The Hummingbird Mine is located in the Old Diggings Mining District of Shasta County, California. This mine's mineralization is embodied in greenstone rock. It's a former gold mine which is situated in Section 21, Township 32, North Range 5 West of the Mount Diablo Base and Meridian in California. Free gold was associated with sulphides in this mining property, near present-day Keswick Dam on the eastside of the Sacramento River, just off Keswick Road. The mineral land here contains two shafts both plugged and a 120-ft adit. Early reports mention this adit as a 50-ft., adit but it has been extended over the years. Production notes were not kept for the Hummingbird Gold Mine. The FB Trail passes through a good portion of this mineral land on present-day BLM land. Come explore this property with Ryan Hamman, Riah Stevens and I.
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.
Monday, June 24, 2024
Friday, May 31, 2024
Cuargo: A Mistake In Translation
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.
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
Monday, April 29, 2024
SHASTA COUNTY'S PIONEER GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORE: THE McCORMICK-SAELTZER COMPANY, AND IT'S BRANCHES.
1860 U.S. Census
California Voter Register, 1866
Dentistry (advertisement) - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 30, 1866
City Drug Store (advertisement) - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 11, 1868
Dissolution Of Partnership - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 5, 1877
McCormick-Saeltzer & Co. - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 29, 1877
Dr. Wellendorf - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, October 31, 1877
Our Merchants - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, October 31, 1877
McCormick Saeltzer & Co. - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, May 22, 1879
Our Merchants - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 10, 1883
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 6, 1884
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 14, 1885
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 1, 1885
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 29, 1885
Delta - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 12, 1885
Our Business - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 12, 1886
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 2, 1886
Carrville Is Growing - The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 9, 1901
Vast Changes in McCormick-Saeltzer Store - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 18, 1903
The Big Store's New Building - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 11, 1903
The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 12, 1933
The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 14, 1933
Fire Levels Block; Still Burns - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 13, 1940
Big Store Will Be Rebuilt Immediately - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 14, 1940
To Start Big Store Salvaging - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 18, 1940
Big Store Claims Paid - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 1940
Pioneer Will Rebuild Big Store - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, March 31, 1940
To Build Big Store Soon - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 1, 1940
Big Store Lot Sold For $55,000 - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 17, 1940
Issue Permit for Big Store - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, April 30, 1940
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
The Redding Record-Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 29, 1961
MP-019 McCormick, James Pioneer Plaque file on file at Shasta Historical Society
SP-033 Smith, Williamson Lincoya Pioneer Plaque file on file at Shasta Historical Society
R.M. Saeltzer, Adventurer by Florence M. Saeltzer - The Covered Wagon 1951, published by Shasta Historical Society. Pages 19-24
A Redding Landmark for Sixty-Three Years McCormick-Saeltzer Company - The Covered Wagon 1972. Pages 32-38
TRINITY JOURNAL 1992 - The Carrville Inn by Kit Waller, pages 11-31. Published by the Trinity County Historical Society.
Shedding New Light on James McCormick by Karen Taylor - The Covered Wagon 2012, published by Shasta Historical Society. Pages 47-54.
Friday, March 15, 2024
A RAILWAY FROM BONITA TO DELAMAR: THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY & EASTERN RAILROAD.
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Elias Anderson (1817-1907), the Founder of Anderson, California.
RESOURCES:
Elias Anderson in the California, U.S., Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950; available on Ancestry.com
1830 U.S. Census
A HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
U.S., Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971
1850 U.S. Census
School Districts of Shasta County 1853-1955 compiled by Veronica Satorius1860 U.S. Census
Died - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 27, 1861
List Of Post Offices -The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 19, 1863
Died - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 4, 1867
1867, Shasta County Voters Registration
1870 U.S. Census
New Store! - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 1, 1873
The Shasta Courier newspaper July 19, 1873
Lots For Sale in the Town of Shasta Co., Cal. - The Sentinel Newspaper of Red Bluff, October 24, 1874
Died - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, August 14, 1979
1880 U.S. Census
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps - Anderson, California, 1881-1947
A Big Fire at Anderson - The Chico Weekly Enterprise newspaper of Chico, January 28, 1887
Anderson In Ashes - The Marysville Daily Appeal newspaper of Marysville, January 30, 1887
The Fire at Anderson - The Chico Weekly Enterprise newspaper of Chico, February 4, 1887
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 2, 1889
The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 6, 1889
1899, City & Business Directory of Shasta County
The Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 30, 1899
1900 U.S. Census
The Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 23, 1901
Death of a Pioneer Woman - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, November 4, 1903
Aged Lady Passes Away - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 6, 1903
Oldest Man in County Lives at Anderson - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 23, 1906
Founder Of Anderson Dies at Advanced Age - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento,
Oldest Man in County is Dead - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, October 1,1907
Anderson To Incorporate - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, February 5, 1912
Found Dead in Bed in a Home in Anderson - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 28, 1931
Our Storied Landmarks – Shasta County, California, written by May H. Southern, published by Balakshin Printing Company, ©1942.
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 Historical Society Pioneer Plaque file: AP-023 - Anderson, Elias, available on file at the Shasta Historical Society
979.424 - Anderson. Shasta Historical Society, Vertical files.
979.424 (324) Anderson (history) unknown author
Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record: Elias Anderson, dated April 8, 1943
Shasta Historical Society Genealogical Records 7-59: Elias Anderson
Shasta Historical Society Genealogical Records 7-59: George H. Anderson
Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record: George H. Anderson, dated: January 18, 1945
Way Back When - Myrtle McNamar, published by C.A.T. Publishing of Redding, California, 1952. 282 pages.
Place Names of Shasta County by Gertrude A. Steger revision by Helen Hinckley Jones, ©1966 by La Siesta Pressy, Glendale, California
Monday, February 26, 2024
Experiencing the Old Diggings Railroad Grade
RESOURCES:
New Railroad Is Being Rushed - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 28, 1906
Quartz Railroad Ready by October 1 - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 20, 1907
Quartz Hill Railroad Sold as Junk - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, May 1, 1918
Quartz Hill Steel Going To France - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, July 4, 1918
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Discharged from the hospital.
I just got discharged from being in the emergency room and then transferred to the hospital at Shasta Regional Medical Center earlier this week for having a mild stroke. Please keep me in your prayers for a speedy recovery. Thanks to everyone.