Sonoma County History

TOWNSHIP HISTORIES

Ocean.

Geography. - Ocean Township lies on the western side of Sonoma County, bordering on the Pacific Ocean. It is bounded on the east by Mendocino, Redwood and Bodega Townships, on the south by Bodega Township, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the north by Salt Point Township. Its boundary lines are very irregular, not following any direction for any great distance, thus giving to the township a very jagged and peculiar shape. Russian River, "Rio de los Rusos," and Austin Creek, so named for an old pioneer settler, are its only streams of any importance whatever. Neither of these are navigable. The river however is quite a stream, and is very deep and wide in places, but quite narrow and shallow in others. It is easily forded during the greater portion of the year at the present site of Duncan's Mill, but in the winter season both the river and the creek become swollen by the rains, and are veritable mountain torrents. The water rushes seaward with relentless fury, and everything in its pathway is swept into the broad bosom of the Pacific. There is no place however within the limits of this township on the river which affords water power privileges. It is a beautiful mountain stream and abounds in certain kinds of fish.

Topography. - The topography of this township is very varied; extending from the level valley to the mountain peaks. There is but comparatively little level land in it, and but little but what is so nearly set upon edges that it cannot be practically farmed, that portion of it lying south of the Russian River and also that along the ocean is well adapted to grazing and dairying purposes, but farther in the interior the mountains are very steep and high, and afford only timber. Of course these mountains are interspersed with rich valleys which are very productive. A birds-eye view of the whole township would reveal one grand panoramic view of hill and dale, of mountain and valley, extending over its entire length and breadth, threaded from east to west, near its southern end by the Russian River, and near its eastern border by Austin Creek. At the north west corner, Black Mountain stands out in bold relief rearing its head high above the ocean level.

Soil. - The soil of this township is made up of sandy loams and different clays. There is no adobe in it. The sandy loams are found in all the valleys and on the knolls and hillocks, while the mountain sides are covered with clays. The loams are very productive, all kinds of cereals and tubers thrive in them. The clays grow good grazing grasses quite profusely, while all kinds of trees and vines find their native element in them.

Climate. - The climate of this township is generally pleasant and cool, though in the valleys it sometimes becomes oppressively warm. Fogs are quite common, coming in from the sea early in the afternoon, and remaining to cast a shadow of gloom over the face of nature till the day is well advanced. Strong wills prevail along the coast and rush up the valleys, leading from the ocean, with great force, radiating into the various side valleys, thus reducing the temperature in them, making their climate the most temperate and salubrious. During the winter season, it is not so cold as farther in the interior, it being so near the ocean.

Products. - The products of the township are as varied as is the face of the country. In the valleys the finest of wheat, oats, barley, and corn is grown, also fruits, grapes, berries, melons, and all kinds of vegetables grow in rank luxuriance. On the hill sides fruit trees and vines thrive the best. The principal exports, however, are lumber, fence posts, cord wood, tan-bark and charcoal. There seems to be an almost boundless supply of the last named articles in the hills and mountains of this township, thus affording employment for a large force of men during the greater portion of the year. Of these, of course, lumber is the principal product and export. Extensive forests of redwood abound in this section and their yield of lumber is enormous. To give an idea of the great amount of lumber in this township we will give the estimates made in 1877 by the various mill proprietors in the township. Duncan's Mill Land and Lumber Company own three thousand six hundred acres on the north side of Russian River, which will yield say two hundred and sixteen million feet. The Russian River Land and Lumber Association own nine thousand acres lying west of Howard's Canon and south of Russian River, on which there is say four hundred and fifty million feet of lumber. This would make a total at that time of six hundred and fifty million feet still standing. Next to lumber in the amount of export may probably be ranked fence posts. Of these there is a boundless supply, as there is enough timber in one of those giant redwoods to make enough posts to load a train of cars. Next in amount exported comes cordwood. This wood is mostly pine and oak. The bark is stripped from the oak tree and it is then worked up into cordwood and sent to market. Tan bark is no mean item of export, every train almost taking cars loaded with it to the city. Large quantities of charcoal are also burned in this section and shipped to San Francisco. Another export from the redwood section is the pickets used so extensively in this and adjoining counties in constructing rough picket fences. Some little grain is shipped to market, but the most of it is used for home consumption, while hay is an item of import, as large quantities of it are consumed by the many teams employed in this section. Fruits and vegetables are mostly disposed of in the local markets. Dairy products form no inconsiderable item of export during the year.

Early Settlement. - The settlement of this township does not date back as far as many others in the county. From the fact that it was so rough and mountainous it did not appear to be a very desirable location for a home, and while better places remained to be had for the asking as it were, no one seemed inclined to locate here. It is probable that Henry Austin was about the first settler in the township. However, the following named gentlemen all came in about the same time, 1856, and it is probable that as much honor is due to one as to another: Hugh BREEN, Mr. JACKSON, Philip CRAULEY, John ORR, James SHERIDAN, F. SHERIDAN, and J. CHENNEWORTH. All these gentlemen took up claims, and many of them remain there to this day. Mr. ORR chanced to locate his claim where the now beautiful little town of Duncan's Mill is situated, and now has the satisfaction of having seen the dense wilderness of twenty-four years ago converted into a coterie of happy homes. He has accepted the new order of things with good grace and may be found any day at his place of business, a hale, genial, gentleman, full to overflowing with the genuine old pioneer free-heartedness. Things went on very quietly in that far-away mountain section among the old settlers until 1860, when Messrs. S. M. & A. DUNCAN began operations, at a point one and one-half miles inland from the mouth of Russian River, on a saw-mill. Soon the woodman's ax was heard on all the hill sides in that section and the hum of the saw began to fill the valleys with its music. Everything was then life and animation. Soon quite a little town sprung up; a store and hotel were opened. A post-office was established here, December 20, 1862, with Thos. BEACOM, Postmaster; there was also a telegraph and express office in the town. Everything flourished in the village. Communication with the city was had by schooner in the earlier days of the town's existence, but it was subsequently supplemented by a fine steamer, the "Ellen Duncan/" For seventeen years the ceaseless whir of the saw and the crack of the woodman's ax, was heard in the valleys and on the hill sides adjacent to the mill site, and even extending their operations far up the river, floating the logs down its bosom. But there came a time when a change must be made. The trees were too far away from the mill to be profitable, Just at this time, in 1877, the North Pacific Coast Narrow Gauge Railroad had reached the Russian River, and a question arose where it should make its terminus. Mr. DUNCAN, being just on the eve of a change, was consulted in the matter, and after due mutual consideration the present site of the town of Duncan's Mill was decided upon as the best place to cross the river and the most suitable location for a town site.

Duncan's Mill. - As stated above, the establishment of the site on which the town of Duncan's Mill now stands was the result of a conference between the officers of the North Pacific Coast Railroad and Mr. A. DUNCAN, the parties most interested. In the spring of 1877 Mr. Duncan moved his mill to its present location, and the railroad constructed a handsome and durable bridge across the Russian River, just below the mill, and erected the necessary station buildings, and also an engine house. Mr. Duncan, and his son, S. M. Duncan, erected elegant residences. The residence of Mr. A. Duncan is especially worthy of note, being situated on an eminence to the northward of the town it commands a lovely view of the town and the adjacent valley. Its rooms are spacious and everything about it has an air of substantial and ornamental utility. In the center of the town stands the Russian River Hotel, a very large and spacious building, having room for the accommodation of a great number of guests. During the summer season this house is more than full of guests, as the town is fast growing into favor as a place of resort. It certainly deserves to be a favorite with the pleasure and health seeker. It lies nestled amid the mountains, on the banks of a most beautiful stream of water. Rambles on the mountain sides and boating upon the stream can be indulged in by the gentler sex, while a broad field for the operations of the Nimrod lies on every side of the town. Communication with the city is quick and comfortable. The North Pacific Coast Railroad trains make the round trip to San Francisco and back daily, while on Sundays an excursion train is run from that city to Duncan's Mill and return. The road passes through some of the most lovely mountain views to be found on the Pacific Coast. The scenery, as the trains sweep through Howard's Canon is one grand kaleidoscopic panorama, each curve of the road, and there are hosts of them, revealing some new and beautiful vista. Communication northward is had by a line of stages, owned and operated by Messrs. ALLMAN & QUEEN. The business is under the immediate control of Mr. QUEEN, and he has made the route a favorite with the traveling public. The stages leave daily for Mendocino City.

The business interests of the town are represented by one saw-mill, two hotels, one store, one saloon, one meat market, one blacksmith shop, one shoe shop, one livery and stage stable, and one notion store. The official directory is as follows: S. M. DUNCAN, Postmaster; Thos. BEACOM, Justice of the Peace; Chas. H. THOMPSON, Constable; C. QUEEN, Agent Wells, Fargo & Co., and M. MOSES, Telegraph Operator and Stage Agent..

Brotherhood Lodge, F. & A. M. - Brotherhood Lodge, No. 251, F. & A. M., was organized under dispensation, June 8, 1878. The charter members were: John ORR, Thomas BEACOM, Silas D. INGRAHAM, Samuel RIEN, A. H. HEFFRON, James SHERIDAN, S. M. DUNCAN, Charles E. TIBBETTS, B. R. WILTSE, A. S. PATTERSON, and Charles F. ROIX. The officers U. D. were: John ORR, W. M.; B. R. WILTSE, S. W.; Charles E. TIBBETTS, J. W.; Samuel RIEN, Treasurer; and S. M. DUNCAN, Secretary. The same gentlemen have been continued in their respective offices till the present time. The present membership is sixteen, and more are being added from time to time. The Lodge meets in a nice hall arranged expressly for their use, and will shortly now be finely furnished.

Presbyterian Church. - The Duncan's Mill Presbyterian Church was organized in June, 1878, with the following names upon the church roll: Mrs. Alex. DUNCAN, Thomas HEACOM, S. M. DUNCAN, P. SHAW, and William FLEMING. Reverend Hugh McLEOD organized the church and is the present pastor. There is a Sabbath School connected with the church, which is well attended by old as well as young.

Schools. - The one great redeeming feature of California is its public school system, and no matter how far removed one is from the great centers of habitation, even amid the wildest and most rugged mountains, there will be found the school-house. And so it is in the township. Here, in the very heart of the wilderness, are found enough schools to accommodate all the children. The Scotta, Ocean, Laurel Hill and Duncan's Mill Districts include all the territory in the township. The school at Duncan's Mill is of course, the largest and best attended.

Mills. - There are several very large saw-mills in this township, in fact, there is more mill capacity in it than in any other in the county at the present time, aggregating about one hundred and fifty thousand feet daily. The Duncan's Mill Land and Lumber Association's mill will cut thirty thousand feet a day. The mills owned by the Russian River Land and Lumber Association at Moscow, Tyrone, Russian River Station, and at other points in the Howard Canon, will each cut thirty thousand feet daily; none of the mills belonging to the last named association are running at the present time, but the mill of the first named is in operation. To give a history of Duncan's Mill, we must needs go back to the pioneer days both of California and of saw-milling. In 1849 a number of carpenters, employed in the erection of the barracks at Benicia, conceived the idea of forming into a company and starting a sawmill. Lumber at that time was worth three hundred dollars per thousand feet, and of course at that rate, the business would pay far better profits than even mining. The company was organized under the name of the Blumedale Saw-mill and Lumber Co., in honor of F. G. BLUME, of whom they leased the timber land. It was located on Ebabias Creek, in Analy Township, a few miles east of the present site of Freestone. Chas. McDERMOT was President, and John BAILIFF, Secretary of the company. They formed the company and rented the land in 1848, but it was not until November of 1849, that the mill was got into operation, but by this time the price of lumber had so materially decreased, and the expense of getting it to market was so great, that but little lumber was ever cut by this company. In 1850, Gen. George STONEMAN (then Lieutenant), Joshua HENDY, and Samuel M. DUNCAN purchased the property of the Blumedale Mill and Lumber Co., and continued to run it at that place until the spring of 1852. In the meantime, however, either late 1851 or early in 1852, STONEMAN disposed of his interest to his partners, and they continued in business under the firm name of Hendy & Duncan.

In 1852, Messrs. HENDY & DUNCAN moved their mill to a mining camp known as Yankee Jim's. Here they remained a year, and in 1853, the machinery was moved to Michigan Bluffs, another mining town. In 1854, they brought the machinery back to Sonoma County, north of Russian River. Up to this time the capacity of the mill had only been five thousand feet per day, but the new boilers were procured, making it a sixteen-horse power engine, and increasing the capacity to twelve thousand feet a day. In 1855, Joshua HENDY disposed of his interest to Alex. DUNCAN, and under the firm name of Duncan Brothers, the business was conducted very successfully at this point until 1860, when the mill was moved to the old mill site near the mouth of Russian River.

While at Salt Point they sawed thirty million feet of lumber, being an average of five million per year. At the time the mill was moved to Russian River, its machinery was greatly enlarged and improved, and its capacity increased to twenty-five thousand per diem. While the mill was located at this place, they cut about one hundred million feet of lumber. No one has any conception of what those figures mean, or how much lumber it is; yet even that great number would have been greatly increased, had it not been that almost every year large quantities of logs were carried out to sea during the freshets. The winter of 1862 was the worst, carrying away probably seven million feet of lumber in the logs. It seemed almost impossible to construct booms strong enough to withstand the mighty force of the raging floods of water. In 1877 the Duncan's Mill, Land and Lumber Association was formed, and the mill moved to its present location. At that time it was enlarged to a capacity of any mill in this section. The machinery in the mill consists of one pair of double circular saws, each sixty inches in diameter; one pony saw, forty inches in diameter; one muley saw, capable of cutting a log eight feet in diameter; two planning machines, one picket header, one shingle machine, together with edgers, jointers, trimmers, and all the necessary machinery and appliances for conducting the business of sawing and working up lumber expeditiously.

We will now give a detailed description of the modus operandi of converting monster redwood trees into lumber, as we saw it done at this mill. We will begin with the tree as it stands on the mountain side. The woodsman chooses his tree, then proceeds to build a scaffold up beside it that will elevate him to such a height as he may decide upon cutting the stump. Many of the trees have been burned about the roots, or have grown ill-shaped near the ground, so that it is often necessary to build the scaffold from ten to twenty feet high. This scaffold, by the way, is an ingenious contrivance. Notches are cut at intervals around the tree at the proper height, deep enough for the end of a cross-piece to rest in securely. One end of the cross-piece is then inserted in the notch, and the other is made fast to an upright post, out some distance from the tree. Loose boards are then laid upon these cross-pieces, and the scaffold is completed. The work of felling the tree then begins. If the tree is above four feet in diameter an ax is used with an extra long helve, when one man works alone, but the usual method is for two men to work together, one chopping "right-handed" and the other "left-handed." When the tree is once down it is carefully trimmed up as far as it will do for saw-logs. A cross-cut saw is now brought into requisition, which one man plies with ease in the largest of logs, and the tree is cut into the required lengths. The logs are then stripped of their bark, which process is accomplished sometimes by burning it off. Then the ox-team puts in an appearance. These teams usually consist of three or more yoke of oxen. The chain is divided into two parts the end, and on the end of each part there is a nearly right-angled hook. One of these books is driven into either side of the log, near the end next the team, and then, with many a surge, a gee, and a haw, and an occasional (?) oath, the log is drawn out to the main trail to the landing-place. If on the road there should be any up hill or otherwise rough ground, the trail is frequently wet, do that the logs may slip along the more easily. Once at the landing-place, the hooks at the end of the chain are withdrawn, and the oxen move slowly back into the woods for another log. The train has just come up, and our log, a great eight-foot fellow, is carefully loaded on one of the cars. As we go along the track on this novel train on our road to the mill let us examine it a little. Beginning at the foundation, we will look at the track first. We find that the road-bed has been well graded, cuts made where necessary, fills made when practicable, and trestle work constructed where needed. On the ground are laid heavy cross-ties, and on them a six by six square timber. On this an iron bar, about half an inch thick and two and a half inches wide, is spiked the entire length of the track. The two rails are five feet and five inches apart, and the entire length of the tramway is five miles. Now we come to the cars which run on this queerly-constructed track. They are made nearly square, but so arranged that by fastening them together with ropes a combination car of almost any length can be formed. And lastly, but by no means the least, we come to the peculiarly-contrived piece of machinery which they call a "dummy," which is the motor power on this railroad. This engine, boiler, tender and all, stands on four wheels, each about two and a half feet in diameter. They are connected together on each side by a shaft. On the axle of the front pair of wheels is placed a large cog-wheel. Into this a very small cog-wheel works, which is on a shaft, to which the power of the engine is applied. There is an engineer on either side of the boiler, and they have a reverse lever, so that the "dummy" can go one way as well as another. By the cog-wheel combination great power is gained, but not so much can be said for its speed, though a maximum of five miles an hour can be obtained. On our way to the mill we passed through a little village of shanties and cottages, which proved to be the residences of the choppers and men engaged in the woods. Farther on we pass through a barren, deserted section, whence the trees have all been cut years ago, and naught but their blackened stumps stand now, grim vestiges of the pristine glory of the forest primeval. Now we pass around a grade, high, overhanging the river, and, with a grand sweep, enter the limits of the mill-yard. Our great log is rolled off the car on to the platform, and in his turn passes to the small car used for drawing logs up into the mill. A long rope attached to a drum in the mill is fastened to the car, and slowly, but surely, it travels up to the platform near the saw. Our log is too large to go at once to the double circular, hence the "muley", a long saw, similar to a cross-cut saw, only it is a rip saw, and stands perpendicular, must rip it in two in the middle to get it into such a size that the double circular can reach through it. This is rather a slow process, and as we have nearly thirty minutes on our hands while waiting for our log to pass through this saw, let us pay a visit to the shingle machine. This we find on a lower floor. The timber out of which shingles are made is cut into triangular or wedge-shaped pieces, about four feet long, and about sixteen inches in diameter. These are called "bolts." The first process is to saw them off into proper lengths. These blocks are then fastened into a rack, which passes by a saw, and as the rack passes back a ratchet is brought into requisition, which moves the bottom of the block in toward the saw, just the thickness of the thick end of the shingle and the top end in to correspond with the thickness of the thin end. The block is then shoved past the saw, and a shingle is made, except that the edges are, of course, rough, and the two ends probably not at all of the same width. To remedy all this, the edge of the shingle is subjected to a trimmer, when it becomes a first-class shingle. They are packed into bunches, and are then ready for the market. We will now return to our log. It has just been run back on the carriage, and awaits further processes. A rope attached to a side drum is made fast to one-half of it, and it is soon lying on its back on the carriage in front of the double circular saws. Through this it passes in rapid rotation till it is sawed into broad slabs of the proper thickness to make the desired lumber. It is then passed along on rollers to the "pony" saw, when it is again cut in pieces of lumber of different sizes as required, such as two by four, four by four, four by six, etc. It is then piled upon a truck and wheeled into the yard, and piled up ready for the market. The other half of the log is sawed into boards, ten inches wide, and part into plank, four inches wide. The boards, ten inches wide, pass along to a planing machine, and it comes out rustic siding. The four-inch plank passes through another planing machine, and comes out tongued and grooved ceiling. The heavy slabs which we saw come off the first and second time the saw passed through the log are cut into different lengths, and sawed into the right size for pickets. They are then passed through a planer, then through a picket-header, a machine with a series of revolving knives, which cut out the design of the picket-head the same as the different members of a molding are cut-out. Thus have we taken our readers through the entire process of converting the mighty forest monarchs into lumber. We hope we have succeeded in making the description of the process, in a small measure at least, as interesting to our readers as it was to us when, for the first time, we witnessed it. When you have witnessed the process of making lumber in one mill you have seen it in all, with the exception of here and there a minor detail. There are but few mills which use a "dummy" engine to draw their logs to the mill, most of them using horses or cattle on the trainways. The lumber and wood industries of this township will always make it of considerable importance, and a prosperous future may reasonably be expected.