Most of Shasta County has been in that county since 1850.
Territory in Butte County from 1850 to 1854, was in Plumas County from 1854 to 1872 when it was added to Shasta County.
The County was named after Mount Shasta. the name Shasta is derived from the English equivalent for the name of an Indian tribe that once lived in the area. The name of the tribe was spelled in various ways until the present version was used when the county was established. The County Seat is Redding . See also County History for more historical details.
Shasta County Cities Include Anderson, Redding, Shasta Lake City. CDPs(A census-designated place (CDP) is a type of place or area identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes)Include Big Bend, Burney, Cottonwood, Fall River Mills, French Gulch, Lakehead-Lakeshore, McArthur, Millville, Montgomery Creek, Palo Cedro, Round Mountain, Shingletown. Unincorporated Communities Include Bella Vista, Cassel, Castella, Hat Creek, Igo, Oak Run, Old Station, Platina, Pollard Flat, Shasta, Whitmore
PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
All records were destroyed in the great fire of June 14th, 1853. For the first year of organization, Trinity County was attached to Shasta.
Shasta County Clerk-Recorder's Officehas Birth Records from 1873, Marriage Records from 1852, Death Records from 1873 and , Land Records from 1852. The County Recorder-Clerk is responsible for examination and recording of all documents presented for recording that deal with establishing ownership of land in the County or as required by statute; administers the real property transfer tax law and maintains a permanent record and indexes of all documents for public viewing plus providing certified copies requested by the public; recording of all lawful documents such as deeds, deeds of trust, judgments, liens, affidavits, Uniform Commercial Code Financial Statements, etc; and the filing of Births, Deaths, and Marriages.
Shasta County Clerk of Superior Court has Probate Records from 1880 and Court Records from 1880. The county Superior Court clerk has probate books and files from the county's superior court, civil court records, and naturalizations. Divorces may be here or in the Recorders Office, depending on how it was filed.
Some early court records from the various courts may have been sent to the California State Archives. Besides court minutes and judgements, these records include tax lists, wills, deeds, estate inventories, and marriage bonds. The California State Archives has microfilm of selected county records, 1850–1919.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Court Records by clicking the link below:
California Voter Registrations, 1900-1968: This database contains indexes to voter registration lists from various counties in California from 1900-1968. Information listed in these records includes: name of voter, age, address, occupation, and political affiliation.
California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957: This database is an index to passenger and crew lists of ships and some airplanes arriving at Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Pedro, and Ventura in the U.S. state of California, between 1893 and 1957. Information contained in the index includes name of passenger, their age, gender, ethnicity, nationality or last country of permanent residence, arrival date, port of arrival, port of departure, and ship name. If a name of a friend or relative whom the passenger was going to join with, or place of nativity was provided, that information is included as well.
San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Vol. I [1850-1864]: The volume offered here is a reprint of the first volume in a series dealing with passenger arrivals at the port of San Francisco between 1850 and 1875, though this first volume contains a selection of passenger lists extending only though 1864.
San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists Vol. II [1850-1851]: Volume II is based on completely different sources than the first volume in the series, which covered the years 1850-1864, and it encompasses an additional 16,500 passenger arrivals at San Francisco Bay during the 20-month period from April 1850 to November 1851.
San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists. Vol. III: November 7, 1851 to June 17, 1852: Volume III covers a seven-month period during which approximately 25,000 persons arrived at the port of San Francisco--nearly 50% more than the number of arrivals for the preceding 18-month period covered in Volume II. The year 1852 witnessed a surge in migration to California, and this volume reflects the initial thrust of that surge.
Click Here to Search California Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
California Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records,
MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410; (916) 445-2684. They have the following records:
Birth & Death Certificates: The state of California began issuing certificates for births and Deaths in July 1905. Birth and death records for current year events and one year prior are available from the county health department; records for all years are maintained by the county recorder.
If not, you should submit your request to the County Recorder’s Office in the county where the birth or death took place or order the birth / death certificate online through VitalChek.
Cost: $14.00 per birth certificate & $12.00 per death certificate.
Processing Time: 12-14 weeks when ordered by mail (Application for Birth or Death Certificate) or 2-5 Days when you order online
Marriage Certificates: The state of California began issuing certificates for marriages since July 1905, except for 1987 to 1995 (The state does not have indexes for the years 1987-1995 so you must request these from the county). Certified copies of public marriage records are available from both the California Office of Vital Records and the County Recorder’s Office in the county where the public marriage license was issued. However, the Office of Vital Records is limited in its ability to search the records, and it can take up to 2-3 years to obtain a certified copy from thier office. Therefore, we recommend that certified copies of public marriage records be requested directly from the County Recorder’s Office or online.
Cost: $13.00 per certificate.
Processing Time: 2-3 years when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order online
Divorce Certificates: Certified copies are not available from State Health Department. Certified copies of actual divorce decrees are only available from the Superior Court in the county where the divorce was filed. The Office of Vital Records issues a Certificate of Record that includes only the names of the parties to the divorce, the county where the divorce was filed, and the court case number – it is not a certified copy of the divorce decree and does not indicate whether the divorce was ever finalized in court. The Office of Vital Records only has information for divorces that were filed with the court between 1962 and June 1984, and our processing times can take up to 2-3 years or Online with VitalChek.
Cost: $12.00 per certificate. Fee is for search and identification of county where certified copy can be obtained.
Processing Time: 2-3 years when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order online
PLEASE READ!! A certified copy fee must accompany all requests for copies of vital records. Requests received without the appropriate fee will be returned to the sender. Make your check or money order payable to the Office of Vital Records. Checks must be drawn on a United States bank. Money orders must be drawn on a United States bank or issued by the United States Postal Service. Do not send cash. If no record is found, they will issue a Certificate of No Public Record and retain the fee for the search according to State law. Before submitting your application to the Office of Vital Records, please view the processing times to make sure they are acceptable for your needs.
Order On-Line: To obtain a certified copy of a vital record by on-line purchase with a credit card, please link to VitalChek
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
California Birth Index, 1905-1995: This database is an index to over 24.5 million births occurring in California between 1905 and 1995.
California Death Index, 1940-1997: his database is an index to the death records in State of California, USA, from 1940 through 1997. The database provides such valuable information as first, last and middle names of the descendants, birth dates, mother's maiden name, father's last name, sex, birth place, death place, residence at time of death, death date, social security number (when available), and the age of the individual when they died.
California Divorce Index, 1966-1984: This database is an index to over 3.5 million divorces that were filed in California (U.S.A.) from 1966-1984. Information that may be found in this database includes spouses' names, divorce date, and divorce county or city.
California Marriage Index, 1960-1985: This database contains a statewide index to over 4.8 million marriages that were performed in California between 1960 and 1985. Information that may be found in this database includes the bride's and groom's names, their ages, the marriage county, and the marriage date.
California Marriages, 1850-1877: This database contains information on individuals who were married in select areas of California between 1850 and 1960. Note that not all counties are included in this index and within the counties that are included not all years within the date range...
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Census Records by clicking the link below:
California Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 Census Substitute; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index (excluding San Francisco County); 1870 San Francisco County Census Index; 1834 Census Index of Santa Barbara; 1890 Veterans Schedule; 1890 Naval Veterans Schedule.
California Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for California and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for California showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for California showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Maps. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search California Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Military Records by clicking the link below:
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service Assessment List for California, 1862–66, is available on thirty-three microfilm rolls at the California State Library in Sacramento. The lists include names, location and description of business, and tax rate for individuals taxed.
Similar to tax records in their yearly listing of residents are the “Great Register” of California, which are miscellaneous county voting registers that exist from the mid-nineteenth century. The registers were compiled and printed about every two years. Before 1900, they show name, address, and age (but the age may remain the same after a man's first entry). From about the mid-1800s, physical descriptions are included, but after the 1898 register, only the name, address, party affiliation, and sometimes occupation are listed.
Before 1892, the lists are county-wide, but usually alphabetical only by first letter or surname. They are particularly valuable for foreign-born voters, as the date and court of naturalization are listed. Copies of the "Great Registers," (1866–1944) are at the California State Library, which also has alphabetical card file abstracts for some of the earlier registers for San Francisco. Records from 1946 are with the individual county registrars of voters.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
The California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94105; 415-357-1848 — voice; 415-357-1850 — fax; info@calhist.org — e-mail
California State Genealogical Alliance, 19765 Grand Avenue, Lake Elsinore, CA 92330
One way to access many local and county genealogical and historical societies is through the Alliance, which publishes its own newsletter.
California State Archives, Office of Secretary of State, 1020 O Street, Room 130, Sacramento, CA 95814; Reference Desk: (916) 653-2246; General Information: (916) 653-7715; FAX: (916) 653-7363; E-Mail:ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
California Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search California Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
There are no centralized repositories dealing with church records in California. Scattered records can be found in genealogical publications, the DAR compilations, and on microfilm. The Spanish missions have played a central role in California's religious history.
Printed secondary sources of transcribed cemeteries exist for most California counties. The California State Society of the DAR has collected hundreds of such records. Transcripts are housed both at the national DAR and with some local chapters and libraries.
Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Califonia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Shasta County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Shasta County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
California Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
California Pioneer Project - The California Pioneer List (CPL) is a list of settlers to California who migrated to or were born in California prior to 1880 (included in the 1880 California Census) and obtained from those sent (e-mailed) directly from individuals doing genealogical research.
After a new courthouse was built in Redding in 1956, Shasta's third courthouse was used as a county office building until 1963, when it was demolished to make room for a court annex. Locals remember that the tax assessor's office was placed on the upper floor of the building to discourage complaints about assessments. The statue of Justice and the bell from the dome of the old building are displayed on the grounds
“The History and Business Directory of Shasta County” As written in 1881 by B.F. Frank and H.W. Chappell, published in 1881
Upon the subdivision of the State into counties in 1850, Mr. Wathall, member of Assembly of the delegation from the Sacramento district, which included the Sacramento valley to the Oregon line, proposed the name of Shasta for this section, and it was adopted by the Legislature. The name is from a tribe of Indians who resided at the foot of the height or mountain by that name, which is at the source of the Sacramento river. Its boundaries have been somewhat reduced since that date.
The county is the meeting point of the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada mountains, the first of which throws off an enormous spur called the Shasta mountain, whilst the second breaks up into a number of rough-sided buttes. The topographical consequence is an immense number of canyons, gorges, valleys and ravines, through which is drained the whole northern section of the State.
Shasta county lies not far from midway between the two most important ports on the Pacific shore, i.e., San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, and directly on the overland route, which in the future will become the grand thoroughfare from Mexico to British Columbia.
The upper Sacramento, or Pit river, the McLeod – but more commonly called the McCloud – river, and innumerable creeks, form its fluvial system. The Pit river is the principal tributary of the Sacramento, and the McLeod river is the loveliest of our mountain streams. The latter rises in Mount Shasta (Siskiyou county), and after a troubled course of eighty or ninety miles, through rocky canyons, quiet valleys and between abrupt precipices, it empties into the Pit river a few miles above its junction with the Sacramento.
The McLeod is a favorite fishing stream, and has been selected by the United States Commissioners superintending the propagation of fish as the place of their operations in this State.
The Sacramento valley ends in this county, and is, with the many other nooks between the hills, the scene of much agricultural prosperity. The valley commences to narrow about Red Bluff, and gradually closes in as you proceed and ascend. Further north we have the Shasta valley, an extensive plain, chiefly used as a range for cattle and sheep. But its soil of fertile, and the valley contains some good farms. To the farmer the valley and foothill lands are attractive. There are still large amounts unsettled, and it will be some time before the mountainous lands and pretty valleys will be fully occupied by settlers.
The Sacramento river rises in a large spring at the base of Mount Shasta, and has worn its way through the high mountains, and rushes down nearly a hundred miles of its course an impetuous, roaring mountain stream, abounding in trout at all seasons, and in June, July and August, filled with salmon that have come up here through the Golden Gate from the ocean to spawn. It here runs between banks so steep that for miles together the river is inaccessible. When this portion of the river was first “prospected” for gold, the miners had to build boats and descend by water, trying gold by the way, because they could not find land.
The stage road follows to its source the devious course of the river, and you ride along sometimes nearly on a level with the stream, and again on a roadbed cut out of a steep mountain side, one thousand or fifteen hundred feet above the water, through fine forests of sugar pine and yellow pine, many of the trees almost coming up to the dimensions of the great sequoias. A notable stopping place is the Soda Springs, where there is a comfortable little mountain inn. About ten miles south is Castle Rock, a remarkable and most picturesque mountain of white granite, bare for one thousand feet below its pinnacled summit. Near the springs is a singular, almost precipitous mountain, which terminates in a sharp ridge at the top – one of those “knife-edge ridges” of which Prof. Whitney and Clarence King often speak in their description of this scenery. This ridge is sharp enough to straddle, and on eitherside is an almost precipitous descent, with a beautiful lake in the distance.
With the above outlines and general remarks, copied partly from another publication, we will now proceed to speak of some of the events in the past, which will be found as correct as the records now to be had furnish us, and the memory of those who figured in the early history of our county serves them.
Major Pearson B. Reading was the first white settler of Shasta county. His settlement was made in the year 1845, at the place now known as the Reading Homestead, near the junction of Cottonwood creek with the Sacramento river.
With the exception of Reading’s, there was no settlement made in Shasta county by white men until the arrival of the immigration across the plains in 1849. There were a number of men from Oregon in the county previous to the immigration from the East, but they were moving about from place to place, and made no permanent location.
The immigration to Shasta county in 1849 came in principally by the Lassen route, now generally known as the “old Lassen trail.” This trail came into the Sacramento valley at Lassen’s ranch, on Deer creek. On the arrival of the immigration at Lassen’s, the great inquiry was as to where the best diggings were to be found. The mines north of Lassen’s were classified as the Northern, and those south, as the Southern mines. The accounts were, to some extent, conflicting, but the Northern mines were generally favorably mentioned, and many selected them because there were but few men in them. There were three places which constituted the Northern mines (as the Shasta mines were then called), viz., the Upper Reading Springs (now known as Shasta), the Lower Reading Springs (now known as the Lower Springs), and the Clear creek diggings (now known as the Horsetown diggings).
These mines were all originally discovered by Major Reading, and he and his Indians did the first mining in each of them. These three places became the headquarters of most of the immigrants, and there prospecting companies were organized during the winter of ’49 and ’50, who discovered most of the mines situated between the Sacramento river and Clear creek, from the mouth of Clear creek up to Spring creek and Whisky creek.
It is difficult for one who is not a pioneer to realize the situation of the immigrants of 1849. They were in the land of gold; but to them it was a strange land, and everything was new. They knew nothing about gold mining nor the country. They would occasionally meet men of their own race who had “blazed the way” to the new El Dorado and knew the land – the pioneers of California pioneers – and in such men as Reading, Lassen, Sutter and Moon, they met men who could stand in the front among any pioneers the world ever saw.
The immigrants seemed to be regarded as intruders by a few of the old Californians, but they were generally received with kindness and hospitality by those who were here on their arrival. Major Reading was particularly kind and generous; he sympathized with the immigrants and manifested a heartfelt and cheerful desire to aid and assist them by every means in his power, and he had words of kindness and of cheer that were often worth more than gold. Many of the first settlers of Shasta county treasure among their most cherished recollections the kind words and kind deeds of Major Pearson B. Reading. Whenever the early history of Shasta county is written, let his name be inscribed on its brightest page.
The first settlers of Shasta county were miners, almost exclusively, and an account of the mining operations of those who were at the three mining camps which have been mentioned above as the headquarters of the Shasta miners, will about contain the early history of Shasta county.
Those who made Clear creek their headquarters were probably the discoverers of more new mines than those of the Upper and Lower Reading Springs, as they had a wider field to operate in. They had an equal chance with the settlers of the other two camps to prospect the country east of Clear creek, and the country west was entirely unexplored. The Clear creek miners were the first prospectors of all that section.
We have a very few persons who came into Shasta county in 1849 who are still residing in the county, and have obtained from them the leading events which transpired in the early settlement of the county, as far as they could remember them; and, while they have been related from memory, we are satisfied that they can be relied upon as substantially correct.
Many of the ’49-ers of Shasta county have passed away, and with them have passed away many events which should be recorded in our history.
SHASTA
The records and papers of the office of Alcalde at Shasta, (when that means of administering justice was the recognized law in California,) were destroyed in the great fire of June 14th, 1853. These would have furnished many interesting incidents of the pioneer times whereof there is now no record. In October, 1849, Shasta (then known as Reading Springs), was a busy village of tents. There were then nearly as many people living on the hill as in the part of the town under the hill, where the chief settlement now is. Among many others who were then living upon the hill, and who spent the memorable winter of 1849 there, were the late R.J. Walsh, of Colusa, and the late John S. Follansbee, of San Francisco. Many of the first settlers were from Oregon. Dick Christman, a native of Tennessee, but who came from Oregon to California in the spring of 1849, was camped on the hill in June of that year. There were quite a number of Oregonians settled on the hill at that time who were attracted there by the pure air and excellent water. These were all engaged in mining on Rock creek, Middle creek and Salt creek. They came overland from Oregon as early in the spring of 1849 as the trails were open and the streams fordable. In October of that year, several log cabins were being built, but none completed. Several hundred people were then living in and about Shasta. The rainy season commenced on the 2nd day of November. It began to rain between two and three o’clock in the morning. From that time it rained quite steadily and sometimes very hard through November, December, and the greater part of January. February was fair, mild and pleasant. The only rain prior to November, in the fall of 1849, was a light shower early in October – about the 6th of the month. Not more than an eighth of an inch fell. The rainy season produced a great panic in Shasta. People feared that all communication would be cut off between that place and Sacramento, and that a famine would follow before communication could be opened in the spring. Parties sold their provisions at ruinous prices, and hurried off to Sacramento and San Francisco. Though freights had been forty and fifty cents per pound between Shasta and Sacramento, flour then sold for twenty cents per pound, and other things in proportion. The keen, shrewd R.J. Walsh was the only man having money, who dared to invest. He bought largely and when the deadlock came, in the travel between Shasta and Sacramento, through the impassability of Sycamore slough, made a corner on every article of merchandise in his store, and, within thirty days after he had purchased flour at twenty cents, was selling it at $2.00, $2.25 and in several instances as high as $2.50 per pound. He was known to sell many a one hundred pound sack of Chili flour cash down in glittering gold-dust for $225 or at the rate of $450 per barrel. Those were flush times when men made their money easily, and the price of a sack of flour then was as little considered as at the present day. Dr. Benj. Shurtleff, his cousin Harrison J. Shurtleff, Dr. Hall from Vermont, and a man by the name of Belcher from Chelsea, Mass., were living and messing together at the time. Occasionally they indulged in the luxury of a peach pie, made in the lower part of the town where the Union Church now stands. They cost $1.50 each and were excellent pies, their only fault being in the fact that the upper and lower crusts were a little too near together. This was owing to the high price of dried peaches. The Pioneer Pie Factory was run by the late Benj. F. Washington, Vincent E. Geiger and William S. Lany. Geiger cut the wood, Washington made the pies, and Lany was the salesman. Mrs. Carthy, the wife of John Carthy, probably gave birth to the first white child born in Shasta county – a girl. This was early in 1851, probably in February or March. This child only survived a few weeks. C.F. Montgomery, now a resident of Arizona, and business manager of the daily and weekly Nugget, published at Tombstone, was born at French Gulch in Shasta county, April 24th, 1851. He is the oldest surviving white person born in Shasta county and probably the first white male child born in the county.
The late Chief Justice Royal T. Sprague came to Shasta in September, 1849. He, with a number of other emigrants, who came overland from Ohio, forded the Sacramento river at Moon’s ranch and built a log cabin just North of the Potter place, where they spent the winter. In the spring and summer of 1850, Sprague mined on Clear creek at Grizzly gulch. The late Gen. Joseph Lane was also once a Shasta county miner. In the summer of 1850 he came overland from Oregon, arriving in Shasta in June. He mined in the vicinity of Olney creek and Oregon gulch. He was a plain, agreeable, affable gentleman; endowed with a good degree of strong, practical common sense. His reminiscences of the Mexican war and description of Oregon were very entertaining. He returned to Oregon in the fall of 1850.
Reading Springs was named Shasta by a mass meeting of its citizens, who met in front of the store of R.J. Walsh, where Armory Hall now stands, on the 8th day of June, 1850. Mr. A. Grotefend is the only person now living in Shasta, who was there during the memorable winter of 1849.
Much of the history of Shasta county passed into oblivion in 1868, upon the death of its Nestor of pioneers, (Major Pearson B. Reading.) The demise of Chief Justice Sprague, R.J. Walsh, J.S. Follansbee, Joseph Isaacs, Levi H. Tower and many others deprives us of much valuable information. The St. Charles Hotel, built by James Macly & Co., and the Trinity House, built by W.S. Bonifield and David Cassant, were the first frame buildings built in Shasta. The lumber from which they were constructed was whip-sawed by Jonathan Otie and his partner, and cost one dollar a foot (or at the rate of $1,000 per 1,000 feet.) These buildings were erected in the summer of 1850. Macly was a man of great energy and enterprise. He subsequently went East and while on his second trip across the plains to California, was killed by the Indians in Honey Lake valley. His remains were brought to Shasta and buried in the old cemetery.
There was a great celebration of the 4th of July at Shasta in 1851. Judge Sprague read the Declaration of Independence, and Judge W.R. Harrison delivered an oration. Major Reading and many others from remote parts of the county were in attendance. A sumptuous dinner was served at the St. Charles Hotel. The first general election was held in Shasta county in September, 1850. The first county officers were then elected. W.R. Harrison was elected County Judge. In the following winter he traveled on foot to Hamilton, the county seat of Butte county, took the oath of office before Judge Bean, and returning to Shasta, proceeded to organize Shasta county. The other county officers elect, also the Justices of the Peace, appeared before Judge Harrison and qualified for their respective offices. Dr. Jesse Robinson, at that time a partner with Dr. Shurtleff, in business under the firm name of Shurtleff & Robinson, was County Clerk. The law authorizing the organization of Shasta, fixed the county seat at Reading’s ranch, but power was vested in the Court of Sessions to remove the county seat to such point in the county as public convenience might require.
Shasta county at that time extended from a point near Red Bluff and from the Northern boundary of Butte county to the Oregon line. It embraced all of the present territory of Shasta and Modoc counties, all of Siskiyou, except what it received from Klamath when that county disorganized, and a part of Tehama and Lassen. For four years after the organization of the county, we had no Board of Supervisors, and the Court of Sessions performed the functions now vested in the Board of Supervisors. On the 10th day of February, 1851, Judge Harrison and County Clerk Robinson, with Justices of the Peace enough to form a quorum, went to the residence of Major Reading and organized the Court of Sessions by electing two of the Justices of the Peace Associate Justices. The Court of Sessions then removed the county seat to Shasta, bringing it home with them that night, so that the county of Shasta was organized on the 10th of February, 1851. The removal was perfectly satisfactory to all persons, and particularly to Major Reading, for the old pioneer, unlike the most of Californians, cherished no hankering for a county seat within twenty mils of him. The officers who removed the county seat had a much easier time than Judge Harrison had experienced in his trip to Hamilton, for they made the trip on horseback. A great change came with the organization of the county government under the all Americanized system of government. By an Alcalde we had no taxation and justice was dispensed in a short and summary manner. When Peter Bergoon, a Shasta merchant, failed, Judge Sprague, attorney for the creditors, brought suit by attachment before Dr. Benj. Shurtleff, and also foreclosed a mortgage, winding up the affair within the short space of twenty-four hours. When Bowles was tried for the murder of his partner on Clear creek, in May, 1850, Sprague conducted the prosecution and Judge Harrison the defense, a jury was empanneled, a large number of witnesses examined; both made exhaustive arguments in the case; Sprague overwhelming the court and jury with statutes of New York and Ohio, while Harrison was just as lavish with the laws of Indiana and Iowa, and yet the case was concluded in a single day, the jury having brought in a verdict of “not guilty” before midnight. Investigation convinced the jury that Bowles’ partner had been brutally murdered by Ben Wright’s treacherous Oregon Indians, who were camped a short distance away, at that time, from the place where the crime was committed.
It was wise for the people to avail themselves of the more elaborate system of American law and government, but with it came a boundless amount of red tape, high taxes, licenses and oppressive debts. And yet Shasta has been more fortunate than many of her sister counties. Considering her resources in agriculture, minerals and lumber, she has a bright prospect for the future. Shasta county also elected her first Assemblyman at the general election in September, 1850. Party lines were ignored, as neither the Democratic nor Whig party was organized in that locality. Some two weeks before the election a large number of business and representative men of the town, met at the St. Charles Hotel, and place in nomination Mr. Watson, of the well-known firm of Riddle, Weber & Co., as a candidate for the Assembly. It was an excellent nomination. He was a native of South Carolina, but when quite young emigrated to Illinois, and then, in 1849, came overland to California. He was intelligent and consistent. He was also a model Christian, who brought his Christianity to California and always kept it with him. The early pioneers of Shasta county will remember that the house of Riddle, Weber & Co. always kept their store closed on Sundays, and never permitted goods to be purchased or delivered on the Sabbath day. Watson would have been an excellent candidate in any of the older States, North or South, but he did not prove available for Californians. A few days after the nomination of Mr. Watson, the people of Shasta saw a young, stoop-shouldered, lean, dangle-legged young man ride into town up Main street, upon a small, lean mule, his feet almost touching the ground. He stopped in front of a saloon, dismounted and ties his mule to an awning post. By this time, curiosity being somewhat excited, quite a little crowd had assembled; turning to the bystanders he said: “I understand you had a meeting in town the other night, and nominated a candidate for Assembly?” “Yes,” was the reply, “we nominated Mr. Watson.” He then said: “Boys, I’m a candidate for the Assembly. My name is A.Z. McCandless, and whiskey is my platform, and whiskey is going to win this fight. Let us all go in and take a drink.” All joined him without a dissenting voice. Thus started the McCandless boom, which kept rising higher and higher, and sticking to his platform, he was triumphantly elected.
San Francisco in July, 1849, probably contained some 4,000 inhabitants. It was about the size that Red Bluff now is. It was all bustle and activity. Goods of all descriptions were piled along the narrow sidewalks. The small houses which the Bay city then contained afforded but little room for storage. Everybody seemed to be getting ready to rush off to the mines. Schooners, boats and every variety of light-draft water craft, were in great demand to carry passengers into the interior, particularly to Sacramento and Stockton. The Sacramento river was swarming with hopeful, song-singing gold hunters, pushing forward to grasp in substance all that had been pictured in their golden dreams of fortune. Sacramento at that time, was a lively town of tents and canvas houses. There were then but two or three frame wooden buildings in the town, but during a period of two and a half months Sacramento made a magic growth and had risen to the rank of a populous city. The trip from Sacramento to Shasta in 1849, is described as follows by an old Shasta pioneer, Dr. Benj. Shurtleff:
“On the 1st day of October we left Sacramento, crossing the river on a ferry at the foot of I street. We proceeded on our journey to Shasta, or Reading Springs, as the place was then called. We camped the first night at Fremont, but there was very little sleep or rest for us that night. On the East side of the Sacramento was the town of Vernon. The Vernon people came over to Fremont and sat up nearly all night discussing the future of the two young cities. Both the Fremont and Vernon people agreed that neither Sacramento nor Marysville was an eligible site for a great city. All agreed that a great city would rise up in the Sacramento valley at the mouth of Feather river, and, in a few years become one of the most wealthy and populous cities in the world. But when they came to talk about fixing the exact point of its location, violent, and at times angry discussion ensued; the friends of Fremont maintaining that they had founded the future great city of the Pacific Coast, while the Vernon men predicted the downfall of Fremont and a growth for Vernon that would astonish the world. We made the entire journey to Shasta on the West side of the Sacramento river, and I do not recollect seeing a panel of fence on the route except in three small corrals, one at Moon’s ranch, one at Ide’s and the other at Reading’s ranch. The Sacramento valley seemed a vast waste. There was grass, but it was all dry and dead. Occasionally we saw in the distance a herd of Spanish cattle or an antelope, and as we approached them it was difficult to tell which ran the faster, cattle or antelopes. We passed over the rich, productive lands of Stoney creek, or Northern Colusa and Southern Tehama, which, including the Butte creek valley, on the East side of the Sacramento river, is the best grain belt in California. But, so little did we know about their value, that we would not have given ten cents an acre for a clear title to the best land we saw. In looking back now, the only consolation I have, is the poor one, that the balance of the pioneers of that day knew no more about the rich, alluvial lands of California than I did. We knew nothing of the productiveness of the soil, and had not learned that the season for growth of the more hardy crops of the more hardy crops, such as grain, grass, etc., was in the winter and early spring.”
Colusa, at the date mentioned by the pioneer above quoted, was a beautiful forest and was called Salmon Bend. Its only inhabitants were a tribe of Indians, but the town was settled a short time subsequently and soon grew to be a lively place. The steamer Orient began making trips between Sacramento and Colusa probably in September, 1851, and soon after the Capt. Sutter began on the same line, which gave a great impetus to the new town. The enterprising R.J. Walsh, at Shasta, was a part owner of the Capt. Sutter, and his own heavy shipments on her made up a great part of her lucrative business. We are informed that in October, 1849, ex-Gov. Wilson Shannon, Ohio’s first native born Governor, was negotiating the purchase of the Reading ranch, and that Major Reading’s price was $10,000. At the rate R.J. Walsh sold flour in the following December, twenty barrels of his flour or 10,000 feet of Jonathan Otis’s lumber, (mentioned before), would have purchased the entire grant. The winters of 1850 and ’51 were comparatively dry in Shasta county, but there was a pretty good rain in September. It began to rain soon after dark on the evening of the 10th, and continued steadily nearly all night. All enjoyed it, for with it was a fine exhibition of thunder and lightning, reminding the pioneer of his far-off home in the East. There was very little more rain until early in the spring. One word about rain, as it figures largely in the interests of California and is prolific of much good. The 49-ers had seen one California winter, and pitied the immigrants of 1850, for they knew nothing of the rainy season. They knew that in the preceding year the rain had commenced on the 2d day of November, and they confidently expected to see it begin about the same time in the approaching fall. One day Major Reading was asked what time he thought the rainy season would commence, and replied that the rainy season was very indefinite and uncertain in its commencement, it might begin in November, sometimes there was very little rain before Christmas, and some years it was as late as the 20th of January before any heavy rains came, and occasionally an entire year passed with but very little rain. Several pioneers of thirty years standing give it as their opinion that Major Reading’s description of the seasons is the best that can be given.
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