2010

NOB HILL

Above: an 1889 Birds Eye View Map of Redding - Nob Hill showing the L-shape structure of the Del Monte hotel also known as the Del Monte Lodging and Tennant's.

Nob Hill is where Redding's wealthiest residents lived in luxurious homes during the 1880s, located on the westside of Redding surrounded by Court, Yuba, West and Placer Streets. Nob Hill is situated on the hillside, near the Placer Street hill and Court Street alongside the John J. Balma Justice Center, also known as the Shasta County jail.

Some of the earliest known landowners on Nob Hill were James T. Loag, Holton S. Cochran, M. Hayles, John H. Madison, O.J. Willis, and the Yeakey brothers. Some of the known renters of these luxury homes were the John Estes family, who rented the house and property belonging to James T. Loag, as well as Mr. And Mrs. E.G. Parker who rented the house and property belonging to Holton S. Cochran.

In 1887 one of Redding's hotels was erected on the top of Nob Hill and named the Del Monte Hotel. Later it would be known as Del Monte Lodging and Tenants' Its builder/proprietor was George Groves, and his hostelry was a two-story L-shape structure facing Yuba Street. It had an observatory on top and it contained ninety-six rooms. During the hostelry's construction, one local newspaper stated the following about its owner: "There are men in town who have more money than Geo. Groves, but none with more enterprise." It seemed to be their way of accepting Groves' building in the wealthiest part of town. By 1889 several more dwellings had been completed within the area but the Del Monte hotel stood out as one of the tallest buildings in the city. 

The Del Monte hotel grounds consisted of freshly made sidewalks and bridges. On the south-west side of the hotel property fronting West Street was a water well, an outhouse, barn, and shop, erected by Groves for his tenant's use. By May of 1896, the Sanborne Fire Maps of Redding noted the well as private property then owned by the Well & Rider Company of England. Later this water well supplied water for Redding's business district.

The 1899 City of Redding Directory described the Del Monte hotel as an apartment house, not a hostelry. It is interesting to not that the directory  mentions its location as being on the south side of Butte Streets between West and Court Street. It was still owned by George Groves at that time.

The nearest subdivision to Nob Hill was the Breslauer Addition to the west. By March of 1912, ten dwellings had been erected on Nob Hill including an Episcopal church on the south-west corner of Yuba and Court Streets. Construction and new development have changed Nob Hill's look over time from residential to a business area. 

The Del Monte Apartments were condemned by the City of Redding in 1959 and demolished in 1960, never to be rebuilt. There was another Del Monte Apartments, but it had no relation to the pioneer hostelry business. The John J. Balma Justice Center was erected on Nob Hill in 1984.

RESOURCES:

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, March 25, 1880

A Tough Crowd - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 16, 1887

Another Improvement - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 21, 1887

The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 4, 1887

The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 11, 1887

1899 City of Redding Directory

Sanborne Fire Map of Redding

Shasta's Growth, Prosperity and Decline, Part Two.

Pictured above is the (Old) Stage Road which was completed in April of 1851 taking travelers to and from Shasta. There is a historic marker nearby. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 29, 2016.

Then in, April of 1851 the first stage road in Shasta County was completed giving travelers a lot smoother ride to and from Shasta. (A section of this old stage road still exists at the junction of Swasey Drive and Red Bluff Road near Shasta.) It brought many newcomers to the area and additional commercial trade. Many people used this road from the nearby rural communities to transact business in Shasta.

Three months later on July 10, 1851 a post office was established by the United States Postal Service headquarters in Washington D.C., with Robert W. Crenshaw appointed as the first postmaster. Then on, March 13, 1852, a newspaper called the Shasta Courier was founded in Shasta by Archibald Skillman, Jacob C. Hinckley and Samuel H. Dosh. This newspaper was a weekly newspaper which was printed every Saturday. During that year, a fire department was organized.

Shasta’s first fire occurred on the morning of November 28, 1852 at 3 a.m., the fire started in the Arcade Saloon and it totaled to $111,520. Eventually, Shasta was rebuilt. A second fire destroyed Shasta again on the night of June 14, 1853. The fire ignited at 5 p.m., inside the Parker House (a hotel) on Main Street, Shasta’s entire business district burned down in thirty-three minutes. The results were catastrophic, and the above fire was the greatest loss by fire to date in Shasta.

By October of that year, local residents were busy improving their city as new homes and businesses were rebuilt again. A school was organized in Shasta by a teacher named Benoni Whitten in 1853 with sixteen students in attendance. It was a public school and not a private school. In addition to that year, an entrepreneur by the name of B. Jacobson erected the first fire-proof brick building on the south side of Main Street. Jacobson’s store was called B. Jacobson & Company.

That year also witnessed the establishment of a Chinatown called Hong Kong in Shasta by the Chinese at the southern end of Main Street near Middle Creek Road. Each of the Chinese lived in their own huts made of wood and cloth. The majority of them were miners. Hong Kong was a thriving place that included several stores including a gambling saloon, a hotel, and a joss house. In December of 1853, Hong Kong had a population of 500 Chinese immigrants. The white settlers discriminated against the Chinese settlers, and anti-Chinese meetings were held within Shasta. They were unwelcomed in the area. The anti-Chinese meetings were held on a regular basis but in February of 1859, the Chinese were ordered by the white settlers to evacuate their Chinatown by March 1, 1859. Some moved on to other Chinese settlements in Shasta County and Hong Kong fell to vandalism.

In 1854 the first Shasta County Courthouse was built. The building was a two-story log style structure, which was located on High Street near Boell Alley. Shasta County paid $5,280 for this building and it served as the courthouse until 1861. In June of 1854, Doctor Benjamin B. Shurtleff erected a fire-proof brick building on Main Street for the purpose of operating his own pharmacy, this became the first pharmacy in Shasta and his pharmacy shared the building with the Goldstone & Company General Merchandise store.

In April of 1857, a new luxurious three-story fire-proof brick hotel called the Empire was completed at a cost of $30,000, on Main Street at Shasta. The first Empire hotel was destroyed by fire in 1853. The new building was paid in full by its owners Donalson & Company which also included a Mr. Chapman. They advertised as having the following: private rooms with large and commodious rooms which were provided for the accommodations of private families, a dining room, a bar with the best stocked liquors and cigars. In addition to the hotel there were also a corral and stable attached to the building.

The Empire hotel passed through many owners since Donalson & Company owned this first-class hostelry. The brand-new Empire hotel became the leading hotel at Shasta, and the Empire stayed in business under different owners until 1923, when a new owner of the hotel dismantled the hotel to relocate to Redding and built a newer hotel there. The Charter Oak hotel stayed in operation until 1915, when it was dismantled by its owners.

Then in 1861 the Shasta County Courthouse on High Street was converted into a modern schoolhouse. However, a building on Main Street was purchased by the county from James T. Loag for $25,000. The building was remodeled that year to include a courthouse and a jail. It stayed actively in use until May of 1888. (This building is presently the Shasta Courthouse Museum in Shasta.)

As Shasta prospered well into the 1870s with new businesses, and newcomers making Shasta their home, a new town called Redding was established at a place called Poverty Flats by the California and Oregon Railroad a division of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1872. With Redding coming into fruition, Shasta would soon start to decline due to the railroad bypassing Shasta, even though Shasta still had control of the county seat. As the end-of-the-line Redding was very fortuitous in its role in the development of our county for ten years until the railroad resumed construction and laid its tracks north of Redding through the Sacramento River Canyon.

Redding became incorporated as a city on October 4, 1887 and during the following year Redding battled Shasta and Millville at the local election primary to become the county seat. Redding won the county seat during that county wide vote. Shasta served as the county seat from March 6, 1851 to May 19, 1888, a total of thirty-seven years. On May 19, 1888 the first court was held in Redding inside the brand new Shasta County Courthouse on Court Street.

As Redding grew, Shasta’s population waned as local residents moved from Shasta to Redding, and at the turn of the 19th century, Shasta was becoming nothing more than a ghost town, falling to blight and vandalism. An effort to restore Shasta’s historic district began in the 1930s and from this effort came the creation of the Shasta State Historic Park which was dedicated in 1950. Today, (Old) Shasta remains a busy town with a population of 1,771 people.

A postcard of Callaghan Block at Shasta on Main Street, circa 1855. L-R: the Shasta Book Store, proprietor Anton Roman, City Drug Store, proprietor C. Roethe, and J. & D. Callaghan. This building was owned by the Callaghan siblings, Jeremiah Callaghan, Daniel Callaghan and a third brother whose name eludes me. This store was later owned by Jeremiah Callaghan & Company which included my maternal great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Walter William Scott (1807-1878), a forty-niner of Shasta County who formerly ran their pack trains and freighted in the merchandise from Sacramento to Shasta for the Callaghan brothers. He was also their store clerk. At later date, the name of the store became Scott & Callaghan. From the collection of Jeremy M. Tuggle.

The present site of Callaghan Block on Main Street in Shasta A marker was placed by the Shasta State Historic Park marking the site. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

A view of Main Street, Shasta. Shasta State Historic Park and Museum at the former Shasta County Courthouse. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Bull, Baker & Company along Main Street at Shasta. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Additional ruins along Main Street at Shasta. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

This plaque notes some of Shasta's history on it. Shasta is a registered California State Landamark. It was dedicated on June 12, 1950. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

RESOURCES:

A Jail And A Courthouse - The Shasta Courier newspaper pf Shasta, November 19, 1853

Hong Kong - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 3, 1853

Empire Hotel - The Republican newspaper of Shasta, January 31, 1857

Empire Hotel - The Republican newspaper of Shasta, April 4, 1857 

Our Storied Landmarks – Shasta County, California, written by May H. Southern, published by Balakshin Printing Company, ©1942.

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

In the Shadow of the Mountain A Short History of Shasta County, California, by Edward Petersen ©1965

Place Names of Shasta County by Gertrude Steger, published by La Siesta Press, ©1966.

Shasta: The Queen City by Mabel Moores Frisbie and Jean Moores Beauchamp, published by California Historical Society, ©1973.

Shasta State Historic Park Brief History and Tour Guide, published by Shasta State Historic Park, ©July 1985

Did Arsonists Raze and Re-Raze Shasta? by Jeremy M. Tuggle, the Record Searchlight newspaper, July 25, 2016