Welcome to Exploring Shasta County history...
With this blog, I am bringing to life the stories of the early day pioneers and some of the oft-forgotten history of a bygone era in Shasta County, California. I'll also focus on important events after the turn of the 20th century. I would like to reflect upon current historical sites of the modern age as well.
This is copyrighted by Jeremy M. Tuggle.
One of the most iconic features of this terminus was the turntable system which rotated iron horses around on the rail line which came north towards Redding from Anderson and south from Redding to southern localities already in existence by rotating them on this circular contraption. Redding became the end-of-the-line at that time for trains traveling north in California for about a decade from 1872 until construction resumed north in 1883. At this location Redding’s iconic turntable once stood off of Tehama Street, in the railroad yard at Redding. Find out more in my newest video from Exploring Shasta County history.
Filmed on location.
SOURCES:
New Town - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 15, 1872
The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 22, 1872
Redding City - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 29, 1872
Redding - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 13, 1872
Redding - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, August 3, 1872
First Train - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 7, 1872
Trip To Redding - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 28, 1872
Presently, very little information remains about the former town of Scobieville in Shasta County, California. Its namesake is James Ross Scobie (1835-1902) who is buried at the Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo County, California. In this video we visit his headstone and gravesite of James Ross Scobie, and learn some things about Scobieville, Shasta County, California, that is not too well-known. Filmed on location: August 30, 2024.
RESOURCES:
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 29, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 27, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 3, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 10, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 8, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 29, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 5, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 12, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 2, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 22, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 10, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 17, 1884
Sims Items - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 27, 1889
The Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 22, 1893
In 1865 Charles Camden located the first iron ore body upon Iron Mountain which gave its name to the mountain, a 3,600 ft. high mountain, situated in the West Shasta mining district of Shasta County, California. Over the years the property grew to contain the Brick Flat mine, the Complex mine, the Hornet mine, the Little Nelly mine, the Lost Confidence mine, the Mattie mine, the Minnesota mine, the No. 8 mine, the Old mine, and the Richmond mine. It became a celebrated lucrative producer within this county. Camden then went into partnership with Colonel William Magee, and they eventually brought on James M. Sallee as an owner with them after Sallee located an impressive ore body of silver upon the mountain. The nearby communities of Iron Mountain, Keswick, Matheson, South Park, and Taylor came into fruition due to the mine itself. The first year of production for this mine was in 1879 and the last year of production was in 1963. On September 8, 1983, the Iron Mountain mine became an EPA superfund site and is presently ranked as the third largest polluter in California. In 2010, the Iron Mountain Mine was labeled as a "Toxic Hellhole" by the San Francisco Gate media outlet. For more information, please see the attached YouTube video: "The Iron Mountain Mine; A Site Overview."
Resources:
A Road to Shasta Would Pay - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 11, 1869
Iron, Mountain - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 21, 1871
Iron Mountain - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 2, 1881
Lost Confidence Mine - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 14, 1881
Iron Mountain - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 21, 1881
Iron Mountain - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 25, 1881
Iron Mountain - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 24, 1881
Rich Mineral Strike - The Record-Union newspaper of Sacramento, August 29, 1881
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 8, 1885
Eleven Bars of Bullion - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 17, 1887
The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 7, 1895
The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 14, 1895
The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 11, 1896
Will Succeed Hill - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 1, 1897
Mines and Miners - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 4, 1897
South Park - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 22, 1897
Mail Route to Fielding - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 19, 1897
Aubury, Lewis E. The copper resources of California: California Mining Bureau Bulletin 23: 65. 1902
William McKendrick - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 25, 1903
William McKendrick - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 29, 1903
Locally renowned photographer Chester Mullen captured this image of an unidentified man loading ore from the chutes of an ore bin onto the carts in the foreground of this photograph on the Southern Pacific Railroad at Cuargo, in Shasta County, California, a local railroad siding. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.
Cuargo was errored to be the Spanish word for the English version of the word quartz in Spanish. This Southern Pacific railroad siding dates to 1907 when the railroad originally christened this new railroad siding here as Quartz after the nearby town of Quartz Hill and the nearby Old Diggings Railroad also known as the Quartz Hill Railroad which was featured in one of my latest YouTube videos. Yet, the Southern Pacific railroad decided it was too common of a name for a siding or a place in California and they approved its Spanish version instead. Yet, the railroad officials misspelled the Spanish version of the name for quartz.
Quartz in Spanish is spelled correctly as cuarzo, and the railroad officials were blasted for it in the local media outlets for lacking knowledge of the language. However, the error of the name was never corrected and the name Cuargo stuck to their new railroad siding without being changed to its correct Spanish spelling. With the local mining companies shipping their ore to Cuargo for treatment at the Mammoth Smelter near Kennett, the Mammoth Copper Mining and Smelting Company housed this ore inside their ore bin here, and when the ore bin was full their ore was sent to a specific site at the Mammoth Smelter where it was later treated, however, sometimes that site became too full as well and the ore which was sent by local mining companies were set aside on location at Cuargo with marked tags noting where the ore came from. It was then hauled up to the smelter site to be treated from Cuargo. Coke and other mining related by products were also stored here as well.
Cuargo was the junction point of the Southern Pacific Railroad and situated above the Old Diggings Railroad while passenger trains stopped at Central Spur, which was located a quarter mile south of Cuargo to drop off and pick up local residents living in the communities of Old Diggings which also known as Hart, and the nearby town of White House. These residents were displeased with commuting to Central Spur while Cuargo was closer to their hometowns. In 1908, a petition of signatures was collected by the nearby communities to have the Southern Pacific railroad relocate the passenger terminal at Central Spur to Cuargo. Yet, this action never became official. Cuargo was utilized by the Southern Pacific railroad until the railroad at this location which was sold for scrap to the federal government in 1918.
A circa 1915-1945 map showing the location of the communities of Hart and Whitehouse. Near the area of Cuargo. Source: Cal Topo.
Resources:
C.R. Croney Is Agent at Keswick - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 14, 1908
Expert Opinion on Spanish Name - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, September 29, 1908
Want Trains to Stop at Cuargo - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, September 29, 1908
Kennett Freight Receipts Are Big - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, November 4, 1908
Shasta County - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, November 6, 1908
Old Camp Never More Prosperous Than Now - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 23, 1909
New Footbridge Spans River at Old Diggings - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, September 3, 1915
Federal Government Is Purchaser of Rails - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, July 5, 1918
California Drought Reveals 112-Year-Old Freight Train Car Derailment On Shasta Lake. One Of Five Freight Train Cars Found In The Sacramento River Channel. Wreckage Dates To 1909.
Above: this video was filmed on location September 18, 2021.
In the rain and mud at the discovery site in Lakehead north of Railroad Tunnel Number 6. L-R: Jeremy M. Tuggle (Education & Community Engagement Manager at Shasta Historical Society) and Ryan "Rizzle" Hammon the discoverer of this freight train car wreckage. Selfie. Photo taken: September 18, 2021, by Jeremy M. Tuggle/Shasta County News Source.
Lakehead, California, September 29 - After following the footsteps of my metal detecting buddy, Gabriel Leete, of Redding, and I, who helped me film a metal detecting segment of my YouTube show “Exploring Shasta County History” on September 4, 2021, near Railroad Tunnel Number 6 at Charlie Creek, on the Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake, for recreation purposes only. While we were there we were trying to determine if the rail of the Shasta Route were still there or if they were removed by the railroad. It is our opinion that the railroad removed them to be utilized elsewhere along the modern route of the railroad heading north and south due to the hefty costs of manufacturing and purchasing of the rail at that time.
We were finding many iron pieces connected to the railroad and railroad spikes along the way, both old and modern versions, including a piping system of some sort below the rail bed before we concluded our search that day. We did not expect to locate anything important, and we thought we covered the entire area because parts of the river channel below the rail bed was still muddy, wet and not walkable at that time.
However, this warranted further investigation of the site by local Redding resident, Ryan “Rizzle” Hammon, age 29, who picked up where we left off. However, he didn’t think he would locate anything of interest or anything this exciting! Yet, what Hammon found was a historic derailed freight train car buried in the Sacramento River channel.
Looking north from a southern point along the rail bed at Railroad Tunnel Number 6 on the Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake near Charlie Creek. This photograph was taken on July 11, 2021, by Jeremy M. Tuggle/Shasta County News Source.
Looking south from a northern point along the rail bed at Railroad Tunnel Number 6 on the Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake near Charlie Creek. This photograph was taken on August 18, 2021, by Jeremy M. Tuggle/Shasta County News Source.
In 1872, the California & Oregon Railroad, a division of the Central Pacific Railroad stopped its construction at Redding until their surveying was completed to decide if they were heading west towards Shasta into Oregon or north through the Sacramento River Canyon into Oregon. 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 in 1883, and established additional communities, depots and "flag stations" along the way. Most of the railroad tunnels were erected along the route in 1884, a total of seven in all, and most of them were remodeled during the 1920’s these dates are etched into their concrete except for Railroad Tunnel Number 6 whose dates are faded away and lost to time. Only two remain above Shasta Lake's water line.
Later, this railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, and eventually this region of track became known as the Shasta Route. The Shasta Route was used for both passenger and freight trains. One of the routes main passenger trains was the popular Shasta Limited. The Shasta Route promised to be the prominent and scenic travel route from San Francisco, California into Portland, Oregon. The railroad company advertised it as being the "road of a thousand wonders" since it traveled through the heart of the Shasta Cascade district. Train derailments rarely happened on this route, but they did occur.
One freight train derailment occurred on this rail line on March 27, 1909, when freight train number 221 came to a screeching halt approximately a mile north-west of Railroad Tunnel Number 6, near Charlie Creek, on a bend of the Sacramento River which derailed for 100 yards or more. Original reports say that four freight cars departed the track, later reports claimed that five freight cars departed the railroad. This incident held-up the traffic along this Sacramento River Canyon route for several hours that Saturday. The railroad was busy that weekend with the northbound passenger Portland Express Number 16 halted at Kennett and the southbound passenger Dunsmuir Express Number 35., halted at Dunsmuir on its way to Kennett and Redding. The cause of the wreckage was never determined. There was a transient who had hitched a ride on a break beam of the train as well, but this person walked away without injury. This wreckage made headlines all over the State of California.
A 1915-1945 map showing the Shasta Route at Charlie Creek at the Sacramento River. Source: CalTopo.
One hundred and twelve years later, on September 9, 2021, Ryan “Rizzle” Hammon with the assistance of local Redding residents Mariah Stevens, age 26, and James White, age 30, discovered something which many people can only dream of locating and “this discovery was made by hand with absolutely no metal detecting involved”, says Hammon as the current drought revealed this wreckage site to them, that day after digging by hand through the mud. On that day, Shasta Lake’s elevation was 900.13-feet below full pool and the wheel, drum bearing, and axel of the car appeared to them with other pieces neatly preserved by the murky depths of Shasta Lake.
Then, he departed Lakehead and anxiously went home to Redding where he immediately began his own research with the help of his friends above. Later, he contacted the author of this article at the Shasta Historical Society and invited me out to explore the discovery site with him. I first saw this discovery site on September 18, 2021, and I met him there in Lakehead to film and document it. I later finished compiling the research for Hammon. With hopes of salvaging the freight train rail car wreckage, Hammon, seeks to go through the proper channels before digging and he's aware that it might cost him money. With my help he contacted the Shasta Cascade Rail Preservation Society, general historian, Dave Jungkeit, who became fascinated and mind-blown by this rare discovery.
Jungkeit, remarked during an interview that: "it's a real possibility that whatever cargo those freight cars were hauling could still be intact and nicely preserved for Hammon to find, if he gets cleared to start digging it up from the river channel, of course he would have to go through Fish & Game to make a salvage claim." One newspaper article mentioned that most of the cars were hauling ties. Jungkeit, has set up a date with Hammon to review the discovery site himself.
The chances of locating the other four cars are slim since the newspaper articles claimed that they were smashed into pieces. So, it's a very rare possibility that any more lie there in the Sacramento River channel. Currently, Shasta Lake is 892.66-feet elevation below full pool, and or 174.34-feet below the crest of Shasta Dam.
FOUR CARS LEAVE TRACK NEAR TUNNEL 6 - CANYON TRAFFIC TIED UP FOR SEVEN HOURS SATURDAY - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 27, 1909.
One of the five derailed freight train cars is shown here. It has been nicely preserved by the murky depths of Shasta Lake for one hundred and twelve years. This discovery was made by Ryan "Rizzle" Hammon and his friends. This photograph was taken on September 18, 2021, by Jeremy M. Tuggle/Shasta County News Source.
L- R: James White, Ryan “Rizzle” Hammon, Zack Stevens, age 18, and Mariah Stevens checking out their incredible discovery in Lakehead. This photograph was taken on September 18, 2021, by Jeremy M. Tuggle/Shasta County News Source.
RESOURCES:
The Shasta Route - In All Of Its Grandeur - A Scenic Guide Book.
Four Cars Leave Track Near Tunnel 6 - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 27, 1909
Freight Wrecked Near Tunnel No. 6 - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 28, 1909
Shasta County - Wreck - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, March 28, 1909
Freight Cars Smashed To Pieces - The Marysville Daily Appeal newspaper of Marysville, March 28, 1909
Freight Train Wrecked Saturday - The Colusa Daily Sun newspaper of Colusa, March 29, 1909
New YouTube video: Railroad Tunnel Number 4 Now Surfacing Out Of the Sacramento River Arm of Shasta Lake, 9-17-2021. Today’s Shasta Lake level is 897.53-Feet elevation wise or 169.47-Feet below the crest of Shasta Dam. Built 1884 and remodeled in 1925. See my video below:
PORTIONS OF THE HISTORIC RAILROAD AT POLLOCK IS NOW OUT OF THE WATER AT SHASTA LAKE, 9-4-2021. SHASTA LAKE IS CURRENTLY 163.67-FEET BELOW THE CREST OF SHASTA DAM OR 903.33-FEET ELEVATION WISE BELOW FULL POOL.
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