County Histories

Tehama County

“Stretching across the great Sacramento Valley from the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the east to the Coast Range on the west, lies Tehama County.  Within its boundaries are 2,893 square miles, and it is about twice as large as Delaware and three times as large as Rhode Island.  It has a diversified topography, ranging from river bottom lands to high mountains.

“The county is bisected by the Sacramento River, which crosses it from north to south.  On both sides of the river beyond the river bottoms are great areas of table lands, locally called bench lands, which, when irrigated, are unexcelled for the production of deciduous and citrus fruits, berries, nuts, etc.  Water is plentiful for irrigation, both by gravity canals and from wells.  During recent years a number of wells have been sunk and it has been ascertained that at depths ranging from 20 to 250 feet, a bountiful supply of pure water is to be had. 

“Tehama County is now attracting great attention.  In former years most of the agricultural land in the county was held in great acres and farmed to grain or used for stock raising.  For that reason, Tehama County has always been an important grain and wool center.  In recent years, however, some of these great tracts have been broken up and are now being subdivided into small farms. Scientific methods of soil culture are being introduced and the county is undergoing a change.  The great farms of 10,000 or more acres will soon pass forever from view and in their places will be hundreds of small tracts devoted to the culture of alfalfa, fruit, poultry, truck gardening, berries, etc.  As forerunners to the new era are the prosperous colonies of Corning and Los Molinos, where there are hundreds of new settlers making good on their recent purchases.

“The fruit industry in Tehama gives employment to a large number of persons during the season and the annual value of the crop exceeds $1,000,000. The bulk of the deciduous fruit crop is dried, although many carloads are shipped to Eastern markets in the fresh state.  One of the best paying Bartlett pear ranches in California is on the Cone ranch, near Red Bluff.  Peaches are also grown extensively and profitably, as are prunes and apricots.  Since the introduction of the blastophaga in California, the insect which fertilizes the Smyrna fig, the culture of figs promises to become a paying industry.  Almonds are produced and in twenty years in which they have been grown in the county, there has never been a total crop failure.  Walnuts are also a paying crop.

“Oranges and lemons do well and bear abundantly.  The olive is also in great favor as a crop, especially in the vicinity of Corning, where there is a large pickling plant and oil factory.  Apples are grown in the foothills.  At Manton, thirty-five miles northeast of Red Bluff, the county seat, very fine apples are grown. 

“Grain is still produced in great quantities.  Wheat, barley and oats are produced and much hay is grown.

“Dairying is becoming an important industry and the opportunities along this line are hardly touched.  Alfalfa grows abundantly and is the best food for dairy cows.  There are several creameries in the county, which take the cream output from the farmers, paying cash for the product. 

“Beef cattle and sheep are raised extensively, the grazing land being the finest.  The ranges on the hill slopes provide excellent feed all during the Summer and Fall months.

“Tehama County has always attracted attention of the officials of the United States Reclamation Service because it holds the key to irrigation of thousands of acres of Sacramento Valley lands.  In the Sacramento River just above Red Bluff is Iron Canyon, a natural dam site, where it is proposed to erect a dam for the purpose of storing sufficient water to irrigate much of the Sacramento Valley lands.  The proposition is now being investigated by the Government.

The main line of the Oregon and California branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad passes through Tehama County, affording the best of rail transportation facilities.  The West Side Electric Railway now being built will have its northern terminal at Red Bluff.  The State Highway passes through the county, connecting principal communities, and the Sacramento river is navigable for trade boats as far north as Red Bluff.

“The natural scenery of the county is beautiful.  Red Bluff is one of the starting points for tourists who visit Mt. Lassen, an active volcano, which has been in a state of eruption at various intervals since June, 1914.  Although the slopes of Mt. Lassen extend into Tehama County, the peak is just beyond the borders of Shasta County.

“Game is plentiful in the foothill and mountain sections and all the streams are stocked with trout.

“Tehama County has good district schools and two excellent high schools – one at Red Bluff and one at Corning – where students are prepared for the universities.

“Red Bluff, the county seat and largest city, is an attractive place with many pretty homes.  It is a business center, being the clearing house through which most of the products of the county are marketed and the supply point for a large territory.  It has wide streets, is well lighted and well drained.  It has two fruit packing establishments, a creamery, three newspapers, several banks, large lumber yards and other important industries.

“Corning, the second city in size, is incorporated.  It is the center of a prosperous farming colony.  Fruit growing and poultry raiding are its chief industries.  Corning is destined to be the center of one of the greatest olive growing districts in California.  A large pickling and olive oil plant has been established by H. G. Heinz at Corning.

“Tehama, at the junction of the two lines of the Southern Pacific Railroad, is in the center of a rich farming section.

“Other towns in the county are Los Molinos, Vina, where the farm of the Stanford University is located, Paskenta, Henleyville, Manton, Lyonsville, Kirkwood, Proberta and Red Bank.

“The climate of Tehama is temperate.  The Winters are mild, snow seldom falling except in the mountains.  While the temperature sometimes exceeds 100 degrees in Summer, the heat is dry and not oppressive.  It is the kind of heat that ripens the fruit crop and puts profits in the pockets of the farmers.”