Redding: A Railroad Town’s Transition Into A Flourishing City

A view of Market Street in Redding with the T.J. Houston Co., Furniture on the right and the Temple hotel on the right in the distance. Horse, buggies and wagons are on the street. The Temple hotel was built in 1892. Circa, late 1890's. (Public Domain.)

On June 15, 1872, the town of Redding was established by the California & Oregon Railroad, a division of the Central Pacific Railroad, which stopped the construction of its tracks later that year at Poverty Flats. Poverty Flats lacked settlement by the early European-American’s because it was mainly swampland and farmers couldn’t raise their crops there which is the main reason it was ignored by them.

Due to the railroad it forced Redding's settlement upon Poverty Flats. Redding gained prominence and grew rapidly as the town burgeoned with success. However, Shasta County residents made the mistake of believing that Redding was named for Major Pierson Barton Reading (pronounced like the color red), an early day pioneer who was the first European-American settler in Shasta County.

Major Reading came to the area in 1843 with the Chiles-Walker Party on his way south to Sutter’s Fort. During the next year, he received a Mexican land grant from the Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena consisting of 22,632.08 acres of land, which extended from the south at Cottonwood Creek to the north at Salt Creek in Redding. The grant also stretched three miles west of the Sacramento River. He named his land grant the Rancho Buena Ventura meaning “good fortune” in Spanish. He didn’t settle on his property until 1847, becoming the first settler in what is now Shasta County.

Unfortunately, the new town of Redding was not named for Major Reading but for one of their own railroad agents, Benjamin Bernard Redding of Sacramento. Local residents began spelling the new town name as Reading in honor of Major Reading. The town kept using that spelling until it was overturned in the Superior Court in 1880, when the railroad won against private citizens who were for the pro-Reading spelling of the name.

The first streets which were laid out by the railroad in the new town site were North, South, East, and West Streets followed by the nearby counties Placer, Yuba, Butte and Tehama Streets. A railroad depot was also erected on Yuba Street. The first resident of Redding was a man by the name of Chauncey Carrol Bush Sr., who earned the reputation as being the “Father of Redding”. Bush arrived in Shasta County from Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1851. 

He settled at Shasta, and then during the summer of 1872 he relocated from Shasta to the newly established town of Redding. A cellar of a building was constructed by Chauncey C. Bush Sr., on July 22, 1872, and on that same date the first permanent improvements were made to the new town site. Then on, August 3, 1872, seventeen new lots were sold at an average price of $108. Redding lots were now on the market for the very first time while many people purchased them.

Eight days later, Bush establishes the first general mercantile store in Redding. As construction took place local carpenters stayed busy erecting new buildings. Then on, September 1, 1872, the first passenger train arrived in Redding via Red Bluff, Cottonwood, and Anderson. 

It was a grand celebration at the Redding Depot. Two local Shastan’s who rode on that first train into Redding were Charles Litsch and Mary Jane (Cloud) Culverhouse. She was the only female passenger that day. Throngs of people were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the train from Red Bluff in Redding that Sunday at the depot, which was the end-of-the-line and it 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. 

Later that month, another post office was established, in Shasta County, at Redding on September 23, 1872 by the United States Postal Service headquarters at Washington D.C., who appointed Chauncey C. Bush Sr., as the first post master. Bush’s residence was located at the corner of Sacramento and Market Streets which is where he lived and raised his family. (It is now the site of the Redding hotel.) The block his house stood on was also known as the Bush Block. He was an entrepreneur who established businesses in Shasta County, a miner, a judge and he led other civic duties. He was well-known, and had a popular reputation. By November 22, 1872, there were seventy new houses which were constructed by local carpenters since August 20th.

A number of “firsts” occurred at the new town site of Redding during the upcoming months. A few of them included the following items of interest: the town’s first fire destroyed the residence of a Mr. Williams on December 21, 1872. A man by the name of George Lowry became the first person that died in the new town site on January 5, 1873, of natural causes. He was 63 years of age and a native of Kentucky. Another first occurred on June 16, 1873, when the first wedding was performed and celebrated at Redding. This matrimonial ceremony was between William F. Junkans and Mattie Todd who were both residents of Weaverville.

Redding’s first hotel was the Reading hotel at the railroad depot on Yuba Street, then in 1877, the McCormick-Saeltzer Company General Merchandise store was incorporated in Redding. It was the biggest store in town and it competed in business with Bush’s general mercantile store. It was often referred to as the “Big Store” by the local residents. At a later date, additional branches of this store were established at Delta, Keswick, Carrville and Delamar.

The Ben Frank & Company of Redding established a newspaper called the Reading Independent. It was a weekly newspaper which was printed every Thursday morning. Its first number Volume 1 was issued on August 22, 1878. Subscriptions to this new newspaper were offered at “one year, in advance $4.00, six months $2.25, three months $1.25.” Its tagline at the top of the title page claimed the following, “An independent newspaper devoted to home, the fireside, mining and agriculture.”

During the next year, a fire department was established at Redding which was named the Hook and Ladder Company. Of course, Bush was right in the center of attention becoming its first foreman. According to the Republican Free Press newspaper, Redding was incorporated as a city, by the Board Of Supervisors on September 5, 1887. However, the official filing with the state was dated October 4th, and the October date is the date that we currently celebrate as our city's official incorporation date.

It was Chauncey C. Bush Sr, who began serving as the first mayor on October 10, 1887. Bush served honorably as mayor until he was succeeded by local resident Jerry Culverhouse on April 9, 1888. Then on, May 19, 1888, the City of Redding became the county seat of Shasta County, on that day, the first court was held at Redding. 

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors published their May term proceedings in the Shasta Courier newspaper on Saturday, May 19, 1888, which claimed the following:

"Supervisors Jones and Listch, committee appointed to secure quarters for the county officers, report as follows: That they have secured the entire upper story of the new brick building of Peter Hoff, to be used by the officers and the disposition of the Board for the sum of $175 per month, Peter Hoff to put in gas fixtures and supply water by pipe in at least one place in the upper story of said building. An office room for the use of the County Treasurer has been secured in the office of Edward Wood for $10 per month. The Methodist church has been secured to be used as a Court Room, to be rented for $30 per month. All of the above places to be rented from the 19th day of May 1888, until the time when a court house is built and moved into by the officers. All of said rent to be paid by warrants drawn on the general fund, by the order of the Board." (SIC)

A number of changes occurred in Redding during the decade of the 1890s, electricity would play an important role within the city. New businesses were established including additional newspapers as well. The population of Redding doubled its size. As the City of Redding flourished, Shasta began to decline, becoming a ghost town of ruins. Redding played its roll well over the years and it continued to do so past the turn of the 20th century as new industries were developed in the region giving people many reasons to settle here.

The West Side of Market Street, in Redding, California. On the left is the McCormick-Saeltzer Company. Early vehicles, buggies and horses on Market Street. Date unknown.  (Public Domain.) 

Correction to the caption on the above postcard, L-R: the Hall of Records and the Shasta County Courthouse in Redding on Court Street in 1912. The Hall of Records building was designed by Mathew W. Herron in 1908, and it was built by the Robert Brothers in 1909. (Corrected Note: Robert Lee Reading did not design the Hall of Records building.) The Shasta County Courthouse began construction in 1888 and was finished in 1889, erected by pioneer James T. Loag. From the collection of Jeremy Tuggle.

1620 Yuba Street, the present Redding Depot building. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on October 10, 2015.

A statue of the pioneer, Chauncey Carroll Bush, Sr (1831-1907). This statue is located in Caldwell Park. A plaque lies to the left of his feet. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on May 14, 2018.

RESOURCES:

New Town - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 15, 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

First Fire In Redding - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 28, 1872

First Death - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 11, 1873

Married - Marysville Daily Appeal newspaper of Maryville, June 24, 1873

Married – The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 5, 1873

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, August 22, 1878

History and Business Directory - Shasta County - 1881 by B.F. Frank and H.W. Chappell. Redding Independent Book and Job Printing House, Redding, California, ©1881.

Incorporation Prevails - The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 3, 1887

Supervisors Proceedings, May Term 1888 - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 19, 1888

Dethroned - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, Saturday, May 26, 1888

Election Proclamation - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 19, 1889

The Republican Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 21, 1889

Plans Accepted For The Hall Of Records - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 12, 1908

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 16, 1909

Women Are Invited To Historical Society’s Luncheon Program – The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 25, 1937

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 Helene Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942

U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, available on microfilm in the archives of Shasta Historical Society.

Outpost On Poverty Flats by Charles J. Gleeson, ©1978 published by Redding Printing Company

Redding & Shasta County – Gateway to the Cascades – by John D. Lawson ©1986 published by Windsor Publications Inc.

Redding the First Hundred Years by Edward Petersen, ©1972 published by North-Cal Printing & Litho.  (Note: Petersen mentions on page 23, that the, "Shasta County Courthouse, begun in 1888, was completed in 1899.") The above note is an error. It was completed in 1889.

Listing of Redding Mayors (1887-2007)

CP-047 Culverhouse, Jerry Pioneer Plaque File on file at Shasta Historical Society.


Trails of 49’ In Shasta – Mrs. Mary J. Culverhouse, unknown author.

A History of Redding the Early Years, 1872-1875 by Al M. Rocca, ©2014 published by Renown Publishing.

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

Shasta's Growth, Prosperity And Decline, Part One.

Shasta as it appeared in 1856. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

The town of Shasta was established in 1848 as a sprawling tent community called Reading Springs which was surrounded by gold rush pandemonium as miners pitched up tents establishing the new settlement. A natural spring flowed near the community adding to its original name of Reading Springs. Reading Springs was named in honor of Major Pierson B. Reading (pronounced like the color red) the first European-American settler in Shasta County.

According to celebrated California historian, John S. Hittell, the first white woman was seen at Reading Springs in 1849. She was married and she had seven children of her own. Her name wasn’t remembered because it wasn’t recorded by the forty-niners. The population at Reading Springs increased between 500 and 600 residents in September of 1849.

The very first cabin was erected by Milton McGee the following month on High Street, after that other pioneers followed suit erecting additional bungalows on the hillsides near Main Street. The tents were taken down each time a new bungalow was completed. Then on, October 20, 1849, two cousins by the names of Harrison J. Shurtleff and Doctor Benjamin B. Shurtleff arrived together at Reading Springs from Boston, Massachusetts and they settled on a hillside near Main Street. Doctor Benjamin B. Shurtleff became the first surgeon and physician at Reading Springs. Eventually, he establishes the first pharmacy on Main Street and becomes one of the foremost leading citizens in the community.

On February 18, 1850 Shasta County was created as one of the original twenty-seven counties of the new State of California which was still transitioning from being controlled by the Mexican government to becoming a brand new state controlled by the American government. California wasn’t admitted into the Union as the thirty-first state until September 9, 1850. Shasta County is older than the State of California, and that is a true fact.

During the interim the name Reading Springs was changed to Shasta on June 8, 1850. It was named Shasta by Armstead C. Brown an early pioneer settler. Brown named the town Shasta because it was the nearest town to Mount Shasta. Siskiyou County wasn’t formed until 1852. As Shasta grew, the early settlers made it a ramshackle community but the town flourished.

One of the first merchants in town was a man by the name of R.J. Walsh who had a store on Main Street. There were many pioneer entrepreneurs establishing businesses in the new town site and they profited well, like Walsh did. One of the new businesses was the two-story St. Charles hotel which was built by John Mackley. The upstairs contained one large room with 250 cots, and no private rooms, while the downstairs portion of the building contained billiards with gambling tables.

A saloon was also included downstairs. In 1851 this hotel was owned and operated by Karl Augustas Grotefend. Even though the St. Charles hotel was the leading hotel in Shasta, Grotefend, was not concerned about the Globe hotel and the Trinity House (another hotel) being in operation at the same time.

On March 6, 1851 the town of Shasta became the county seat of Shasta County. Shasta was now a bustling city, and a future post office and a courthouse would be constructed soon. Locals would come to call it the Queen City of the Northern Mines or simply, the Queen City of the North, due to the many accommodations it boasted during its heyday.

CONTINUE TO PART TWO HERE.

RESOURCES:

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

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

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

The Benton, Wengler and Buick Sawmill near Big Bend.

A concrete foundation of a building that remains on the Benton, Wengler and Buick sawmill property. These photographs were taken by Jeremy Tuggle on March 19, 2017.

In 1896, Herbert Bass owned a sawmill on Roaring Creek at the junction of Big Bend Road and Cove Road, near Big Bend. It was a water-powered mill. Bass decided to dig a ditch from Roaring Creek to convey water into the sawmill. At a later date, John Buick and Matt Wengler became interested in the property and they purchased shares from Bass. They became his new partners with the intention of relocating milling operations from Marble Creek to the Bass Mill. Together they enlarged the sawmill and erected a larger building 150 feet x 100 feet wide. 

After buying shares of the property from Bass, it became known as the Bass, Wengler and Buick Sawmill. Its owner's employed their own lumberman who conducted their tree falling operations in the nearby Flat Woods. The records show that there was a pond on the property as well. John Buick was a life-long teamster and a resident of Silver Lake, Oregon. His partner Matt Wengler was an immigrant from Germany, and at a later date he became a resident of Inwood. Wengler had an interest in the lumber industry.

After the lumber was hewed at the sawmill, a big machine called a Skidder was used to skid the lumber to the nearest river. The nearest river was the Pit. After the logs were placed into the river the drivers would drift the lumber down the river where the lumber merged with the Sacramento River. The drivers were sometimes were referred to as "river rats". The lumber drives final stop on the river was at the Benton Mill at Turtle Bay in Redding owned by Thomas Hart Benton. This method of transporting lumber was used until 1908 at the Bass, Wengler and Buick Sawmill.

After 1908, the hewed lumber was transported from this sawmill by large trucks. Then in 1910, Herbert Bass, John Buick and Matt Wengler sold their sawmill to Thomas Hart Benton who became the sole owner of this mill. 

Thomas Hart Benton was a native of California, who was born in 1862 to John Hansel Benton and Aurelia (Miller) Benton. He was a long time resident of Manton. He was sometimes referred to as T.H. Benton. On March 16, 1887, he married Katherine Lennon at Shasta. During this union they had five children born to them. 

One of their sons is Lieutenant John Benton who the Redding Airport is named after. Benton owned and operated other saw mills in Shasta County. Thomas Hart Benton died in 1919. Additional sawmills were established in Shasta County by Benton. 

Today, all that remains of this sawmill is an old logging road leading into the property, the concrete foundations of former buildings, and some smaller concrete slabs. They are covered by fallen pine needles from the numerous pine trees on the property. The Benton, Wengler and Buick Sawmill produced heavy lumber from 1896 to 1916.

Above: an additional concrete slab covered in pine needles. These photographs were taken by Jeremy Tuggle on March 19, 2017.

Above: another concrete slab emerging from the pine trees covered in pine needles. These photographs were taken by Jeremy Tuggle on March 19, 2017.

Above: an old logging road is still visible leading into the historic Benton, Wengler and Buick sawmill. These photographs were taken by Jeremy Tuggle on March 19, 2017.

RESOURCES:

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

CHIPS & SAWDUST - ©1978 by Beulah Johnson, published by Shasta Historical Society.

The 1990 Covered Wagon - ©1990 published Shasta Historical Society, "HESTAN WRIGHT REMINISCES" Collected by Joe Mazzini, pages 36-73. 

Thomas Hart Benton marriage in the Family Data Collection (Ancestry)

Find A Grave.com: Thomas Hart Benton

The Shasta Catholic Cemetery at Shasta, established 1855.

A state park sign marking the restoration of the historic Shasta Catholic Cemetery. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 28, 2016.

In 1855, a Catholic Cemetery was established at Shasta. This cemetery is located on the hillside above the Pioneer Union Cemetery. Today, its known as the Shasta Catholic Cemetery. Sadly, the cemetery fell into disrepair and vandals continued vandalizing the head stones well into the 1980s. Under the direction of the California State Parks in 2005, this cemetery was cleaned up and restored. A black gate was placed around its perimeter complete with a lock. This locked gate helps prevent further vandalism to the headstones of the early Shasta pioneers who are buried here with their families.

Among those people buried here is a German immigrant by the name of Henry Blumb. Blumb arrived in California by the way of Panama in 1854 and he settled at Shasta during the latter part of the 1850s. At Shasta Blumb was naturalized as an American citizen on January 22, 1859, by the District Court of Shasta County. During the following year he married his wife Mary Garrecht, also of German descent. 

In 1878, Henry Blumb acquired a building along Main Street at the corner of Boell Alley which formerly housed the U.S. Bakery, established in 1859 by Charles Boell who the alley way is named for. After Blumb bought it, he renovated it and turned it into a thriving saloon and bakery. He operated it until he had a stroke in 1918. Blumb died in 1924. His wife Mary preceded him in death in 1919, and is buried next to him.

An Irish immigrant by the name of Patrick Mullee, and his wife Ann, were residing at Iowa County, Wisconsin in 1850. This is where was Patrick Mullee was naturalized as an American citizen on October 28, 1850 in the Circuit Court of Iowa County. At a later date, Mullee relocated his family from Iowa County, Wisconsin to California where they settled at Churntown, in Shasta County, and he became a merchant who owned his own store. 

Churntown was one of the original 1849 gold mining communities of Shasta County. Mullee is recorded on the 1867 Great Register of Shasta County, but this document misspells his surname as Mulee. Three years later, Mullee became a miner according to the 1870 U.S. Census. The 1870 U.S. Census notes that Patrick Mullee was age 55, Ann was noted at the same age, and their daughter Winnifred was age 20. 

At that time, the Mullee's were residing at the community of Stillwater. Patrick Mullee died at Churntown and his remains were brought to Shasta where he was interred into this cemetery. Ann Mullee survived her husband by another 16 years before she died on April 5, 1892, eventually she was interred into this cemetery as well.

Another pioneer by the name of Theobald Garrecht  (D. April 18, 1875) was a native of Offenbach by Landau, Rheinptaltz (Bavaria). Garrecht departed his native country in 1860 and he arrived in the United States of America. In America, Garrecht, ventured towards the West Coast and settled at Shasta, California, that year. Garrecht was employed as a saloon keeper. Theobald married a woman named Catherine.

Five years later, tragedy struck the Garrecht family when Theobald & Catherine’s daughter, Apollonia (Garrecht) Wentz died on December 21, 1865. She wasn’t buried in the Shasta Catholic Cemetery. Her remains ended up being interred in the Shasta Masonic Cemetery located on Muletown Road just south-west of Shasta. Apollonia married Henry Wentz. The following year, Theobald Garrecht was naturalized as an American citizen in the District Court of Shasta County at Shasta on May 14, 1866. He then registered to vote in July of that year. In 1870, the pioneer was still employed as a saloon keeper, he and his wife Catherine were living in the home of their son Lorenz Garrecht, a prominent Shasta butcher.

There are many other notable Shastan’s who are buried in this historic cemetery. According to my research the last recorded interment in this cemetery was that of James Stephen Coughlin Sr., in 1936. At different times the Shasta State Historic Park offers cemetery tours of both the Shasta Catholic and the Pioneer Union Cemetery, explore it when you can.

L-R: The headstones of Patrick Mullee (D. September 1, 1876) and Ann Mullee (D. April 5, 1892). This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 28, 2016.

Above: In Memory of Theobald Garrecht. Died April 18, 1875. Catherine Garrecht died December 13, 1870. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 28, 2016.

Above: the headstone of James Smith who died February 23, 1862. Smith was a native of Parrish of Lava, County of Cavin, Ireland. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 28, 2016.

RESOURCES:

REPORT  of the Proceedings of the Board Of Supervisors, For May Term 1855 - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 9, 1855

1867 California Voters Registration

1870 U.S. Census

1873 Great Register of Shasta County 

The Shasta Courier, Saturday, April 24, 1875 Theobald Garrecht obituary

The Shasta Courier, Saturday, September 23, 1876 Patrick Mullee death notice.

The Blumb Bakery, a publication by Shasta State Historic Park

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

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

The Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery

This granite marker which is visible from the roadside is in the historic Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery. This historic cemetery was rededicated in 2012 by the Millville Historical Society. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

This small and oft-forgotten cemetery is located in the Enterprise area of the Redding city limits. The Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery is located on Rancho Road, and since it’s establishment in 1878, it become the target of vandalism and blight. Today, only a few of the original burial markers remain in this historic cemetery.

The Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery is within the boundaries of the Millville Cemetery District. A granite marker with a 2010 date etched into it was donated to the Millville Historical Society by the Allen and Dahl Funeral Chapel of Redding. Then in October of 2012, the pioneer cemetery was cleaned up and rededicated by revealing the new granite marker which lists the names, birth and death dates of the individuals buried in this cemetery. The Millville Historical Society celebrated in grand style with a potluck and special appearances from the Shasta County Board of Supervisors. The descendants of Salem Bates and his wife Rebecca (Horton) Bates were also in attendance that day.

The first recorded burial in this cemetery is that of Dan Bates who died as an infant child on March 3, 1878, his death remains a mystery to me. He was a son of A.S. Bates and Sophia (Keefer) Bates who are buried in Colusa County, and during my research I didn’t find any relation between them and the Salem Bates family. It appears the A.S. Bates family were passing through the area heading south when their baby boy died.

Salem Bates and Rebecca (Horton) Bates were both natives of Vermont. They were married in the town of West Haven in 1832. They became the parents of four children, two boys and two girls, which were born between 1835-1844, respectively.

Salem Bates led an estrange life. A search for him in the 1870 U.S. Census yielded no results, yet his wife Rebecca is noted as living with her son Hiram F. A. Baker in Hartford, Ohio, that year. Hiram was a working as a farmer and his mother was unemployed, but she kept house. Salem Bates last appeared in the 1860 U.S. Census living at Putah in Yolo County. His occupation was noted as a farmer. He boarded with a man named Benjamin White. There were no other family members who were documented as living with him in California at that time.

Once again, another search for Salem Bates in the Shasta County Great Register of 1879 yielded no results. With this register lacking Bates’ name it suggests that the Bates family arrived in Shasta County sometime after the register was taken or in the early weeks of January 1880. The earliest record I located the Bates family on is the U.S. Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1880 for Hiram F.A. Baker and his mother Rebecca (Horton) Bates, available on Ancestry.com

Upon their arrival in Shasta County, tragedy struck the Salem Bates family when his son died of heart disease at the age of forty-four, on January 10, 1880. Hiram was soon interred into this cemetery. Eighteen days later, Salem’s wife Rebecca (Horton) Bates died on January 28, 1880, of the same complication as her son. She was interred here as well. After the deaths of his wife and son, Salem Bates settled in township number six of Shasta County, working as a laborer at the age of 70. According to the 1880 U.S. Census, Bates was boarding with the family of John Thompson.

Thompson was a 52-year-old broom maker. He was married and had at least two children of his own to provide for. Five years later Salem Bates is living on his own in Pacheco and working as a farmer. He died on March 9, 1894, and he was interred into this cemetery, near his wife. Eventually, additional interments were made in the Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery through the years. The last interment to be made into this cemetery was that of Earl Stenerson in 1936.

  

   

A fence surrounds the perimeter of the Bates Family Pioneer Cemetery on Rancho Road, to keep people out. The cemetery is on private property. All photographs taken with permission. Parking is limited. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Above: fallen headstones covered by plants, weeds and dry grass. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Above: the fallen headstone of Rebecca (Horton) Bates. The wife of Salem Bates. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Above: a faded burial marker within the cemetery. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

Above: an unknown burial that is fenced off inside the cemetery. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on June 23, 2018.

RESOURCES:

1860 U.S. Census

1870 U.S. Census

U.S. Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1880 for Rebecca (Horton) Bates (Ancestry.com)

1879 Shasta County Great Register. (No mention of Salem Bates.)

1880 U.S. Census

1885 California Voters Registration

Millville Historical Society Gives Bates Cemetery New Life - East Valley Times newspaper, October 17, 2012.

Shasta County Resources