Tulare County
History
History of Tulare and Kings Counties, California - History by Eugene L. Menefee and Fred A. Dodge - Historic Record Company - Los Angeles, California, 1913
CHAPTER VII
EXETER AND OTHER TOWNS
When, in 1888, the railroad construction crew struck the townsite of Exeter they found themselves in the grain field of John W. Firebaugh. Behind them and before them stretched other fields of wheat. A few farm houses were in sight, but there was no vestige of a town, nor did it appear likely that there ever would be.
The Pacific Improvement Company, who bad platted the town and owned the "city," found the sale of lots slow indeed. A blacksmith shop, opened by John Hamilton, a store conducted by George W. Kirkman, a saloon and later a hotel constituted for several years the Exeter business establishments, and it was not until 1892 that a second general store, opened by R. H. Stevens, became necessary. At this time there were only two brick buildings in town, and the remainder consisted largely of mere shacks.
Not until 1894 did the first stirring of life manifest itself. George W. Frost and associates in that year commenced the extensive orange plantings at "Bonnie Brae," a short distance east of town. Not, however, until about half a dozen years after this, when these orchards came into bearing, did the community realize the value of the land adjoining and since then growth has been very rapid. A bank, now called the First National Bank of Exeter, became necessary as early as 1901, and in 1912 the banking business had so grown as to justify the advent of another, the Citrus Bank.
Exeter now has a population of thirteen hundred, with an assessed valuation of city property of $388,000. The business section is constructed almost wholly of brick, many of the buildings being of two stories with handsome pressed brick fronts. Business is not confined to a few large emporiums; but distributed among a score of prosperous merchants.
At two elections attempts to incorporate Exeter were defeated because of the opposition caused by the inclusion of much farm property within the proposed corporate limits.
On March 2, 1911, the measure carried and under the leadership of the following officers the city commenced its career Board of Trustees, G. E. Waddell, president; W. P. Ballard, J. F. Duncan, James Kirk, W. A. Waterman; city marshal., C. E. Mackey; city treasurer, E. H. Miles; city recorder, W. B. Moore.
The first important measure for the city's welfare undertaken was the establishment of a municipal water system, a public service previously in private hands and furnishing inadequate service. Bonds in the sum of $42,000 were voted in 1911 and this year witnessed the completion and commencement of operation on a fine municipal plant. About nine miles of piping thoroughly cover the city and provide for its needs for several years. Four wells furnish a more than adequate supply of pure water and a storage capacity of 100,000 gallons gives good fire protection.
Modern school buildings are a feature, the high school building, constructed in 1910 at a cost of $10,000, being particularly handsome. The high school has been in operation but four years, yet six teachers are employed and a seventh has become necessary. In this connection illustrative of the city's recent rapid growth it may be stated that last year's attendance was just double that of the preceding year.
A very progressive Board of Trade has for many years materially aided the advancement of city and county interests. Through its efforts a citrus fair was held in 1909, which attracted great crowds of visitors, not only from the county but from the large centers of population. Both financially and as a promotion enterprise this fair was an unqualified success.
At the present time the Board of Trade is engaged in the construction of a handsome brick structure which will house the city officers, afford room for meetings both of the board and the city council and furnish the abode for an exhibit of the products of the surrounding section.
Hunt Bros., a big firm of fruit canners who are also owners of a large orchard in the vicinity, have recently established a large canning factory which gives employment through the season to several hundred people.
Prior to the completion, in 1899, of the connecting line with Visalia, Exeter was quite a stage and teaming center. Even after this, Exeter remained the terminus for the Lemon Cove and Three Rivers stages and when the orange and lemon orchards of the Lemon Cove district came into bearing, the product, amounting to about a hundred carloads per season, was hauled to Exeter to be placed aboard cars.
The Visalia Electric Railway, completed in 1907, necessarily wiped out this traffic, but by increasing trading, traveling and shipping facilities, has been a great benefit to the city.
Exeter now has first class transportation facilities in four directions. It may be said to be on the main line and two branch lines of the Southern Pacific as well as having an electric railway.
Aside from these connections and its central location, Exeter is situated in a peculiarly favorable position by reason of its being practically on the line separating the farming, dairying and deciduous fruit district from the citrus belt. Of course, there is no real line of demarcation and the land immediately surrounding the town is adapted and devoted to both cultures. Orange groves, alfalfa fields, peach orchards and vineyards of table grapes adjoin.
Generally the farming and general fruit lands extend from the lowlands to the west to the neighborhood of the town, and eastward to the hills orange growing is in almost exclusive vogue.
The result is that the prosperity arising from the valuable productions of the fertile soil is not intermittent, but constant throughout the year. The facilities for caring for these products are of the best. In addition to the cannery, there is a packing house for the shipment of fresh fruit to eastern markets, and four orange packing establishments.
MONSON
The station of Monson, on the line of the Southern Pacific north of Visalia, is in a fine farming section and there are a number of orchards and vineyards in the vicinity. It is a small village; the school employs one teacher.
KAWEAH
Two miles north of Three Rivers is the post-office and stage station known as Kaweah. It is located beside a picturesquely tree and vine bordered streamlet that is a feeder to the north fork of the Kaweah river. Much tillable land in large part devoted to apple orchards lies hereabouts and the neighborhood is, for a mountain settlement, well populated. There is a daily stage to Lemon Cove and during the summer months a stage is run from this point to Giant Forest.
NORTH TULE
North Tule is the name given to the fertile valley of the Tule river after it issues from the western. slopes of the Sierras, in the southeastern part of Tulare county. The valley is about thirty miles long with an average width of five miles and with numerous side valleys entering it. The soil is very fertile and has long been known for its fine apples. Many villages and settlements are found along the valley, among which are Milo, Cramer, Baldwin Flats, Duncan's Flat, Springville, Globe and China Flats.
PIXLEY
Another of the stations of note on the line of the Southern Pacific is the flourishing town of Pixley. It is in a rich farming district and is an important point for grain dealers. It is in the artesian country and large alfalfa fields have been sown, and dairying is coming to the front. There is a fine school house, hotel and several mercantile houses. Much of the lands about the town were owned by people of San Francisco and they named it in honor of the talented Frank Pixley, founder and editor of the Argonaut.
TIPTON
The town of Tipton had its origin with the coming of the Southern Pacific Railway and was made a depot. It is in the midst of a rich farming and dairying country, and some of the people have planted orchards. It is the natural shipping point for a large part of the lower Tule country; but the town has not grown with the rapidity of other places. It has a number of mercantile and other business houses and the business men are confidently expecting that in the next few years there will be a large influx of people. There are a number of artesian wells in the vicinity and the dairy business is growing to be of great importance.
ALILA
The most southerly town in the county on the line of the railroad is Alila. It is in the country between the sinks of Deer creek and White river, and in the artesian belt. It thus has a rich and valuable country around it. There are good warehouses and a large amount of grain is handled here. The school and church are well represented and there are a number of business houses in town.
POPLAR
Poplar is not the name of a town, but rather of a rich farming country west and south from Porterville, and being southeastward from the Woodville country. It is a famous stock-raising section and also a fine country for grain. In the early days the land owners here united and brought in a supply of water from the Tule river. This was by means of the Bid ditch. A co-operative company was formed and established a general merchandising house that is still doing business.
FRAZIER
One of the most beautiful sections of Tulare county is Frazier valley, which lies about twenty-five miles east and south of Tulare City. It borders the Tule river above where the river emerges into the more open plains. It has a post-office and a number of farms and orchards. It is, with its side valleys, some fifteen miles long and five miles wide. The valley is now attracting much attention as being a choice locality for early fruit and vegetables. It is finely watered and is comparatively free from frosts.
WOODVILLE
The name Woodville was given to a rich farming country lying along the south side of Tule river, eight miles west from Porterville and twenty miles south of Visalia. It derived its title from the extensive groves of white oak covering the country. A store was established at an early date and a post-office located there, besides a schoolhouse, and people in the neighborhood are beginning to put out orchards and hope in a few years to have a prosperous town there. The soil is very rich, and alfalfa fields are becoming numerous and much attention is paid of late to dairying.
STRATHMORE
One of the late towns to spring up in Tulare county is Strathmore, and it has from the first shown a lusty growth. On the line of the railway between Lindsay and Porterville it is the depot for one of the fine orange districts of the county. At the citrus fair held in Visalia in 1910 Strathmore made a remarkably fine exhibit of citrus and deciduous fruits, olives, pomegranates and other products.
ESHOM VALLEY
A few miles east of Badger lies the mountain dale called Eshom Valley, one of the beauty spots of the county. The valley is several miles long and in places a mile wide. Though situated at a high elevation not far below the edge of the pines, the soil is warm and fertile and farm crops, vegetables, berries, apples, etc., produce exceedingly well. There is much good grazing land in the vicinity and the hills being thickly wooded with acorn-bearing oaks, hog raising has proven a profitable branch of the stock raising industry.
The climate is so tempered by the altitude that it has become a resort favored by tourists in summer. Eshom Valley is of historic interest as being once the home of a great tribe of Indians whose powerful chief, Wuk-sa-che, more than once led them to victory in battle with the Monaches. The Indian name of the valley was "Cha-ha-du," "a place where clover grows the year round." Orlando Barton states that when he first visited the valley, in the '60's, he saw droves of Indians eating clover there.
The valley was visited as early as 1857 by James Fisher and Thomas Davis, and derived its name from Mr. Eshom, one of the first residents, who settled there and engaged in farming. In 1862 Jasper Harrell laid claim to the valley but did not succeed in holding it. His foreman, J. B. Breckenridge, was killed by the Indians in 1863.
ALPAUGH
In early days Tulare lake covered a much greater area than at present. Near its southeastern end existed a large island owned by Judge Atwell of Visalia, and known as Atwell's Island. Long since the waters of the lake have subsided, the island no longer exists, but its location is marked by the growing town of Alpaugh. The whole section hereabouts was for many years used by Miller & Lux as a pasture for their immense herds of cattle. The lands were deemed unfit for agricultural purposes.
In 1905 a syndicate of Los Angeles capitalists obtained control of 8861 acres, comprising Atwell's Island, and placed it on the market in small tracts on easy terms. A large number of purchasers were found and these, with their families—two hundred and twelve persons in all—came up to settle. So general was the idea among old residents of the county that this land was worthless that the enterprise was "knocked" on all sides. Every Alpaugh colonist was told that he was an "easy mark." The Visalia Board of Trade seriously considered the passing of a resolution condemning the land sale as a swindle, but were dissuaded from hasty action by Ben M. Maddox.
The colonists did have trouble. With most of them funds were scarce, and many had to leave temporarily. There was trouble in getting a supply of good water. Perseverance overcame these obstacles. A school district was organized in 1906, a church and school house erected and home building was recommenced. Successful experiments in raising alfalfa and vegetables were conducted, artesian wells were sunk and a supply of water obtained, this not sufficient, however, for irrigation purposes. But the wells put down were found of double value. Besides water, they supplied a natural gas that can be used for heating and lighting.
The colonists have increased in numbers and much activity is shown in raising vegetables. Quite a business has been established in the canning of tomatoes, peas, etc. The raising of garden seeds for the market has proved especially profitable and it has been found that the fine silt soil is peculiarly adapted to the production of asparagus, onions and other vegetables. The colonists have arranged to get a bountiful supply of water for irrigating purposes from the Smyrna wells, distant a few miles south.
South and west from Alpaugh much work is being done in the reclamation of submerged lake lands by the construction of levees. Alpaugh is situated eight miles south and west from Angiola. The Santa Fe railroad contemplates the building of a spur to connect Alpaugh with the main line, and this, it is believed, will not be delayed, as shipments fully warrant it.
TAGUS
While the name Tagus, applied to the switch on the Southern Pacific track about midway between Goshen and Tulare, is not worthy of mention, the neighboring country, or Tagus district, is. The Tagus ranch of several thousand acres devoted to dairying, alfalfa and grain farming has proven exceptionally profitable, especially since the experiment on it of raising sugar beets. Of necessity cultivation for this purpose was very deep and thorough and crops since have been extraordinarily large. The neighborhood is almost exclusively devoted to alfalfa and dairying. Probably no district in the county delivers more butter fat to the creameries in proportion to its area than the Tagus section.
GOSHEN
The town of Goshen, seven miles west of Visalia, dates its history from the completion of the railroad to that point, in May, 1872. Here the contemplated branch of the Southern Pacific from San Francisco by way of Gilroy, Tres Pinos and Huron, was to join the line of the Central Pacific, proceeding from Stockton south. A passenger and a freight depot was built, large numbers of lots sold, and it was thought that before many years Goshen would become an important city.
The construction, in 1874, of the Visalia-Goshen railway inspired renewed hopes in the future of the town as a great railway center. In 1876 work was commenced on the westerly branch, running through the Mussel Slough country, and supposed to make connections at Tres Pinos. This road got as far as Alcalde only.
However, Goshen did become the railroad center of the county and of the San Joaquin valley. Geographically, it is admirably situated, lying midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, within touching distance on the one hand of Visalia and Exeter and on the other with Hanford and Coalinga. Surrounding it lie extensive tracts, suitable for fruit, vines or alfalfa. Several productive and lucrative orchards and vineyards in the vicinity attest the adaptability of the soil.
Notwithstanding these apparent advantages, Goshen still remains a small village. The cause of this failure to grow lies no doubt in the fact that the soil surrounding the depot is alkaline in character and unfavorably impresses home-seekers looking from the windows of a car.
A few years ago Goshen was made a sub-station on the Associated Oil Company's pipe line. A number of neat cottages for the use of employes were erected and these, while situated in the questionable soil spoken of, are now surrounded by lawns and gardens creditable to any locality.
Within the last few years the exceedingly fertile character of Goshen lands has become known to many investors. Orchards and vineyards have been planted on a considerable scale and it is believed that rapid and at the same time solid and substantial growth awaits the village kept so long dormant.
PAIGE
Paige is the name of a station on the Santa Fe, west from Tulare. It is the depot for the large settlement that is growing up on and around the great Paige & Morton ranch, which once claimed the largest vineyard in the world, besides having extensive orchards and grain lands. A considerable part of it has in the past few years been sold in small holdings. Thus an important settlement is being made there, and the surrounding country is rapidly becoming a great dairy section.
ANGIOLA
Angiola dates its history from the coming of the Santa Fe railroad. It is in the lake region on the main line of the railroad running south from Hanford to Bakersfield. It is an important place now for supplying the rapidly growing lake country. It is in the artesian belt, and the surrounding country is very fertile. The greater part of the soil is rich silt, capable of producing all kinds of crops. Grain and alfalfa predominate, although a considerable acreage is being used for beet raising. The large sugar factory at Corcoran is largely dependent upon the lake lands for the supply of beets.
YETTEM.
Lying north of Visalia about sixteen miles is a rich farming district formerly known as Churchill. It is along the base of the low foothills and has an exceptionally rich soil and comparative freedom from frosts. A few years ago a colony of Armenians bought property here and put out vineyards and orchards. From the fine gardens and rapid growth of tree and vine the Armenians named the settlement Yettem, "Garden of Eden." There is now a general store, a school and a fine church as the nucleus of a town, lying about a mile east of the line of the Santa Fe. The station now called Yettem was formerly called Lowell.
PLANO
The town of Plano might well be called South Porterville, as it lies south of that town and just across the Tule river. The name was suggested by its location in the great, beautiful plain sweeping down from the foothills of the Sierras and extending out westwardly. This plain is one of the fairest, and the elegant homes that have been made here and that still are being established receive an additional charm from the grand view of the snow-capped Sierras to the east.
Being on the main stage road leading from Visalia to Los Angeles, and to the Kern river and Owens valley mining districts, it was in early times a stage station. William Thompson was its first pioneer merchant and postmaster. Dr. F. A. Johnson was its earliest physician. Here it was that the first oranges in Tulare county were raised. As noted elsewhere, D. Gibbons here planted a few trees in his yard, and some of them are still bearing fruit. It is now grown to be a great orange center, with pleasant homes, schools, churches, etc. As a suburb of Porterville, the social advantages incident to populous communities are shared, while by its separation from the bustling city the charm of suburban life remains unimpaired.
THREE RIVERS
Twenty-eight miles east of Visalia at the junction of the forks of the Kaweah river in the foothills, lies the village of Three Rivers. The Three Rivers country may properly be considered to embrace the territory included in Three Rivers voting precinct, which extends southerly to Yokohl, westerly to Lemon Cove, northerly to Eshom and easterly to Inyo county, an area of twenty-one townships.
The first known white man to enter this section was Hale D. Tharpe, a stockman, who came in the fall of 1858. The Works family, William Swanson and family, John Lovelace and family, Joseph Palmer, A. Everton, Ira Blossom and family, followed soon after and were the pioneers of the settlement.
At the time of Mr.. Tharpe's arrival Indians in the vicinity were very numerous, the population being estimated at two thousand. These tribes are now practically extinct, and in this vicinity not one remains. The progress of the settlement was very slow, there being practically no immigration until 1878, when the gold excitement at Mineral King took place. The mining activities at Mineral King and the construction of a road to that place caused a temporary influx of residents, but the mining excitement dying down, the population remained practically as before.
In 1886 the Kaweah Co-operative Colony made this their base of operations, establishing a village on the north fork of the Kaweah. These colonists commenced the construction of a road to the Giant Forest and completed about twenty miles of it. This project was abandoned in 1890, most of the colonists leaving the county. Quite a number, however, remained and have materially aided in the development of the district. Settlement has slowly but steadily increased until the present population numbers six hundred and fifteen.
In 1878 a post-office was established at Three Rivers; in 1892 at Kaweah, on the north fork; in 1905 at Hammond, on the main river, and in 1907 at Ranger (Giant Forest).
Britten Brothers, in 1897, opened a general merchandise store and in 1910, the River Inn Company, in connection with a hotel situated at the junction of the north fork, installed another. In 1899 the Mt. Whitney Power Company put in a large power plant, in 1905 a second was installed and at the present writing a third and a
fourth, are in course of construction. There are two good schools, a public hall, two blacksmith shops. An extensive telephone system owned by the community unites the members of this widely scattered settlement.
In early days the sole industry of the section was stock raising, the foothill country furnishing an abundance of spring feed and the mountain ranges contributing the summer supply.
In the early '70s, Joe Palmer carried in on his back a few apple trees and became the pioneer of an industry that now adds a considerable quota to the prosperity of the region. Apples were found to do exceedingly well and numerous orchards now dot not only the river bottom lands of the lower sections, but are successfully grown as far up as the pine belt at an elevation of forty-five hundred feet.
The excellent fishing and hunting, the climatic advantages and the scenic wonders of the higher Sierras, bring through Three Rivers each year an increasing number of tourists and sportsmen and outfitting and catering to these has become an important branch of business here.
A TALE OF INDIAN TROUBLE AT THREE RIVERS IN EARLY DAYS.
In May, 1857, the Works and Pemberton families had sold a herd of cattle and had considerable money. A few days after the sale transaction a band of some eighty or ninety Indians came over from the Owens River valley and established camp just across the Kaweah river from the Works' house. Many of the Indians bore firearms, and amongst them was one man that had recently killed a white man on the Owens river without cause or provocation, and was wearing the dead man's clothes at the time. On the 25th of the month, when the men settlers were away looking after their stock, a portion of the Indians looted the premises of Pemberton and Works. When the men returned home and saw what had transpired, Joseph Palmer, H. Works and Pemberton immediately started out for the camp of the Indians to adjust matters. While enroute to the Indian camp they met six Indians and told them of the depredations they had committed. Immediately the Indian that had killed the man at Owens river made an attempt to draw a pistol, whereupon Joseph Palmer struck the Indian upon the head with his gun, instantly killing him. Following, several shots were fired at close range from both sides in which three or four Indians were killed, and the whites not injured. The Indians all left the country the same evening, after which the dead Indians were all buried by the whites.
This was the first, last, and only trouble with the Indians.
SPRINGVILLE
Among the hamlets which of recent years have attracted unusual attention among residents of the southern end of the county as well as among visiting prospective settlers is the town of Springville, situated about sixteen miles eastward from Porterville at an elevation of 1072 feet.
The village lies near the Tule river, below the junction of the north fork with the main channel, and takes its name from a splendid soda spring found there, the waters of which are noted for their agreeable taste and for their curative properties. The town is frequently referred to as the "Gateway to the Sierras," as from it diverge roads and trails reaching many mountain points of interest. Its chief fame, however, rests upon the superb quality of apples grown in the neighborhood. These have taken prizes wherever exhibited and their production has become extensive. Oranges are also largely grown and with success, comparative freedom from frosts being enjoyed.
Originally the town was named Daunt, from William G. Daunt, a pioneer settler who opened a store during the '60s. The origin of the present village, however, dates from 1889, when A. M. Coburn, a lumberman operating a mill in the mountains, purchased a tract of land originally taken up by John Crabtree, and set aside eighteen acres as a townsite.
The prospective value of the springs was one of the inducements for purchasers of the lots, and the town to be was given the name Soda Springs. A school house and a building intended to be used as a sanitarium were the only structures on the land. The vision of a famous "spa" did not materialize, but as Mr. Coburn built a box factory and planing mill and sold lots and lumber on easy terms to his employees, a number of houses were built and a nucleus of a town started. The "sanitarium" was converted into a hotel and later torn down for the erection of the present Springville hotel.
The post-office was at Mr. Daunt's place, nearly a mile down the river. Originally mail had been brought from Visalia twice a week, Charles Lawless being the carrier. Later it was sent from Tulare by way of Woodville, Porterville and Plano. On the completion of the railroad to Porterville a daily mail by stage from that place was established.
In 1890 Mr. Coburn bought out Mr. Daunt's store and moved it and the pos-toffice to the present site. The name "Daunt" for the post-office was continued for several years by reason of the fact that there was a Springville post-office in Ventura county. This latter having lapsed, the name "Springville" applies now to the pos-toffice as well as the town.
MINERAL KING
Sixty miles east of Visalia, reached via Lemon Cove and Three Rivers, at the source of the east fork of the Kaweah river, lies the mountain valley, Mineral King. Here, at an altitude of eight thousand feet, the summer climate is cool and invigorating, and this, together with the numerous nearby scenic attractions, the abundant wild feed, the good fishing and its position as the furthermost mountain point accessible to wagons, has caused it to become a resort visited in summer by multitudes of people.
Saw Tooth, a peak of thirteen thousand feet, towers directly above. From its summit a wonderful view of towering peaks, divides, declivities and nestling lakes are obtained. Monarch lake and Eagle lake lie close to camp and are readily visited. Soda and other mineral springs abound.
The valley heads at Farewell Gap, a pass of 10,600 feet elevation dividing the waters of the Kaweah from those of the Little Kern. Over it pass the trails leading to Trout Meadows, to Kern Lakes, to Mt. Whitney and to Inyo county. There are also trails leading from Mineral King to the Giant Forest over Timber Gap, to the Hockett Meadows over Tar Gap, as well as one leading directly to Kern Lakes.
Many people from the valley have built cabins and have a permanent summer camp here. There is a stable summer population of about two hundred, and the total number of visitors, yearly increasing, is over one thousand. There is a store, post-office and a telephone line to the valley.
But time was when the activities here were of an entirely different nature. Gold was discovered here in the early '70s and hundreds of miners flocked to the scene. The Mineral King Mining District was formed and locations and transfers filed under the Federal laws. A town of about five hundred inhabitants sprung up and was named Beulah. Stamp and saw mills were erected. A road from Three Rivers, passing over a very difficult territory, was built at an expenditure of about $100,000. At one time daily stages from Visalia made the entire distance in one day.
A clear idea of the glory of Beulah in 1879, the year which marked its greatest prosperity, may be gained by the following, from the pen of Judge W. B. Wallace:
"Ex-Senator Fowler had purchased the Empire mine and with characteristic energy was completing the road, erecting a quartz mill and tramway, and driving a long tunnel into the mountain. Things were moving that year. A sawmill was in operation and cabins were going up in all directions. An assay office was established and mines were located by the hundreds.
"The N. E. Tunnel and Smelting Company was incorporated in 1875, another was organized in 1876, and the White Chief Gold and Silver Mining Company was called into being in 1880. But the year 1879 was the most fruitful in the production of these artificial persons for that camp. That year ten companies were organized with an aggregate capital stock which would put to shame that little kerosene side issue of the Standard Oil Company.
* * *
"At the general election held in 1879, the candidates for lieutenant governor and chief justice of the supreme court received one hundred thirty-seven votes for each office and the candidates for superior judge, assemblyman and district attorney received one hundred thirty-six votes in Mineral King.
"There were ten and perhaps twelve places where intoxicating liquors were sold, and events proved that the recorder, who received $5 for recording every location notice, and the saloon men worked the only paying mines. But there was very little riotousness and disorder. There were no such essentially bad men there as are usually found in new mining camps, with notched pistol handles, private burying grounds to which they could point with bloodcurdling suggestions. There was but one shooting affray that I recall. It grew out of a dispute over the right to the possession of a small tract of land. One of the participants received a slight wound. * * *
"There are but two graves in Mineral King. In the late '70s. early in the spring, one of the newcomers went to Redwood Meadow on foot, taking no provisions with him. A snow storm came on which fenced him in. In two or three days he started to return, crossed Timber Gap and struggled through the snow until within a quarter of a mile of the camp. He called for help and was heard, but his voice was not recognized as that of a human being and the next morning his frozen body was found where he had evidently sat down, exhausted, and after vainly calling had given up the struggle.
"When John Heinlen was prospecting the White Chief mine, two of his miners were carried down the mountainside and buried in an avalanche of snow. One was found and dug out alive, but the body of the other was not recovered until the spring thaw.
"In the early days Orlando Barton was the Nestor of the camp, having the most extended and varied fund of knowledge. James Maukins and John Crabtree were perhaps the best prospectors. John Meadows was the most enthusiastic and confident of the early locators, rating his possessions worth a million dollars. He was a farmer, a stock-raiser, a miner, a preacher, and a fighter, but withal a brave, honest and conscientious man.
"J. T. Trauger, who came in for the New England Company as its superintendent, and the last recorder of the district, was known to all and was a favorite in the district. His wife was for years the good angel of the camp, whose cheerful disposition, sterling qualities and strength of character won for her the respect and admiration of all the curiously assorted denizens of the district. The trail was never too rough, nor the night too dark to keep her from the bedside of the suffering miner whose cry of distress was heard, whether stricken by sickness, crushed in an avalanche of snow or mangled by an untimely blast.
"Politicians early discovered the necessity of winning the Mineral King voters, and several political meetings were held there when local orators avowed in various forms their willingness to forego many personal pleasures that they might serve the country.
"Itinerant ministers also preached to the assembled people, not from great cathedrals decorated with, paintings of the old masters, nor accompanied by the music of grand organs, but in those groves which were God's first temples, where swaying pine and mountain streams made music, under a great dome painted by the Master's hand, set with a thousand gems and softly lighted by the moon's pale beams, and where all nature joined in anthems of praise.
"Mineral King was a silver camp and many of the old prospectors were actually silverized. In white, seamless rock they would point out wire silver and horn silver. They named the lakes and the ledges silver and saw and admired the silver lining to every cloud. The very word had such a fascination for them that they talked in soft, silvery tones. They pricked up their ears when silver gray foxes were alluded to and stood at attention when the old bear hunters spoke of the silver-tipped grizzly, and as they lay down at night and gazed at the full orbed moon, they viewed it as the original of the silver dollar, having milled edges and a lettered flat surface, and wondered whether what they had looked at from infancy as the man in the moon might not after all be a mint impression of the American eagle."
But the mines proved but the graveyard of many fortunes. Nothing came of them but disaster and the little town was abandoned. Many of the homes were left and for years were used by people who went up into the valley for a summer outing, but the snows and the rains have destroyed them all.
TRAVER
Traver was founded April 8, 1884, or rather, that was the date when town lots were sold at auction. The town owes its origin entirely to the construction of the '76 canal and is the only place on the line of the Southern Pacific railroad not originally owned by that corporation. However, the Southern Pacific obtained an interest in the property before they would consent to the establishment of a depot there.
Traver is three miles south of Kings river. The bottom lands of the stream are exceedingly fertile and capable of producing every known product grown in California. It was named after Charles Traver, a capitalist of Sacramento, who was interested in the '76 canal enterprise. At the time of the sale of lots, excursions were run from San Francisco and from Los Angeles. The sales on April 8, 1884, aggregated $65,000. The only house then in Traver was a small structure that had been moved from Cross Creeks, and occupied by Kitchener & Co. as a store. Buildings were soon erected and a thriving town ensued. Traver has suffered greatly from fires, but is still a thriving place, and center of a valuable farming, fruit raising and dairying section. Fine schools, lodges and churches are supplied.
HOCKETT MEADOWS
The Hockett meadows, containing about one hundred sixty acres of land lying on the plateau region near the head waters of the south fork of the Kaweah, are desirable camping places. The elevation is about eighty-five hundred feet and in consequence the climate during the summer is cool and bracing. There is the greatest abundance of feed, both here and in all the surrounding country. Lake Evelyn, one of the most beautiful of mountain lakes, is distant about three miles. There is excellent trout fishing in Hockett meadow creek, in Horse creek, one and one-half miles away, and in the waters of the south fork, two miles away.
The park line is distant but a mile and a half, so that hunting for deer, which are here numerous, is within easy reach. There are trails to Mineral King and to Little Kern river, each distant about eight miles.
REDBANKS
Redbanks, the terminal station of the Visalia electric road, is situated about fifteen miles northwest of Visalia, and takes its name from the properties of the Redbanks Orchard Company, which adjoin.
This orchard, one of the largest in the county and the only one devoted exclusively to the production of deciduous fruits for the eastern market, is located on the spur of hill known as Colvin's Point. Probably no part of Tulare county more vividly sets forth the rapid change from parched pasture lands to green gardens and productive orchards. This orchard venture of some thirteen hundred and fifty acres had its inception in 1904, when P. M. Baier, Dr. W. W. Squires and Charles Joannes purchased a considerable acreage, since adding to it. Mr. Baier, formerly manager for the Earl Fruit Company, and a man of the widest knowledge of deciduous fruit growing and marketing, had become convinced by observation of vegetable growth in the vicinity, that here was a remarkably early section, the products of which should bring extremely high prices in the eastern market.
No care or expense has been spared on the orchard and the result has exceeded expectations. Carloads of several varieties of fruits and table grapes are now shipped from here each season several days in advance of consignments forwarded from any other point in the state.
WHITE RIVER
White River, situated near the junction of the middle and south forks of White river, about twenty-six miles southeast of Plano, arrived at early fame through the discovery here by D. B. James, of gold. This was followed by a wild stampede of miners and a typical early day mining town called "Tailholt," sprang up at once. Stores and shops, saloons, dance halls, gambling houses, stage station, a quartz mill and a graveyard became necessary to supply the needs of the inhabitants and were provided.
Seven men were soon "planted" in the last mentioned place, all dying with their boots on. It appears that each of these was named Dan, but history is silent in regard to why the bearing of that name was of peculiar hazard.
In addition to the mining conducted in the vicinity, the town prospered by reason of being on the route to the Kern and Owens river mining districts. It became the source of supplies to thousands of miners, and the principal town in the southern portion of the county.
In all these districts, however, while considerable gold was taken out, there appeared to be no large deposits of the precious metal. Pockets, while rich, soon petered out and the glory of the village lasted but a few years. A score or more miners remained to work claims at a small profit, a business which continues to this day.
At one time lumbering developed into quite an industry from the saw mills operated in the adjacent pineries.
Of recent years stock-raising has been the principal source of revenue to the inhabitants of the district, although the citrus belt is extending to the neighborhood and the possibilities of apple culture afford prospective reasons for future development.
THE GIANT FOREST
This, the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, and in the world, is situated at an altitude of from six to seven thousand five hundred feet, on a plateau lying between the middle and Marble forks of the Kaweah river, at a distance (by road) of about sixty miles from Visalia. There are within it over five thousand trees of a diameter of ten feet or more, together with many monsters whose diameter ranges from twenty-five to thirty feet. The General Sherman tree, whose circumference six feet above the ground is one hundred nine feet, is considered to be the largest in the world. Its age is estimated at six thousand years. Other large groves are the Dorst, situated in the northwest corner of the park, and Garfield, lying a short distance southeast of the Giant Forest, and the Muir, which stands on the south side of the south fork of the Kaweah, about twenty miles above Three Rivers.
The Giant Forest was discovered by Hale Tharpe in the early '60s, and named by John Muir in 1890.
Camp Sierra, as the site chosen for hotel and camp grounds is called, is delightfully situated alongside a little meadow, amidst groves of sequoias and firs.
Among the nearby points of interest may be mentioned the Marble Falls, nine hundred sixty feet in height; Admiration Point, whence precipices of two thousand feet on three sides confront; Sunset Rock, affording a beautiful open view of the valley, and Morro Rock, a monolith eighteen hundred feet in vertical height, which overlooks the canyon of the middle fork of the Kaweah. From its summit is obtained a near view of many snow-covered peaks, ranging from ten to fourteen thousand feet in height, a clear view of the Kaweah, almost a mile below, of the San Joaquin valley beyond, and of the coast range of mountains, visible for perhaps two hundred miles of their length.
Then there are the beautiful Twin Lakes, situated at an altitude of nearly ten thousand feet, distant eleven miles. Flanked at one side by banks of almost perpetual snow, overlooked by precipitous bluffs of granite, the crystal clear waters mirroring perfectly the bordering rocks and tamarack groves, they form a picture that lives long in memory.
Easy to visit are Log, Crescent and Alta meadows, each having its peculiar charms; there is the "house tree," so called because in it Everton lived for five winters while engaged in trapping; Tharpe's log cabin, a hollow tree fitted with doors and windows and furnishings, formerly the summer home of Hale Tharpe; "chimney trees," hollow from ground to crown, etc., etc.
There are four caves in the park, as follows :
Cloughs cave, situated about thirteen miles above Three Rivers, on the south fork of the Kaweah river, was discovered by William O. Clough in 1885. Owing to its ease of access and its location on a main route of tourist travel, it is visited by greater numbers than any of the others.
Palmers cave, discovered by Joe Palmer, is situated near Putnam canyon on the south fork of the Kaweah. Owing to the almost inaccessible position of entrance, it has never been explored.
Paradise cave is located on the south side of the ridge which separates the middle and the east forks of the Kaweah and was discovered in 1901 by H. R. Harmon. In 1906 it was explored by Walter Fry and C. W. Blossom, park rangers, and officially named.
OROSI
Due west from Dinuba six miles and almost directly north of Visalia sixteen miles is situated the flourishing town and colony of Orosi. The foothills curve around the section immediately north of the townsite, a great deal of the colony lying in the cove thus formed.
Prior to 1890 grain farming was practically the only industry. There were few inhabitants. By reason of insufficient rainfall crops were not sure and there was no material progress. The extension of the Alta Irrigation district to this section and the subdivision of the lands into ten, twenty and forty acre tracts rapidly worked a marvelous change, and the district now is thickly settled and solidly planted to orchards and vineyards in small holdings. The avenues which criss-cross the tracts are well-kept, many of these are bordered by fig, almond, or other fruit trees of a different kind from that to which the orchard is set, and as fences have generally been removed both from the roadside and boundary lines, a very unique and pleasing effect is produced.
In 1890 or 1891, at the same time as the heavy initial planting of grapes and peaches, several small orange orchards were set. These duly came into bearing and demonstrated the adaptability of the Orosi country for oranges. Quite recently large acreages in the vicinity have been planted to this fruit and there have been heavy purchases of land lying in adjoining coves for this purpose.
The town of Orosi maintains three general merchandise stores, many shops, two banks, handsome school buildings for both grammar and high school grades, a hotel and branch library.
It was quite a disappointment to the citizens of Orosi when the Santa Fe passed the town by leaving it a mile and a half from Cutler, the nearest station. The town and colony continued to grow, however, and it is now confidently believed by the residents that the "Tide Water and Southern" will be extended to pass through Orosi.
NARANJO
The name Naranjo (Spanish for orange tree) is given to the citrus district lying along the foothills north of Lemon Cove and across the Kaweah river. It was the first section north of the river to be set to fruit and is now a heavy producer of oranges and grape fruit. The orchardists have their own packing house and are served by the Visalia electric railroad. There is a store and post-office. Westward, Naranjo merges into the newer Woodlake district.
MONSON
Situated on the Southern Pacific's east side line and lying north of Visalia and southward from Dinuba is a small village with one general merchandise store, a few shops, etc.
It is quite an important watermelon shipping point. Farming and dairying are the principal occupations of the neighborhood on the south, and raisin growing and deciduous fruit culture on the north.
ORIOLE LODGE
Some fourteen miles above Three Rivers on the northern flank of the east fork of the Kaweah, nestles beneath the pines a lovely mountain tarn called Oriole lake. Its outlet forms a picturesque little stream which abounds in trout.
Near the lake is quite a bit of comparatively level land originally the homestead location of "Uncle Dan" Highton. The location possessed such natural advantages for a delightful summer resort that a number of local residents, under the leadership of A. G. Ogilvie, formed, in 1910, a stock company, purchased a site and are at present engaged in the erection thereon of artistic bungalows and other equipment. They have installed a sawmill and are cutting the material on the ground. The new road to Mineral King, soon to be completed, will render the place easy of access.
VENICE
The town of Woodville had, in 1857, dwindled to almost nothing, when its revival was attempted by D. B. James under the name of Venice. The new town was not to be on the site of the old, but further north near the southwestern corner of the Venice hills, and on the north side of the St. John river. At that time the St. John river extended but a short distance further west, there sinking into a swamp.
By reason of the fact that in hauling freight from Stockton to Visalia, in order to avoid bogs and swamps, it was preferable to travel by this route to Visalia, the new town grew and prospered. In addition to James' store and post-office there came to be a saloon, boarding house, blacksmith shop, chair factory, distillery, butcher shop and billiard hall.
In the flood of 1862, however, almost the whole of the town was destroyed, and a continuous channel was opened from the sink of the St. John to Canoe creek and thence to Cross creek, thus forming the St. John river of today. Just below the site of the town, where the cement rock formation in the bed of the river became thinner, a fall eight feet in height was formed. During the flood of '68 this fall was entirely channeled out, and the stream was so broadened as to occupy much of the former townsite.
No attempt was made to rebuild the town and the settlement in the neighborhood decreased until once again the region became almost abandoned, and remained so until very recent years, when the discovery of the thermal belt lying round these hills has placed growth on a substantial and permanent basis, and Venice Cove, still further north, became the center of the district's population.
KLINK
Northwesterly from Venice Cove, on the Southern Pacific branch line, is the station of Klink, lying between Taurusa on the north and Kaweah on the south. For many years it was only a spur from which occasional shipments of wood and fruit were made. The success of the orange groves at Venice Cove has stimulated planting in the similar soil abutting the railroad near Klink, so that now quite a district is embraced by the new planting of the neighborhood. A general store has been established and it is expected that the railroad company will soon erect a suitable depot and install a regular agent.
WAUKENA
About ten miles southwestward from Tulare City was a noted stock grazing country known as the Crossmore ranch. Several years ago a syndicate of Los Angeles capitalists purchased this ranch of twelve thousand acres and arranged a great colony scheme. The lands lie in the artesian belt, and there are a number of flowing wells. Besides dividing the lands up so as to be sold in small holdings, a town was laid out with broad boulevards and parks. The place—this on-coming city—the proprietors named Waukena, the beautiful. The tracts did not sell as readily as anticipated. On the completion of the Santa Fe railroad from Tulare to Corcoran, passing through the tract, a depot was established, and a small village has grown up there. The soil in the vicinity is well adapted to alfalfa and the rapidly developing dairy industry is making for the increased prosperity of the neighborhood.
WOODLAKE
Woodlake, situated some fifteen miles northeasterly from Visalia, between Naranjo and Redbanks and near the north shore of Bravo lake, is a town whose growth during the three or four years of its existence has been so phenomenal as to merit especial mention.
The town is now solidly and substantially built, having a handsome two-story hotel with pressed brick front; several shops, a large concrete garage, a general store, a newspaper, a bank and other features. During the present year an auction sale of town lots was held and quite high prices were realized. Cement sidewalks and graded avenues are in evidence here as in the suburbs of a large city.
Development of this district began in 1907, when Jason Barton, J. W. Fewell and Adolph Sweet purchased a large tract on the east side of Cottonwood creek, in Elder and Townsend school districts, and situated about three miles north of Bravo lake. These men commenced extensive development work with the view to selling off tracts for colonists. Abundant water was found and cement pipe built and laid to carry it to the subdivisions. A considerable acreage was planted. This colony was called Elderwood and a store and post-office of that name was established.
Now appeared on the scene Gilbert Stevenson of Los Angeles, a man of means and of great enterprise who, greatly impressed with the showing the young trees had made in growth and the fact that they had. remained untouched by frost, purchased a large tract to the southward, started a colony and founded a town, calling it Woodlake. The two districts, which merge into one are now called by this name, although South Woodlake and North Woodlake are sometimes heard.
The entire section has developed with magical rapidity and the brown hills that a few years ago were held worthless except for a scant spring pasturage are now set to groves and handsome residences are building in great number.
CALIFORNIA HOT SPRINGS
The California Hot Springs, formerly known as the Deer Creek Hot Springs, were long used by the Indians, and have for many years been a favorite camping spot for people in quest of game or health.
These springs are located about thirty miles southeast of Porterville, and twenty-two miles from Ducor. The springs are large streams of water, clear and sparkling and hot, gushing out of the rocks. Thousands of barrels run off daily into Deer creek. The daily flow is estimated at 190,000 gallons. The springs are in the edge of the pine forest, and are surrounded by groves of live oak and pine. The waters are highly charged with minerals.
The lands surrounding the springs were originally taken up by the Witt family, early settlers in that section of the county. In 1898, it was owned by T. J. and N. B. Witt. In that year the property was sold to L. S. Wingrove, G. K. Pike and J. F. Firebaugh. These men were from Lindsay and Exeter. In April, 1901, Dr. C. E. Bernard of Visalia, bought out the Firebaugh-Pike interests, and until 1904 conducted the property under the name of Bernard and Wingrove. Dr. Bernard having died, his interest was in 1905 purchased by S. Mitchell of Visalia, and J. H. Williams of Porterville. In the following June the owners incorporated under the name California Hot Springs, Inc. The present owners are Mrs. Edith H. Williams, of San Diego; S. Mitchell, of Visalia; L. S. Wingrove and Joseph Mitchell of Hot Springs.
The springs are far and widely known for their curative properties, especially for relief from rheumatic troubles, and a host of other complaints. Some of the springs have a temperature of one hundred and thirty degrees, while others are cold. The waters are used for drinking and bathing.
The springs are reached by stages from Porterville or Ducor, or by automobile or any other vehicle. The roads are kept in good condition. Many from Visalia make the trip there by auto. Lying back in the mountains are fine streams for trout and ranges for deer. Not being in the National park, hunting is a luxury in which one may here indulge.
TERRA BELLA
Years ago, before the establishment of warehouses in various towns on the east side of Tulare county, Terra Bella was the largest wheat shipping point in the state of California. The country was farmed in immense tracts, whole sections being included in a single piece of grain. The homesteaders had found this virgin stretch of country, but, later, many had deserted it, having experienced a succession of "dry" years, several in number, much to their disappointment. Wheat raising continued profitable in good years, but the possibilities of the fertile soil, extending for many miles in every direction from the station at Terra Bella (beautiful earth), appealed to the keen insight of the promoter, who, fortified. with results obtained in a small way by citrus planters, appreciated the fact that with the development of water at reasonable cost, the entire area could be transformed into profitable orange and lemon orchards.
Accordingly, the subdivision of several sections of land in and about Terra Bella was taken up three years ago by the Terra Bella Development Company, which corporation later passed from the hands of P. J. S. Montgomery .and associates to a coterie of wealthy Los Angeles men, including Marco H. Hellman, G. A. Hart, W. H. Holliday, F. C. Ensign, W. A. Francis, and others. Since that time rapid strides have been made, both in the planting and improvement of orange groves and in the building of a town, modern in every respect, the pride of its builders and the envy of many ambitious contemporaries.
Several thousand acres of oranges have been planted in the Terra Bella district, with very good results, and the planting is being continued every year, with many new residents coming in.
Terra Bella as a town is, for its age, in a class by itself, having graded and oiled streets, cement walks and curbing, circulating water system, septic sewerage system, electric power and lights, telephone, a fine new $15,000 grammar school building, a $30,000 two-story brick hotel, a two-story brick business block erected at a cost of $45,000, a two-story brick structure housing the First National Bank of Terra Bella, a growing financial institution managed by T. M. Gronen, cashier; a mission style passenger station on the Southern Pacific, perhaps the handsomest station on that line in the county; a weekly newspaper ; Wells Fargo express, etc. The population is growing, and indications are favorable for a splendid town. Terra Bella is situated about eight miles southwest of Porterville and five miles north of Ducor, another growing town in the new citrus belt which is also being transformed from wheat fields to a prosperous little city.
DUCOR AND RICHGROVE
The town of Ducor is on the line of the Southern Pacific, south from Terra Bella about four miles. It is the point of departure for stages to the California Hot Springs. The principal improvement at Ducor at this time is the construction of a large two-story brick building, in which will be housed the First National Bank of Ducor, financed by leading citizens of that community. A fine two-story hotel and a two-story school house have been built, street improvements made, two churches erected, a fine park laid out and planted in trees and shrubbery. Numerous fine orange groves have been set out in the vicinity of Ducor, with more planting this year, while several large tracts are now being subdivided for sale to citrus planters.
Both Terra Bella and Ducor are wide-awake towns, with commercial organizations, and the planted area will demand shortly the construction of citrus packing houses in both places.
South of Ducor, in Tulare county, is another rich citrus section, Richgrove, where extensive improvements are being made by the same people who are promoting Terra Bella. Numerous tracts are being set in orange groves this spring.
All of this territory has the benefit of reasonable water conditions for irrigation, thermal climate for the growing of citrus fruits, and olives, good transportation and power facilities.
There is every reason to believe that the country from Terra Bella south to Richgrove will be one of the most productive and most prosperous sections in the early orange belt of Tulare county.
FARMERSVILLE
Farmersville, seven miles easterly from Visalia, is next to Visalia the oldest settlement in the county.
The early settlers naturally made their homes in clearings along the creek bottoms, and near Outside creek and Deep creek farming operations commenced in the early '50s, and a larger number of farmers settled in this vicinity than in any other.
The town-site was located in 1860 by John W. Crowley, and a relative named Jasper established a general merchandise store. The overland stage passed through the burg and a post-office was located in the store. T. J. Brundage succeeded as manager of the store and as postmaster and has made this his home ever since, aiding by every means in his power all enterprises tending to increase the welfare of the community. One of his sons still conducts the store and is heavily interested in farm lands and active in the development of the surrounding territory.
The first great factor in Farmersville's prosperity was the construction of the People's ditch. The Consolidated People's Ditch Company had obtained water rights dating from the '60s, and early in the '70s their canal through this section was completed. At the time the town was established, thousands of acres of land were under irrigation, and the vicinity soon became known as one of the choicest garden spots of the county.
The name Farmersville somehow fits the place, not that here are more farmers than elsewhere, but that the typical old-time products of the farm, such as corn and pumpkins and potatoes grow to a degree of size and perfection seldom obtained. Chinese gardeners quickly selected the locality as best adapted to their purpose and as soon as the growth of the other communities warranted, established fine vegetable gardens here, distributing the product over a wide territory.
The Briggs orchard, some three miles west of Farmersville, was the first extensive one in the county to come into bearing, and its first crops of 1888 and 1889 brought such a phenomenal return that a veritable boom in deciduous tree planting resulted.
Pinkham & McKevitt, large fruit packers of Vacaville, with some associates, bought and set out the Giant Oak and California Prune Company orchards of several hundred acres each; scores of individuals planted smaller tracts and in '91 A. C. Kuhn, a San Jose dried fruit packer, purchased the Arcadia Ranch of about one thousand acres and set the same to fruit. This orchard has since passed into the hands of the California Fruit Canners Association, and has become one of the largest, best and most profitable in the state.
Farmersville has become a fruit center of no mean proportion, hundreds of carloads of fruit going forward annually as the product of its groves. The Farmersville prunes have come to be recognized by dealers as of superior grade, second in size and quality to none produced in the San Joaquin valley.
The Visalia electric road, which passes through this section and makes stops at nearly every cross roads, as well as at Farmersville proper, is a great convenience to the residents. One section of the town clusters at the old site on the county road, where are the stores and schoolhouse, but near the railroad station, about a mile north, another village nucleus is forming which soon, no doubt, will require trading facilities of its own.
CAMP NELSON
Above Springville about seventeen miles, between the south and middle forks of the Tule river, at an elevation of about 4500 feet is the delightful summer resort known as Nelson's. At present the place is reached by a trail about eight miles in length connecting with the wagon road at the forks of the river.
While the retreat is surrounded by pines, there is much tillable land and berries, vegetables and fruits are raised to perfection. The meadow land grows timothy hay and there is quite a large apple orchard. At this elevation the summer climate is cool and pleasant.
Not alone for the outing pleasures in the immediate vicinity, however, has Nelson's become noteworthy. By reason of its location on the route to the Little Kern, Big Kern, Kern Lakes, Mt. Whitney and other points of interest in the higher Sierras it has grown to be an equipping station for tourists. A hundred pack and saddle animals are maintained for this service.
CAMP BADGER
Away up in the Sierras, east of the Dinuba country and near the Fresno county line, is Camp Badger. This is a stage station and a small village surrounded by a fine grazing country. It is on the road into the high Sierras and to some of the big lumber camps. It is an important place for summer campers to spend a time in the cool mountain air away from the heat of the valley. Some of the wildest and grandest scenery in the world lies in the high Sierras beyond, points which are readily accessible from Camp Badger.
It lies in the edge of the pine belt and in the early days was a very important camp for teamsters and lumbermen. The first sawmills in the county were set up in the pineries near Badger. At one time there were as many as two hundred and fifty teams hauling lumber from the mills through Camp Badger and down the Cottonwood creek to Visalia.
There is little of the former glory left to Badger, a store, post-office and school being the only industries of today. The surrounding country is largely devoted to stockraising.
AUCKLAND
On the old Millwood road, going up Cottonwood creek, the first station was Auckland. As early as 1866 Mr. Harmon preempted the lands where the post-office and store are. Soon afterward James Barton preempted the adjoining place. Stock-raising was the principal business of the early settlers and is likewise that of most of the present settlers. General farming is carried on to a limited extent. A post-office, general store and school make up the town.
Several thrifty apple orchards producing fruit of an excellent quality are in the vicinity and this culture is engaging the attention of a number of new settlers.
KAWEAH STATION
Kaweah is not yet a town, merely a railroad station without an agent, but so rapidly is a thickly settled community clustering to the north of this station that a store has already been established and a little town will probably result. If so, it will be very close—within a stone's throw almost—of the site of Woodville, the historic village first founded in the county.
The school and voting precinct are called Venice and the district is well adapted to general farming, fruit and dairying. The retention of several large tracts by wealthy non-resident owners has heretofore retarded development somewhat.
The Jacob Bros. farm, orchard and nursery is located about a half-mile east of the station. This farm, comprising several hundred acres, has such a diverse number of products that a constant income throughout the year is secured.
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.