Colusa County

History

TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF THE COUNTY.

CHAPTER VII.

COLUSA, THE COUNTY SEAT.

        The county seat of Colusa County lies on the western bank of the Sacramento River, near the eastern edge of the county, and south of its middle line. Its population proper, not including Goad's Extension and Cooper's Addition, is placed by the national census, recently concluded, at one thousand three hundred and fifty. It being the oldest town and earliest place of settlement in the county, we have necessarily recorded much of its pioneer history in treating of the early annals of the county and hence to avoid repetition will be justified now in only tracing the merest outlines of its foundation.

        In 1846 or '47 Dr. Robert Semple was returning from a visit to some old pioneers at the head of the Sacramento River, and stopped for a short breathing-spell at the rancheria of the Colus Indians. He was struck with the beauty of the country and the fertility of the soil, and saw, or thought he saw, here the location of a future great city. On inquiry he learned that the land thereabout belonged to John Bidwell, having been located under a Mexican grant. He made a memorandum of this, and when his brother, Colonel Charles D. Semple, arrived in California, in 1849, he narrated to him how deeply he was impressed with the country and its advantages of position. Colonel Semple, satisfied with the description his brother had given him, lost no time in finding Bidwell and purchasing the grant from him. Early in 1850, Colonel Semple set out with a little steamboat to establish a town on his new possessions. He was directed by his brother to the Colus rancheria, which was hidden entirely from the river. Mistaking, however, a temporary encampment of the Indians for the place to which he had been directed, he landed his men and merchandise at a place seven miles above the Colus rancheria and afterward known as the Seven Mile House

        At the period at which Colonel Semple set out on his journey to build a metropolis, his brother, Dr. Semple, was constructing a steamboat at Benicia, and on July 3, 1850, she got under way. She was called the Colusa, like the new town to which her initial voyage was bringing her, though the earliest name in English for the present town was "Salmon Bend." When the mistake in the location of the town was discovered, Colonel Semple took steps to remove all his belongings seven miles lower down the river. The wood choppers who had been in his employ were discharged. Taking with him E. Hicks, a carpenter, and purchasing a wagon and a yoke of oxen, with which to convey most of his goods, he soon was located on the spot originally designed. The other white man who completed this trio of metropolis builders was Will S. Green, then a youth of eighteen years and known everywhere throughout the State as the editor, the original thinker, of the Colusa Sun. Green remained behind about a month, engaged in keeping a rude hotel, where, in this lonely, isolated place, the adventurous miner and the hardy home seeker were only too glad to partake of his hard, yellow, saleratus-saturated biscuit and rusty bacon at $1.00 a meal.

        In the new town a few streets were at first surveyed and a house built on lot two, block six, now on Levee Street, between Fifth and Sixth. Semple and Green occupied this building as a store, and some pretensions were made to supply the wants of the hungry wayfarer, who might stray into this wilderness of plain. These generally increased in number, since all the goods carried to Shasta and the northern mines were packed on mules or hauled in wagons, and came by way of Colusa. The new city was built to catch this trade. A little steamer called the Martha Jane was purchased by Colonel Semple and made a few trips, but no one would ship by her. Then an iron-hulled boat, the Benicia, Captain George V. Hight, undertook the trip, her first cargo being chiefly flour belonging to Louis Johnson, a merchant of Shasta, and R. J. Walsh, afterwards the largest farmer of his day in the county. The Martha Jane, however, failed to reach its destination, having struck a snag and sunk just above Knights Landing. Captain Bartlett, of the Orient, was then engaged. He came up, took the damaged goods off the Benicia and landed them at Colusa. The Orient afterwards continued in trade. In two months after the Orient had made her first landing at Colusa, Levee Street was pretty well built up from Fourth to Seventh. Among the merchants established there at this time were: Carpenter & Spalding, Chenery & Hazzletine, Hoop & L'Ameroux, Alderman Brothers, Proctor N. Smith, Patch Brothers and P. B. Woods; Van Wie & Co., William Vincent and O. C. Berkey came among the first, and built the Colusa Hotel. J. H. Liening arrived also in 1851 and erected a restaurant, and William Riley set up a blacksmith shop.

        The town of Colusa was incorporated in 1868. The first Board of Trustees consisted of S. Harris, E. Chapin, L. Cary, H. A. Van Dorsten and Gil Jones. S. Harris was president and Gil Jones secretary. Henry Culp was town marshal.

        As we have already noted from year to year the early progress of Colusa, its improvements, the leading features in its life, the changes wrought by immigration or the introduction of railroads, its political history, as well as matters which to a non­resident of the county would appear of little moment, but which to the old settler or his descendents or to the sojourner of later years within its boundaries, have a significance and afford an interest which only the blending of a reminiscent past with attachment to home can confer, we feel that to touch never so lightly upon these topics again would be the useless labor of reiteration. Hence we shall now proceed to briefly place on record the more modern town.

        Dr. Semple was not mistaken in selecting Colusa as a town with great advantages for shipping. From Colusa to San Francisco barges could carry from six to eight hundred tons of freight, while about three hundred tons were a good load except when the river was high. It was the point, also, of cheap freights, costing only $1.50 a ton to land wheat at the ships in the bay, which was a cheaper rate than that paid by many localities nearer San Francisco. But the introduction of railroads was needed, and they came. When the Northern Railroad was completed, it left Colusa about eight miles to the east, and it was then felt that the town must have immediate and direct connection with that road. For that purpose the Colusa Railroad Company, a narrow-gauge road, was formed, and its capital stock subscribed to by purely local contributors. It was completed to Pott's farm, now known as Colusa Junction, where the name of the road was changed to Colusa and Lake, and shortly afterwards was pushed ahead twenty-two miles further, to Sites, in Antelope Valley, its present western terminus. This road is a monument to the enterprise and business sagacity of her citizens, and has already worked marvels in aiding in the development of the agricultural and horticultural wealth of the county.

        Of schools this town has especial reason to be proud. While the county is noted for being the most difficult one in which to secure a teacher's certificate, it at the same time pays a higher average per teacher in salaries. The result is that the best educational talent is employed. In keeping with these requirements are the school buildings themselves in the town of Colusa,

        The Grammar School is a fine building, erected at a cost of $13,000. The High School, one of the ornaments of the city, was built at an outlay of $18,000, and shows in its construction, as well as in its course of mental training, that Colusa is at the front in educational matters. There is also a convent school building, which will soon be ready for occupancy. It is called the St. Aloysius School, and will serve as a parochial school of the Catholic Church, and will afford students an opportunity to receive the benefits of a complete and accomplished education. Lots were secured for this building by Rev. M. Wallrath in 1882, and its erection was begun in 1888. The building is a large and graceful structure, two and a half stories in height and cost $18,000. As a boarding-school for young ladies, it must achieve prominence in educational work. In this connection it should be mentioned that there is a library and reading-room under the direction of the W. C. T. U., in the town hall.

        There are a number of religious congregations holding regular services in their own church buildings. They are the M. E. Church South, the Catholic Church, the Christian, the Presbyterian, and a fund is now being raised to secure the erection of an Episcopal Church building.

        Colusa is well supplied with a good quality of gas, furnished by the Colusa Gas Company, a local enterprise incorporated March 5, 1886. The town was first illuminated with gas, March 31, 1886. The receiver holds ten thousand feet of gas, though the manufacturing capacity of the works is sufficient for a town of ten thousand inhabitants.

        The public buildings consist of a court-house, hall of records, and a jail. They are of substantial construction and architectural merit. They are among the finest public buildings in the State, and cost in the neighborhood of $100,000. The county hospital, under the management of Superintendent Ingrim, is also located here. The town hall, a two-story brick building, has recently been completed, and would do credit to a much larger place.

        Manufacturing has not yet assumed any great proportions here, nor could it be expected to, seeing that the community has hitherto devoted its capital and efforts to the development of grain-fields and fruit orchards. Her enterprises in manufacturing have, been confined to local supply, which, in course of time, must lead to the creation of manufacturing establishments on a larger scale. Prominent among those already in operation are the works of the Colusa Canning, Drying and Packing Company, of which Judge Bridgeford is president, with Messrs. W. P. Harrington, J. B. De Jarnatt, J. H. Pope and F. W. Willis interested with him as directors. In the county, so far, only a comparatively small area has been devoted to fruit growing. The wavering of the price of wheat and the enormous profits derived from the production of fruits in less-favored localities of the State, have worked a quiet revolution in the methods of land owners, and the ambitions of home seekers. The mania for large holdings, for princely estates of imperial extent growing only wheat or barley or depasturing large bands of "scrub" cattle, is a thing of the past in the county. Fruit growing and orchard planting on a "little farm well tilled" is found to be the surest and most comfortable way to competence or to small fortunes acquired in a few years in this pleasant industry. And so around Colusa the increase in the planting of vineyards and orchards has been most remarkable. On every hand one sees that fruit cultivation has been taken hold of in earnest. Though yet in its infancy, sufficient has been raised to warrant the operations of this Canning and Packing Company. Their grounds comprise about twelve acres, on which is erected the cannery building, together with a portion devoted to fruit drying. All of the appliances for doing all parts of the work are of the latest character. Fruit is brought in from all parts of the county and purchased by the company and then prepared for the market by either canning or drying. Such an enterprise must have an important effect on the business of the town and also in stimulating the further cultivation of fruit.

        The foundry and machine shop of Gessner & Skinner is quite an indispensable adjunct to an agricultural community. This firm manufactures plows, wagons, buggies, traction engines and agricultural implements. They also repair farm machinery. The marble works of A. A. Martin, noteworthy for the artistic work turned out, must not be omitted in the list of manufactures, as also the cigar factories of John R. Hoenes and Samuel Kirschner, whose domestic cigars have a reputation throughout the county as a reliable, standard article. The Colusa Flour Mill, conducted by a company, of which W. P. Harrington is president and J. C. Bedell manager, is noted for the excellent quality of flour manufactured. It has a capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels per day.

        The Colusa County Bank is the only financial institution of its character in the town, with a paid-up capital of half a million dollars. It is one of the most prosperous and soundly conducted interior banks in the State, and has been foremost with its money in assisting every reasonable enterprise which tended to the advancement of town and county. It not only possesses the confidence, but likewise the esteem, of the farmers and business men of the county.

        Of newspapers there are the Daily and Weekly Sun, the Herald, weekly, and the Gazette, daily. The Sun is one of the oldest newspapers under the continuous management of one person in the State. It has achieved a reputation for force and clearness in general editorial work that placed its editor, the veteran journalist, Will S. Green, at the head of his profession. In the discussion of local matters, there is a charming simplicity of style, a sort of homely fence-rail, plow-beam philosophy, coupled with a sincere zeal for the county's advancement, which has made it for twenty-eight years the welcome visitor in nearly every household in the county. The first issue of the Sun appeared January 1, 1862, and was published by Charles R. Street. He disposed of it in the summer of 1863 to T. J. Andus, who sold it in turn in September of that year to John C. Addington and W. S. Green. The latter commenced to run it alone on June 30, 1866. Mr. Addington went East, but July 3, 1869, he returned to Colusa and again purchased an interest. In 1873, Stephen Addington secured an interest, so that he and his brother owned one-half of the paper together. It is now published by the Colusa Sun Publishing Company, with W. S. Green, editor and manager. It was first issued as a daily on November 1, 1889. The Gazette is a daily morning journal, under the direction of E. I. Fuller, and made its first appearance August 23, 1889. The Herald, a weekly paper of large circulation, Republican in politics, and bright and vigorous in all discussions, was founded by Jacobs and King, July, 1886. Frank Radcliffe afterwards purchased King's interest in the paper. It is now owned by C. D. Radcliffe.

        In the way of secret orders, the fraternities of benevolence and co-operation, are well represented, there being a lodge of Masons, a cornmandery of Knights Templar and a Chapter with stated convocations. There are also flourishing lodges of Odd Fellows, order of the Eastern Star, Knights of Pythias, Workmen, Knights of Honor, a parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and a parlor of Native Sons.

        The business houses of Colusa are much admired for their substantial construction, as well as for the taste exhibited therein. They have an appearance of solidity much in keeping with the character and financial standing of the merchants who conduct them. They number as follows: General merchandise, dry goods, clothing and groceries, two; groceries, four; dry goods, one; druggists, two; books and stationery, two; clothing, one; harness, two; fruit stores, three; jewelry, two; restaurants, two; hotels, three; boots and shoes, two; millinery, three; livery stables, three; abstract offices, two; physicians, five; attorneys, eleven; dentists, two; builders and contractors, five; blacksmith shops, three; saloons, ten; hardware and agricultural implements, three; newspapers, three; flouring-mill, one; planing-mill, one; lumber yard, one; marble works, one; tin shops, two; nursery, one; tailor shops, two; furniture and undertaking, one; several Chinese stores and laundries.

        The Colusa Guard is a State organization, of which the people of Colusa feel justly proud. It is composed of the bright young men of the town, who, by their thorough training and discipline, and their fine physique, give Company B high standing in the Eighth Infantry Battalion, to which the company belongs. The company was organized in June, 1887, with the following officers: Captain, B. H. Mitchell; First Lieutenant, F. C. Radcliffe; Second Lieutenant, J. W. Moore. The company was mustered in on the l0th of October, 1887. The officers then elected were: Captain, B. H. Mitchell; First Lieutenant, Frank Wilkins; Second Lieutenant, G. W. Hamilton. In September, 1889, an annual election occurred with the following result: Captain, B. H. Mitchell; First Lieutenant, Frank Wilkins; Second Lieutenant, J. R. Shelton. In March, 1890, Captain Mitchell was promoted to rank of major of the battalion, thus necessitating another election, which resulted as follows: Captain, G. W. Hamilton; First Lieutenant, J. R. Shelton; Second Lieutenant, Ross McAmis. Owing to the refusal of Captain Hamilton to qualify, a special election was called, and the present set of officers elected. The personnel of the company is now as follows: Captain, J. R. Shelton; First Lieutenant, Ross McAmis; Second Lieutenant, W. K. De Jarnatt; First Sergeant, C. C. Johnson; Sergeants, L. I. Gilmour, C. D. Stanton, J. D. McNary, F. B. Roberts; Quartermaster Sergeant, J. W. Moore; Corporals, N. J. Johnson, U. W. Brown, W. J. Crane, Jas. Kenny, H. Ford, W. B. De Jarnatt, N. O'Donnell, G. V. Herbert; Privates, M. L. Arthur, E. C. Barrell, A. K. Ball, C. W. Redell, J. E. Bond, A. B. Bond, W. L. Bond, J. J. Brophy, C. D. Coleman, C. O. Cook, Tim Cronin, J. W. Davis, W. M. Durham, J. M. Deter, C. A. De Ligue, A. De Artney, J. Donohue, R. E. Danner, Jas. Fitzgerald, A. Fogalsang, W. Frank, T. A. Fitzgerald, M. J. Gessner, R. C. Gilmour, H. B. Gillaspy, A. W. Gray, Chas. Gust, J. G. Hanson, C. L. Herd, W. H. Jacobs, R. Joseph, J. D. Lopez, J. McKenna, J. C. Mogk, C. H. Manville, F. C. Newton, C. W. Nickerson, A. H. Pope, J. W. Potts, F. O. Pryor, C. D. Radcliffe, John Riley, M. L. Roberts, Ed. St. Maurice, Chas. St. Maurice, Tom Sullivan, O. P. Smith, W. T. Smith, S. B. Smith, J. R. Totman, Jr., W. F. Walker, W. W. Walker, F. Weyand, D. J. Westapher, Grant Wills, James Wills, W. I. Welch and Walter Weast.

WILLOWS.

        This stirring, progressive and aspiring town derives its name from a bunch of luxuriant willows which grew on the plains about a mile east of the town. In early days these willows formed a noted landmark in breaking the monotony of the vast extent of plains land on which they stood, and seemed, as they waved, to beckon to the thirsty traveler and his jaded animals to come to them and be refreshed in the pool of water from whence they sent out their invitation. Several drainage creeks from the Coast Range joined here, and the ground seemed to be capable of holding the water, for there was a deep pond something like half a mile long, and in early times, when water was the grand item, the possession of this pond was considered of inestimable value. Of later years it has been filled up. This was first occupied by G. P. Swift and afterwards passed into other hands.

        Willows proper has a population of one thousand two hundred; including Kelley's Addition and Zumwalt's Extension, the number of inhabitants would be about one thousand eight hundred. It is termed by many the Half-Way House of the Sacramento Valley. It is in the heart of a great agricultural region, and in one season shipped sixty thousand tons of grain. Besides, around Willows and in the county tributary to her, as a market and a convenient shipping-point, her wool and stock industries have assumed large proportions.

        This place was first surveyed by the Northern Railroad Company in the fall of 1887, and from that time Willows assumed civic shape and form, and began to grow with astonishing rapidity. Where but a few months back was a vast, and, to the eye of the observer, boundless expanse of billowy grain; where shortly before had been a small, isolated oasis of grateful verdure, a wayside shrine for the weary and thirsty immigrant or stock­man, Willows now suddenly felt the inspiration of its being and the ambitions quickened by its possibilities, and was a town of no mean degree before the railroad entered its limits, on September 26, 1878, amid the rejoicings of its people. Willows may not be inaptly termed a child of the railroad, just as Sacramento, Marysville and Colusa are the offspring, commercially speaking, of the rivers that at an early day brought to them their supplies, furnished them transportation, or bore on their waves to tide­water the products of their earliest husbandry. Communities at that period centered at some available place on the river and built their towns and cities there, but the railroads have changed all this. They seek trade. They lay their tracks and erect their depots where land is the most fertile, where industries can be best favored, where development is almost spontaneous, and where progress is assured, and in reaching Willows, with its tributary lands near the Sacramento River, and its rich valleys and foot-hills to the west, there was a reciprocal giving and taking of benefits which the growth of the town, the widening of the area of its trade and its laudable ambitions amply demonstrated.

        Willows being so new a place, it cannot boast of any past. It is not burdened with any traditions. It can look behind it, but it can conjure up none of the fancies which old towns in this and other States delight to rave about, where romance proves herself a skillful though a guiltless liar. Willows must be conjugated in the present tense, for it is yet within the memory of little children when Daniel Zumwalt built the first house there for his dwelling, in the fall of 1875. In June, 1876, Johnson & Hochheimer erected the first store building and opened a general store. These were followed by a number of others, by a hardware store, a saloon, and the Willows Hotel, by A. Koppe.

        When, on September 26, 1878, the people of Willows celebrated the completion of the railroad to their town, with music, speeches, the firing of anvils, and a fat men's race, with a merry ball in the evening, of which celebration the details will be found in this work, under the appropriate date, there were engaged in business, or the professions, the following firms or individuals: Johnson & Hochheimer, J. S. Wall & Co., E. Daniel, general merchandise, grain and wool; Freeman & Klemmer, stoves and tinware; Willows Hotel, Martin Bros., proprietors; Stripling House, E. W. Stripling, proprietor; Price's Hotel, W. M. Price, proprietor; millinery, P. Peters & Co., Mrs. J. L. Sturtevant; groceries, E. Dettelbach; hardware and agricultural implements, Grover Bros.; blacksmithing and wagon making, Riley & Graves, George Miller; drugs and medicines, C. W. Hansen; watchmaking, F. W. Stone; Palace Hall, L. L. Bowers, proprietor; boot and shoe factory, L. L. Bowers; physicians, Dr. W. C. Baylor, Dr. J. G. Calhoun; meat market, L. D. Gupton & Ray; harness and saddlery, J. E. Zumwalt; tobacco and cigars, Kahn & Gosliner; auction store, F. X. McAtee; livery stables, W. H. Kelley, J. Wilson, J. O. Johnson & Bro.; newspaper and job printing, Willows Journal, A. J. Patrick, proprietor; feed mill, E. M. Tyler; justice of the peace, Aleck Caraloff; saloons, The Daisy, by Culver & Culver, The Grand, by Z. Bates, The Pony, by Gus. Burns, The Palace, by M. Tate; bowling saloon, by Frank McNorton; barbers, George Burk, Thomas Scott; spring bed manufactory, Baird & Wheeler; Willows public school, C. T. Hull, teacher; Laurel Lodge, No. 245, F. and A. M., L. L. Bowers, master, W. F. Mason, secretary. At the period when this list of business men was compiled, the town of Willows, properly speaking, was not one year old, so that here one can begin to observe that active, enterprising spirit of its citizens, which, later on, after Willows had been scorched and even consumed by several disastrous fires, replaced their first structures with large and elegant business blocks of brick. Home buildings and the erection of comfortable residences, kept pace with the progress of business, to be followed in a short time by the construction of houses of worship and a school building.

        The enumeration of its business houses of to-day will show at a glance the rapid improvement of this place. They are: General merchandise, two; groceries, two; drugs, two; fruit and confectioneries, two; hotels, four; restaurants, two; foundry and machine shop; harness and saddlery, two; blacksmith shops, two; livery stables, two; shoe shops, two; tailor shops, three; meat market, one; hardware, two; jewelry, two; furniture and undertaking, one; lumber yard, one; ice-house, one; barber shops, three; nursery, one; millinery and dressmaking, three; real-estate offices, two; newspapers, two; bank, one; attorneys, four; physicians, four; dentists, two; saloons, eleven, and Kelley's exhibit of fruits and farm products, which is known as the "Glenn County Exhibit."

        Willows is practically independent in several branches of manufacture, and among them is the highly important one of iron and other metal work. In this line the Willows Foundry and Machine Shop, of which Henry Bielar is proprietor, is the principal industrial establishment of the place. Machinery and implements for agricultural purposes, wagons and other vehicles are manufactured here, as also models and patterns of all descriptions. As an establishment of this kind is indispensable in the heart of a prolific grain region, it is needless to say that it is well patronized.

        The Willows Water and Light Company is an important feature in the comfort and safety of this town. This company was incorporated May, 1887, with a subscribed stock of $55,000. The water which supplies the town is pumped into two mammoth tanks, at which are connected four miles of cast-iron main pipe, supplying clear, sweet water to the inhabitants, and with sufficient pressure to overcome any conflagration. The streets and stores, and a few private dwellings, are illuminated by the electric light furnished by this company. The arc system, twenty-five lamp machines, of the American Electric Light plant is used. Six street lamps, illuminating the darkness, from the top of high masts, are in service. It is likely that in a short time the incandescent system will be introduced in addition to the present plant. The officers of this company are: President, Milton French; Vice-President, B. H. Burton; Secretary, P. H. Green; Treasurer, the Bank of Willows.

An important and popular factor in the conduct of the business of Willows, and in closest touch and sympathy in its advancement, has been the Bank of Willows. It was organized in September, 1880, with a paid-up capital of $45,000. Its capital has gradually increased, its increase thereof always paralleling its facilities with the growth and progress of the town, till, April 18, 1890, the stockholders authorized the directors to increase its capital from $200,000 to $500,000. The directors, on April 28, 1890, called on the stockholders for $100,000, which was paid in, making its capital stock paid in $300,000, with a surplus of $40,000, and accrued earnings of $20,000. N. D. Rideout was its first president, and W. C. Murdoch its first cashier. These gentlemen occupied their responsible positions till April, 1889, when a number of the stockholders of the Colusa County Bank purchased a controlling interest in the Bank of Willows, and chose W. P. Harrington, president, and B. H. Burton, cashier, and who are now the present incumbents of these offices. The Bank of Willows is unhesitatingly conceded in financial circles to be one of the soundest and most prosperous banks in the whole country.

        The spiritual, educational and social wants have certainly not gone unsupplied in Willows, in the midst of the progress of so much commercial and industrial achievement. It is justly proud of four fine church edifices, the Christian, Catholic, Baptist and Methodist. The Baptist denomination was organized at Willows in the spring of 1871, when Rev. J. Cartwright ministered once a month to his people. Church-membership increased steadily, till now the average attendance of members is put at one hundred, with a Sunday-school of one hundred and five scholars. The church building cost $6,500, while a large sum was expended besides in arranging the interior. The church is free from debt. Rev. A. M. Russell has been its pastor since November, 1887. The Christian Church is a large, roomy, and handsome building, comfortably equipped, and has a large membership. It has had a rapid and vigorous growth. The Methodist Church South was erected through the exertions of Rev. Milton McWhorter, now of Selma, Fresno County, and is steadily increasing in membership. It is the design of the officers of this charge to build a larger edifice. St. Monica's, the Catholic Church, is a handsome brick structure, adjoining which is the pastoral residence, both of which are unincumbered with debt. The church was first opened for divine services July 1, 1877. The first Catholic services in the town were held in the little court-room where Squire Carloff dispensed justice. The early missionaries who visited Willows before it secured a resident pastor were, Fathers Oubert, McGrath, Petit and Wallrath. St. Monica's has two hundred and thirty members. Its present pastor, Rev. Francis A. Reynolds, came here to reside permanently in June, 1886.

        Willows had no sooner begun to realize its importance as a growing and progressive place, than her citizens set to work to establish a public school. An election was held April 14, 1878, for the purpose of voting bonds to the extent of $10,000, the money realized to be invested in a school-house. So great was the unanimity of the people on this subject, that while only sixty-one votes were cast, every one of them favored the project. A much larger vote could have been cast, but as no opposition had manifested itself, the people mostly remained away from the polls. The contract was awarded to B. Rathbun, and a fine edifice was soon erected. In the course of time, with the rapid growth of the town, this large building was found to be inadequate for the scholastic requirements of the community, and so in June, 1890, an election was held to bond the town for $15,000, resulting in a heavy majority in favor of a new school. It is now just completed, and so large, imposing and architecturally neat is the building, so well appointed for the comfort of the scholar are the study and classrooms, that this handsome college of the people is a noble monument to the public-spiritedness as well as to the intelligence of the community whose votes designed it, and whose money paid for it.

        Wielding a beneficent influence in the social life of the people of the town are the secret organizations. There are here a Masonic Lodge, that convenes in a fine hall belonging to their order; a Lodge of Odd Fellows, of Workmen, of the Knights of Pythias, and parlors of the Native Sons and Native Daughters. In the way of music for the enjoyment of the public, Willows is not surpassed by any interior town in the State. Silvey's Cornet Band, which is a source of great pride to her citizens, and for whose instruction they contribute liberally and cheerfully, has earned a splendid reputation wherever it has performed in various towns and cities of the State. In the warm evenings of the summer months, this band gives exhibitions of its melody and skill in popular and classic music, in the public park, greatly to the refreshment and delight of the entire town. Besides, in the way of amusement and recreation, Willows has a one-mile race-track, pronounced as fine as any in the State, an Agricultural Park, with pavilion and grand stand, a jockey club and sportsman's club. Two fire companies, well organized and equipped, are an assurance that the town has felt her last visitation of the devouring element. Two good newspapers supply the news wants of Willows. They are the Review and the Journal. The former is a weekly publication, Republican in politics, and is issued by J. A. Apperson, who began its publication in July, 1890. It is an industrious local item seeker, bright and newsy, and its increasing circulation justifies its prospects. The Journal was established by A. J. Patrick, formerly of the Dixon Bulletin. It first appeared June 2, 1877, as a seven-column weekly Democratic publication. Patrick, after conducting it successfully for a time, disposed of it to E. C. Hart. Afterwards it was owned and conducted by K. E. Kelley and W. H. Kelley. It was from this period that it began to take a prominent part in the discussion of State and local affairs. As a trenchant, incisive and aggressive journal, its influence was unmistakable. In the hands of these gentlemen, it issued a daily as well as a weekly edition. Afterwards Dr. W. A. Sehorn took editorial charge, and by his course maintained its influence as a devoted exponent of the interests and needs of the community. In September, 1890, W. H. Kelley returned as its editor and manager, and shows in each issue that rest was not rust with him in the quiet interim that elapsed between now and when he first retired from the editoral chair of the Journal.

        The Central Irrigation Canal will run to the east of Willows. Besides being a great shipping-point for her grain, fruits and wool on the Northern Railroad, with extensive and ample warehouse facilities, Willows is the eastern terminus of the West Side and Mendocino Railway, now completed to Fruto, eighteen miles distant. This road will in time tap a great fruit and wool-growing country, as well as the sugar-pine and redwood lumber of the Coast Range, and will thus encourage the building of mills at Willows, its distributing-point.

MAXWELL.

        This thriving town, which sprung up in the summer of 1878, is nearly in the geographical center of the county, and in the middle of the Central Irrigation District. It was called for George Maxwell, a former resident, who died in 1878. It was originally called and known as Occident. It is a depot station on the Northern Railway, and contains about four hundred inhabitants. Like nearly all the young towns in the county, it was fated in its infancy to pass through the ordeal of fire, but it soon recovered from the effects thereof, and its growth has since been conservative but steady. It is a prominent point for the handling of grain provided by the rich country tributary to it, and hence the large warehouses of Harden Bros., De Lappe & Co., with a capacity of twenty-two thousand tons for storing grain, which attract the eye of the visitor and cause him to wonder whence come all the wheat and barley with which to fill them. While the surrounding country is chiefly devoted to grain, the soil has proved itself especially adapted to fruit and viticulture. Numerous small vineyards have been planted, and also orchards for home use mostly, which have done remarkably well; pears, peaches, cherries, apricots and oranges growing side by side.

        Maxwell can justly pride itself in its educational advantages and church facilities. The public-school building is a large, commodious and even elegant brick edifice, constructed at a cost of $10,000. There are three churches, the Catholic, Methodist, and Baptist, while members of the other denominations are ministered to at regular intervals. In the line of benevolent societies Maxwell is well represented, having a lodge of the A. O. U. W., a parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West, a lodge of the Masonic order and one of the Odd Fellows fraternity. Of hotels there are two, the Maxwell House, E F. Peart proprietor, and the Russ House, conducted by Mrs. Hamblen. The number of places of business is as follows: Drug stores, two; hotels, two; lodgings, one; saloons, four; photograph gallery, one; millinery, one; undertaking, one; fruit and confectionery, one; contractors and builders, three; real estate, one; newspapers, one; harness, one; hardware, agricultural implements and tin shop, one; general stores, three; men's furnishing, one; livery stables, two; lumber yard, one; bakery, one; blacksmith shops, two; grain and insurance office, one; meat market, one; physician, one; a variety store, and two warehouses.

        The Maxwell Mercury, a bright, newsy harvester of local items, is the only paper published in the place. It is conducted by John G. Overshiner, formerly prominent in Southern California journalism. It is independent in politics and a staunch advocate of irrigation.

        The headquarters of the Central Irrigation District are located at Maxwell, the Board of Directors and the treasurer having their office here; and the people of Maxwell have great confidence in the development of the country and the upbuilding of the town with the completion of the irrigation works. As fine fruit as is produced in the country is to be found in this locality, and the planting of trees and vines is annually becoming more extensive.

WILLIAMS.

        This prosperous place derives its name from W. H. Williams, a large land-owner and on whose land the place was laid out. The town had only an inchoate existence, and was not known to the outside world till sometime in February, 1876, when Mr. Williams began circulating maps showing the advantages which would accrue to those purchasing town lots there. Many availed themselves of this opportunity and have profited not a little thereby. At this period it was foreseen by all that the Northern Railway would make Williams a station on its line. Hence, as the laying of the tracks day by day sensibly shortened the distance between Arbuckle and Williams, town-lot purchasers flocked in, buildings were rapidly erected, and when the first train moved into the place, the long-continued ear-piercing salutation of the locomotive whistle greeted a live little town of stores and dwellings, whose inhabitants were confident without being boastful. Much to the future advantage and peace of mind of this people, the tonguey and lungy "boomer" did not come on this train. The first denizens of this place were sensible business people. They were conservative in their ambitions and modest in casting the horoscope of their bantling burg, which could scarcely be expected, without more or less self-restraint, from a people who had just laid the foundations of their town on a spot to which the fertile plains between it and the Sacramento River on the east, and the rich soils of the foothills nourished by cañon streams on the west, were to prove tributary and to find a market and an outlet for their generous abundance.

        The railroad reached Williams and the first train entered the town June 23, 1877, and though it was a terminus for something more than a year afterwards, before the road was completed to Willows, the population gathered there was not inconstant or transient, as is so frequently in new towns built merely to catch a temporary trade, and then move on. On the contrary, Williams continued to increase in inhabitants, and the rude, hastily-constructed buildings first erected began to give way to handsome dwellings and substantial brick blocks, to large warehouses for the storage of grain and to churches and school-house. Clay having been found in the neighborhood suitable for brick, it was with commendable prudence and foresight that most of the business buildings and some of the residences were constructed of this material. Being a great shipping-point for grain, the large frame warehouse of the Stovall-Wilcoxson Company, with a capacity for fifteen thousand tons, was built near the track at the railroad station, and on the other side of the track, the fire­proof brick structure of W. H. Williams, one hundred and twenty by one hundred and twenty feet, with a storage capacity of ten thousand tons, was erected. Their presence indicates the chief business of the town.

        The character of the business places and their number, together with the number of those engaged in the various trades and professions, are as follows: General merchandise, two; drugs, one; hardware, two; tin shop, one; furniture and undertaking, one; boots and shoes, one; livery stables, two; blacksmith shops, three; paint shop, one; barber shop, two; hotels, two; restaurant, one; lumber yard, one; ice-house, one; meat market, one; saloons, eight; flouring-mill, one; Williams Agricultural Works; warehouses, two; fruit and variety store, two; harness shops, two; millinery and dress-making, three; bank, one. There are, of course, all the needful commercial machinery of express office, postoffice, telegraph and telephone. The bank is conducted by the Stovall-Wilcoxson Company, largely interested in the business of the community. The Williams Roller Mill was erected in 1877 by a stock company, but several additions and many improvements have been made to it since. It has a capacity of eighty barrels of flour per day. A foundry and machine shop is also an important feature in the industrial life of the town.

        There are two churches, of the Christian and the Methodist denominations, with the prospect in the near future for the building of a Catholic Church. To secure the blessings of education for their children, the people of Williams have shown a commendably liberal spirit. They have erected, at a cost of $10,000, a handsome two-story brick building, comfortably furnished within, and both the building and the management of the school, are the pride of its citizens. In the way of public halls, there are two, the Opera House and the Odd Fellows' Hall, both of brick, and with ample seating capacity to witness any kind of amusements. A brass band aids materially in pleasing the public ear.

        The only newspaper in Williams is the Farmer. Its initial number appeared August 18, 1887, with S. H. Callen editor and proprietor. It was at that time a six-column folio, but Mr. Callen, with a young man's vim and ardor, together with a boundless confidence in the future of his locality, so enlarged and established its circulation that it was made a seven-column paper. As a home organ, reflecting the sentiments of its patrons and agitating with zeal every measure for the advancement of Williams and its tributary country, the Farmer has made itself indispensable to the business man and farmer of that locality. On August 1, 1890, Mr. Callen associated G. W. Gay with him in the ownership of this journal.

        Williams is located in the Central Irrigation District, the main canal of which is to run to the west about five miles from the town, while the town and its vicinity will be supplied with water from a sub-canal. To accommodate the many seeking transportation to the healing waters of Wilbur and Blanck Springs, on Sulphur Creek, a tri-weekly stage line carrying the mails has been placed on the route by Messrs. Smith & Jones.

ARBUCKLE.

        This thriving business town, of about three hundred and fifty population, is located on the Northern Railroad twenty miles  from Colusa and six miles from the Yolo County line. Its chief support is derived from the ranches of productive lands which lie around it. It was laid out and surveyed in 1875, and was called for T. R. Arbuckle, on whose ranch, then consisting of one thousand nine hundred acres, the town was built. He encouraged the creation of a new town here by giving lots to

those who would build on them. The first building was erected by William Dalbrow and John Ward in 1875. The first train of cars entered the place July 4, 1876. A new district for the school was formed in 1877, and a school-house erected, with Miss Annie Linton the first teacher. When the Post-office was established, in 1876, T. R. Arbuckle became the first postmaster of the place. Its water supply is obtained from wells bored to a depth of from seventy to eighty feet, from which the water is pumped into tanks by-windmills.

        It possesses two handsome church edifices, the Presbyterian and the Methodist; and a fine large school building, which cost $6,000. Of secret orders there are four, represented with a flourishing membership. 'They are the Masonic, Odd Fellows, Daughters of Rebekah and the A. O. U. W. A well-conducted weekly journal, called the Arbuckle Autocrat, published by the Taylor Bros., is no small factor in fostering the growth of the town.

        Its places of business are listed as follows: General merchandise four; drugs, one; gents' furnishing, one; fancy goods and millinery, one; livery, two; builders and contractors, two; lumber yard, one; agricultural implements, one; blacksmiths, two; harness shop, one; shoemaker, one; barbers, two; hotels, two; jewelry, one; baker shops, two; saloons, five; attorney and notary, one; physician, one; insurance agent, one; newspaper, one.

COLLEGE CITY.

        This charming village, with a population of three hundred souls, is located in the southern part of the county, three miles east of Arbuckle, the nearest railroad station. Pierce Christian College is here located, and hence the name of the place. The college was founded from the proceeds of the sale of land left to the church by the will of Andrew Pierce, and by act of the Legislature no intoxicating drinks can ever be sold on the estate. Pierce was a pioneer settler of the county, living by himself in a small cabin on the place, raising sheep and making boots, so that the land on which College City now stands was a few years back a sheep range. Pierce died on April 25, 1871. The large college building, was completed in 1876, and teachers immediately employed. Since the opening of the college the number of students in attendance has averaged about one hundred annually. The affairs of the college are managed by a Board of Trustees, consisting of eleven members, chosen by delegates sent by the Churches of Christ in Sutter, Lake, Tehama and Butte Counties. The college, besides owning a number of town lots, is possessed of six hundred acres of excellent farming land. The curriculum of studies in the various departments of learning is practical and thorough, and the graduates who have left this institution have proved this in various professions and avocations by their success in life. Rev. J. C. Keith is at present, and has been for a number of years, the president of this progressive seat of learning.

        The town is pleasantly situated in the midst of a fine farming community. While its streets and residences wear a quiet, home­like and reposeful air, so grateful to the serious student who betakes himself to study here away from the bustle and distractions of active life, yet College City is no "mean city." It would be difficult, in fact, to find anywhere in the State a locality of its size and mercantile unpretentiousness doing a larger business or enjoying greater prosperity.

        The number of places of business is as follows: General merchandise, two; drugs, one; livery, two; blacksmiths, two; hotel, one; meat market, one; barber shop, one; insurance agencies, two; physician, one; notary, one; bakery, one; harness, one; shoe shop, one. The town is surrounded by a rich agricultural country. The cultivation of fruit trees and vines is becoming a distinct industry in this locality. The amount of raisins packed at this place is as great as at any other single town in the county, and the quality is excellent. The prune also is receiving considerable attention.

GERMANTOWN.

        On the Northern Railway, six miles north of Willows and twelve miles south of the northern boundary line of the county, is located Germantown, which derives its name from the large settlement of Germans in and about the town. It was a trading-point before the advent of the railroad, M. Hagaman having built a store here in August, 1876, and Eppinger & Co. the year later opened a general merchandise establishment. The place is surrounded by a fertile country, peopled by industrious, prosperous citizens, who ship their wheat and do their trading here. The town is supplied with one large general merchandise store, one fruit and tobacco store, millinery, harness and undertaking, livery stable, meat market, boot and shoe shop, blacksmith and wagon shop, one hotel, the Union, and four saloons. A large warehouse, .fifty by seven hundred feet, under the management of Hochheimer & Co., furnishes storage for grain. The place has a number of fine residences and a substantial, neat school building, and, although a small town, comparatively, it figures largely in the total prosperity of the county.

        The firm of Eppinger & Co., Oscar C. Schulze manager, built up an extensive general merchandising business at this place, doing business with people from all over northern Colusa. Aside from general merchandising, the firm bought largely of wheat. In the spring of 1890, the firm sold their extensive business to Hochheimer & Co., of Willows. F. M. Leforgee has erected a high tank, which furnishes water for the town.

STONY FORD.

        The town of Smithville, on Stony Creek, near the junction of that stream with Little Stony, was located by John L. Smith, who settled upon the land in 1863. In 1878 he erected a flouring-mill, taking water by means of a ditch from Stony Creek to run the mill. In the summer of 1890, the Stony Creek Improvement Company purchased the lands of Mr. Smith, including the mill, a three-story hotel, and the town site. As the town was located in low, heavy ground, the company abandoned the old site and laid out a new town about a half mile to the southeast, on a gravelly ridge, and to the new site, which was called Stony Ford, moved the hotel, refitted and refurnished it, and also moved the mill. In the latter, the latest-improved flouring machinery has been introduced. H. C. Stillwell is president of the company, and is superintending the improvements. At this point Stony Creek or Indian Valley is about six miles wide, gradually sloping to the Coast Range on the west, where Snow, St. Johns, and Sheetiron Mountains stand out. against the sunset sky; on the east flows Little Stony Creek, from which a ridge of foot-hills rises abruptly. Stony Creek, filled, with perch and trout, flows on the north of the town. Fouts and Cooks Springs are within easy distance of the town, and in the foot-hills and mountains are to be found good hunting-grounds, quail, rabbit and deer abounding, with an occasional bear in the higher mountains. The Stony Creek Improvement Company propose to make Stony Ford an attractive place, by setting out avenues of trees, a park, and maintaining a comfortable hotel, and invite seekers after health and recreation to sojourn there. The climate is delightful at all times of the year, and with the other natural and supplied attractions, Stony Ford bids fair to become a little city, sequestered among the hills. Aside from a first-class hotel and a flouring-mill, the place is provided with a general merchandise store, a livery stable, blacksmith shop, and post-office. The town is connected by stage with the railroad at Sites, and religious services are held at stated intervals.

ORLAND.

        This is the most northerly railroad town in the county, and has an intelligent, progressive population of about four hundred. It lies one mile south of Stony Creek, close to the low, undulating hills which terminate eight miles west of the town in the Black Buttes. The country round about is comparatively thickly settled. It is the only railroad town in the county having the advantage of a natural park, that beauteous luxury being afforded by a large grove of oak trees on Stony Creek, the property of Mrs. H. A. Greenwood, and here the people assemble for celebrations.

        T. H. Dodson and Joseph James were the first settlers in the town, in 1875. The latter located southwest of, and the former opened a store and hotel on the present site. These were followed by Michael & Co. building a general store, and Freeman & Klemmer, a hardware store. The railroad was not completed to Orland until several years later, and not knowing where the road would enter the town, residences were scattered over a large territory, and the town to-day presents a scattered appearance.

        In 1884 a public-school building, costing $6,000, and a model one in many respects, was built. A Catholic Church was built in 1885, a Methodist Church the year following and a Baptist Church in 1889, all fine houses for the size of the town. The Orland College, or school, is an elegant two-story brick building, and cost over $7,000 in its construction. The course of study is comprehensive and practical, and it is liberally patronized.

        This institution was founded by Professor J. B. Patch, who secured the aid of several rich men to help erect the building. The college floated along under adverse circumstances while Patch was in charge, for, though he was a man of fine organizing abilities, he was a character in his way, noted for his. unreasonable stubbornness and his capacity for making enemies.

        We cannot resist briefly narrating an amusing incident in the career of the professor while occupied with the college. It appears that he was in debt to Mr. Lake and refused to pay. Lake, on January 14, 1884, secured judgment after bringing suit. Armed with an execution, Lake and Constable Gifford proceeded to the college. But the professor was prepared for them. Up in the belfry of the college he had deposited a cart load of stones from the creek. When the constable would approach him, down would come a shower of cobble-stones. If the officer of the law attempted to parley with him, the professor would ring the bell vigorously. Then the constable procured a. warrant against him for resisting an officer. Returning with this document, the constable effected an entrance into the second story, but there was the professor again in the bell-tower overhead with the ladder pulled up. Then the besiegers endeavored to capture the determined professor by means of planks shoved into the scuttle-hole, when down out of the airy fortress came the muzzle of a gun with the doughty professor behind it. Then a parley was held, the professor dictated his own terms of surrender, and these were that he was to be allowed to carry his gun, was to be tried in Colusa and not in Orland, and that no one should come within so many yards of him. Then the besieged came down from the tower where he had been exposed for hours to one of the coldest northers that had ever visited the valley. He then entered one of the school-rooms, where he drew a dead line with a piece of chalk, the constable being placed on one side of it and the professor on the other, where both spent a cheerless night.

        Professor William Henslee afterwards took charge of the college and conducted it for four years, in such a manner as to endow it with a universally-accepted reputation for eminence in educational training. It is now under the direction of Professor A. P. Stone, who is sustaining the good reputation made for the school by Professor Henslee.

        Among the benevolent societies at Orland are: The Stony Creek Lodge, I. O. O. F.; Orland Lodge, F. and A. M., and Brilliant Star Chapter Order Eastern Star.

        The Orland Silver Cornet Band represents an association of musical gentlemen, of whose progress and performances the citizens are justly proud. It is composed of the following members: W. L. Mecum, Stanley Murdock, I. E. Mecum, Charles Knock, William Papst, A. N. Bender, Charles Winne, George Mecum, Jr., W. B. Griffith, E. A. Mecum and E. J. Lautario.

        The Orland News is the name of a live, handsome, five-column quarto, published by Dodson & Dawson. It is Democratic in politics, and a vigorous friend of irrigation. While we are upon this subject, let us mention that the Stony Creek Irrigation Company has taken out a ditch on the south side of the creek near the Buttes, and have already excavated eight miles of the work. This ditch is to irrigate the land on the south side of Stony Creek. It is proposed to water lands on the north side of the creek by a district canal.

        Near the railroad station are the great grain warehouses of A. D. Logan & Co., the largest warehouses north of Port Costa. They are fifty by seven hundred and fifty feet in dimensions and are laid with concrete and coal-tarred plank floors. All classes of commercial interests are encouraged and promoted by the Bank of Orland. Around Orland, as elsewhere in the county, the land is sown mostly in wheat, but now in turn the orchard and the vineyard are superseding the grain-fields, affording a greater variety of crops. The soil of this locality is of a gravelly nature, adapted to fruit and vines. Already the growing trees, producing fruit of bounteous size and luscious quality, are rising above the plain in every direction, and the dark green of the vineyards, and the light purple of the alfalfa, are seen in contrast with the golden grain-fields. A net-work of irrigating canals, when completed, will render every acre around the place susceptible of the highest degree of productiveness, and the reputation that Orland has already so meritoriously earned for the flavor and quantity of her varied fruits, will be enhanced a hundred-fold.

        The business places of the town, aside from those mentioned, are represented by the following: Two general merchandise establishments, B. N. Scribner & Co. and W. H. Papst; Prentiss & Diggs, hardware; C. F. Schmidt, harness and saddlery; M. E. Nordyke, meat market; John Mehl, boots and shoes; J. G. Bender, lumber; J. H. Mitchell, drugs; B. E. Atwood, furniture and upholstery; three saloons, two insurance agencies, one hotel, the Union, one restaurant, two livery stables, bakery, barber shop and bath-house, two attorneys, three physicians, fruit and candy store, three blacksmith and wagon shops, two grain dealers, and two stock buyers. The town is a shipping-point for a large territory, and more business is done than the quiet appearance of the place would indicate.

        Daily stages run from this point to Newville, and to St. John and Chico, carrying passengers and mail.

TOWNS ON GRAND ISLAND.

        This island is so called to designate the land lying between Sycamore Slough and the river. About two-thirds of this territory are in Colusa County. The soil is all of a light alluvial deposit and is very rich. It is thickly settled and was one of the first districts in the county to be located upon. There are three business points on Grand Island, Sycamore, Grimes and Eddy's Landing. Sycamore, at the head of the island, is a small trading-point, with a hotel, two stores, a saloon and a blacksmith shop. There are also a church and a school-house.

        Grimes is the most important village on the island, and is located about six miles below its head. It is called for Cleaton Grimes, who located here in 1851, building a cabin on the river bank near to where his orchard now stands and where he still resides. A handsome Baptist Church has been erected here. There is also a large, roomy hall for public gatherings and the meeting of several benevolent societies organized here. Besides a large warehouse for the storage of grain, there are one hotel, one general store, two saloons, one blacksmith shop, one harness shop and a barber shop. Eddy's Landing, about a mile below Grimes, is afforded communication with the east side of the river, the Marysville road, by means of a ferry. Steamboats make regular trips up and down the river, hauling away the produce and returning with freight for its stores and farms. Grand Island is populated with a thrifty class of people.

SULPHUR CREEK.

        This place is located near the south end of the county and one mile from the Lake County line on the west. This is the mining village of the county, and at one time, in the early days of the county, gold placers were worked. In 1863, excitement was at fever height over the discovery of copper here. The deposits were extensive and the ore was rich. Leads were located by the score and smelters erected, but after a couple of years of fitful success, the industry was abandoned, owing to the low price of copper and the difficulty in treating the ore. Quick­silver was discovered in 1865 and deposits are found for several miles north, south and west of Sulphur Creek. Machinery was brought in and the Abbot mine proved. profitable, as also the Ingrim, the Buckeye and Sulphur Creek, when the price of the metal fell some fifty per cent and the industry was abandoned. Both the production of copper and quicksilver of this region is treated fully in this work, in the order and date of their occurrence. At the village of Sulphur Creek proper, there is one first-class hotel, a general store and one saloon. The hotel is conducted by Mrs. Lottie Reed, who also owns the sulphur springs adjoining the hotel. These springs are noted for their curative properties in rheumatism, kidney complaints, catarrh, blood diseases and venereal poisons. To use the expression of an individual who was restored from a racking bed of torture, caused by chronic rheumatism, and who was thoroughly cured by these baths, they are a "dead shot" in healing. The place is most romantically situated and hundreds resort here every summer for relaxation or restoration to health by means of these magic waters. About a mile below the village are the Wilbur Springs, where scalding hot sulphur water issues from the ground, the springs boiling up over an area of a hundred feet square.

        Almost in the village of Sulphur Creek are located the mines and mill of the Manzanita Gold Mining Company. There are a group of gold-bearing leads here in sedimentary sandstone with quartz seams, carrying, beside gold and silver, cinnabar and iron sulphurets. On the surface the rock is free milling but in the underground more or less refractory. Five tunnels, the largest having a length of one hundred and sixty feet, have been driven into the side of the hill in order to more easily attack the ore bodies. Eighteen men are employed in the mine and mill. In the latter are three Huntington mills and a Gates rock crusher. The mine is a paying one and the stockholders are residents of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. George V. Northey is the resident manager.

ELK CREEK.

        This place, pleasantly situated on a little stream by the same name near its junction with Stony Creek, does a thrifty business with the farming community around it, and of which it is the supply center. Nearly one mile northeast of Elk Creek is a fine bridge, which spans the Stony and during high water is the only place where it can be safely crossed. The approaches to the bridge and also the abutments are of massive stone and seemed to have been fashioned by the hand of nature expressly for a bridge to rest upon. The town contains a post-office, express office, one hotel, a livery stable, blacksmith shop, three general stores and two saloons.

NEWVILLE.

        Within a half mile of the northern boundary of the county, and near the foot of the Coast Range, sheltered on every side by hills, is located the village of Newville. The rolling hills and intervening valleys are rich in soil, and the natural verdure early attracted the attention of stockmen, and the locality was settled in the 50's. The town was a natural consequence from the early settlement, and while it has not increased materially in size, it is a point where considerable business is done. Scribner & Dyer conduct a large general store, and the public is entertained at the Newville Hotel; a physician, a tin-shop, a blacksmith and repair shop and a livery stable compose the business of the place.

        There are three fraternal organizations, Masons, Odd Fellows and Good Templars. Religious services are held here by appointments. A chrome mine is being developed a few miles away, and a saw-mill is located on the mountains west of the town. The people about. Newville are a well-to-do class, engaged in mixed farming. The "vine and the fig tree," and other semi-tropical fruits, flourish here equally as well as did the oats and clovers in a state of nature.

LEESVILLE.

        This village is situated at the head of Bear Valley and is distant in a due west line twenty-five miles from Colusa. A great deal of the land around Leesville is low and kept wet till late in the spring, by the seepage from the hills on either side. The low land is well set with fine grass. The soil is of the best, and produces almost anything the farmers in the valley choose to raise. The stages for the springs in Lake County pass here and make connections with the stage for Cook's Springs, eight miles distant. There is a good hotel here, with comfortable accommodations; also a post-office, express office, one general store, a large livery stable and several shops so indispensable to a farming community.

BUTTE CITY.

        This place was the only one in the county laid out on the eastern side of the river. It is located about five miles above Princeton, on the opposite side of the Sacramento. The land in the vicinity is all very rich, and most of it will produce grain crops with very little rain. The river is crossed here by a ferry. It contains a church edifice, public school, a hotel, two general merchandise stores, a large warehouse, one saloon and one blacksmith shop.

PRINCETON.

        This place, located on the west bank of the Sacramento, is one of the oldest in point of settlement. Dr. A. Lull, a California pioneer of the year 1850, gave to it the name of Princeton, when seeking to have a post-office established for this locality.  The first postmaster was a Mr. Arnet. Henry Vansycle opened the first store and Dr. Lull, assisted by Will S. Green, laid out the first road on the east  side of the river running direct to Marysville. As it was once the thoroughfare of the freight current from Colusa to Shasta, and as afterwards from here was shipped the wheat from the plains back of it, it was necessarily a bustling, thriving little village. It is in the heart of a prosperous agricultural region and evidences of wealth, comfort and social enjoyment are observed on every hand. It is located fourteen miles north of Colusa and on the daily stage route from Norman to Butte City. A ferry here. affords communication with the east side of the Sacramento. The M. E. Church South has a very nice edifice and a $4,000 school-house is characteristic of the intelligence of its people. This place contains a hotel, one saloon, two blacksmith shops and a general store.

JACINTO.

        This hamlet is located on the celebrated Glenn estate, twenty-seven miles above Colusa. It is the home of the Glenn family. As the cultivated lands or this estate embrace an area of over fifty thousand acres and is the largest farm in the United States, the little village located thereon and called. Jacinto, represents the business of this farm and is a supply center for all the wants thereof. It contains a hotel, a large general store for the accommodation of the employes of the ranch, several blacksmith shops, a butcher shop and several immense grain warehouses. As to the magnitude of the business and work transacted at Jacinto, some idea may be gleaned by bearing in mind the fact that from two to three hundred men find employment on the ranch and eight hundred mules are required to put in and harvest the wheat.

ST. JOHN.

        This little place takes its name from A. C. St. John, who was one of the very earliest settlers in the county. He resided at Princeton for a time but purchased a tract of land in 1856, on near its mouth. One corner of this tract was set apart for a possible town and a post-office was established and called St. John. The Walsh ranch lies both north and south of this point. The land in the immediate vicinity is the richest in the Sacramento Valley. There is a post-office and express office here, a large general store, that of Charles J. Papst, who has conducted it and served as postmaster nearly a quarter of a century, the blacksmith and repair shop of C. D. Bigelow, one saloon and a school-house.

OTHER VILLAGES.

        Fruto is the name of the village at the terminus of the West-side and Mendocino Railroad, eighteen miles westerly of Willows. It is located in the foot-hills, and considerable produce is shipped from this point. The place has a depot building, hotel, post-office, and telegraph office. The Argonaut Land Company owns about ten thousand acres adjoining the town, which is being improved and subdivided into small tracts.

        Norman is a railroad station midway between Maxwell and Willows. It is a prominent shipping-point of wheat, three warehouses being located here. Aside from a neat depot building, the place has a saloon.

        Berlin is a station between Williams and Arbuckle, on the railroad, and is a shipping-point for a large quantity of grain. Aside from a large warehouse, a store, post-office, and blacksmith shop constitute the business places.

        At Vanado, about ten miles west of Williams, is a post-office, hotel, country store and saloon.

        On the Northern Railroad, where the Colusa and Lake crosses, is Colusa Junction. Trains make connection here for Colusa and Sites, and considerable freight is transferred.. A large warehouse is used here for the storing of grain, and a saloon and post-office are kept.

        At Maulton, Greenwood, Logansdale, Delevan, and Harrington are warehouses and side tracks. Trains stop upon being signaled.

SOURCE:  "Colusa County", Justus H. Rogers, Orland, CA, 1891