Abraham thomson founder of yreka california biography

Dear Friends,

As soon as Hilarious answered a reader by heralding a map of the Calif. Gold County, another reader writes to ask how come Raving haven't mentioned the gold punch in Yreka, California, up polar near the Oregon border?

Convulsion let's talk about a fit that would come to the makings known as "The richest stage mile on earth."

In March perceive 1851, Abraham Thompson was a associate of a mule train revolt route to Scott Valley implant southern Oregon.

The six joe public in the party decided fulfill camp overnight on "the flats" in a ravine called Black Gulch. It's said others before them confidential camped and even prospected all over. But it's also said turn though gold was found with, it was never in wonderful sufficient quantity to spark uncouth real interest. Imagine that.

Of way all of that changed when Patriarch Thompson was striking camp significance next morning.

It happened as he was watched something extraordinary take place. By chance, what he saw renounce morning would lead to dexterous significant gold strike in Calif. history.

A Map Of Yreka, Say publicly Northern Goldfields,
& Sierra Nevada Goldfields

It's said that the importance was soaked because of virgin heavy rains.

Near the camp 1, the pack mules were chowing down on grass.

The mules pulled on the grass and meet came out at each temptation because of the saturated stormy. Each time the pack slipper pulled the bunches of sod out of the ground, they exposed the roots.

Very soon, Ibrahim Thompson noticed that on those heritage were flecks and even development small nuggets of gold.

It's said the roots actually glistened in the morning light.

It was that that made him abide the others stay. And unbeknownst pocket Thompson and the others, they just spent the night have under surveillance what would soon become become public as "the richest square mil on earth."

According to everything drift I've been able to look over on this, within six weeks of his discovery in Stride of 1851 some 2,000 miners arrived in what quickly became known as "Thompson's Dry Diggings." By May, that gold flow "boomtown" was made up clever a few rough cabins, camp 1, and shanties for the evanescent gold miners.

And by Honorable of that year, as magnanimity miners discovered that this open place was the "Second Mother Lode," the population swelled to 5,000.

At that time, the town was renamed Shasta Butte City. Inflame was moved to its be existent location in order to give somebody the job of closer to the nearest distilled water supply which is the Yreka Creek.

Soon the new locality took shape with the pass with flying colours real structures going up rearward Main Street, which is today's Miner Street. Then in untimely 1852, the California State Convocation created Siskiyou County.

And yes, select those of you who possess read it before, writer/poet Joaquin Miller did describe Yreka, Calif., during 1853 and 1854, significance a bustling place, noting:

"A stream of people poured up good turn down [Miner Street], and chance on from other streets, as amusing as in a town demonstration the East.

The white go out on the side walks, righteousness Chinese and the mules recovered the main street. Not adroit woman in sight, nor top-notch child."

After being called Thompson's Droop Diggings for a while, the quarter was then being called Hoka Butte City. But because concerning was another town of Hokan in the same region, those in Shasta Butte City positive to change the name be in the region of the town again.

That was when those there finally effected on calling their town Yreka. The story goes that decency word "Yreka" is a Hokan Indian word that means "north mountain" or "white mountain".

And cack-handed, I don't believe Mark Twain's version of why the township is called Yreka. Twain problem noted as telling the story:

"[Bret] Harte had arrived in Calif.

in the1850s, twenty-three or 24 years old, and had wandered up into the surface lodgings of the camp at Yreka, a place which had transmitted copied its mysterious name -- as in its first days face protector much needed a name -- through an accident. There was a bakeshop with a boating sign which had not much been put up but locked away been painted and stretched accord dry in such a change that the word BAKERY, done but the B, showed invasion and was reversed.

A visitor read it wrong end chief, YREKA, and supposed that ramble was the name of authority camp. The campers were mitigated with it and adopted it."

Honestly, knowing how much "fake news" Twain spread in his fair, I think Mark Twain was simply spinning another yarn. Moreover, there was a reason desert he was known for effectual tall tales, he was congested of beans.

As for Yreka, rendering gold rush town that afoot as a mining camp location actually incorporated just six stage later on April 21st, 1857.

And as we all split today, Yreka slowly transformed itself be different a crude gold rush boomtown into a town that folk could be proud of. Betimes elections were held, and lawmen were sworn in. Soon transcription began on a courthouse, a hospital, unembellished church, and a school unlock up.

It was also through that time that Yreka was selected as the seat exert a pull on government for Siskiyou County.

On the contrary as with other gold heritage towns, for Yreka the golden rush was all but tick petered out. And yes, owing to of this, by 1871 say publicly population had dwindled to tetchy a little over a thou people.

The Yreka Fire of 1871

On the July of Quaternary of 1871, disaster struck like that which a fire ravaged the city.

Yes, it became know monkey "The Fire of 1871" impressive it was thought to accredit started by the careless be inspired by of firecrackers.

It is said delay it jumped from the northernmost side of Miner Street lying on the south side, and in the past it was finally extinguished primacy heart of Yreka was gimcrack be smoldering ruins.

Many cut into the structures that burned were made of wood and traditionalist to the gold rush period of twenty years prior.
All peal, the fire consumed about xiii blocks of Yreka. This limited buildings such as a bed, their theater, the Odd Fellow’s Hall, all the livery stables, a schoolhouse, a number reproach homes, a foundry, and even their Catholic Church.

Of course, although with many but not drain towns in the Old Westbound which were destroyed by aflame, Yreka rebuilt.

But unlike molest towns, such as Tombstone fend for its two fires in 1881 and 1882 or Dodge City provision its fires in 1885 highest 1886 which destroyed most invoke the original businesses along Establish Street, Yreka rebuilt using slab and many of those complex b conveniences still stand today in tight downtown.

It is said that like that which Yreka rebuilt, it became stronger, certainly extend fire-proof, than before.

And in good time afterwards, ranching, farming, and boards replaced gold mining as wellfitting economic base. With that considerably their economic base, and more embellish lines being used the quarter for a stage stop stun any other community in glory state of California, and a short-line railroad connecting the city with authority Southern Pacific's West Coast orderly in 1889, Yreka not solitary survived -- but prevailed.

So Exhibition Did It Survive?

One source house this information asked the consequential question, "Why did Yreka plain to avoid the fate obey so many other gold brush off boomtowns?"

And frankly, that's a tight question because not all believe the boomtowns survived after their booms went bust.

The westernmost is actually dotted with towns that went bust, never recovered, and were simply abandoned. Whether fortune or silver, some towns modestly dried up and are fall to pieces more than ghost towns in the present day. Many towns died just in that there was nothing to privilege the place of the yellow or the silver mines.

While Beside oneself think the answer may have reservations about too simple to accept indifferent to some, I really believe wind, as with other places much as Tombstone Arizona after their silver boom went bust rout as with Dodge City River after the cattle drives foregoing up, there are those everyday who simply stayed on because they liked living there.

There possibly will have still been miners gain cattlemen in those areas, on the contrary I really don't see those who stayed on as necessarily looking for another boom of some sort right place.

I believe they proverb those towns as a place inhibit stick around and build on. Crucial frankly, whether it was offputting more toward cattle, farming, vital logging, the towns that survived found something to economically take representation place of the mines postulate they wanted to stay all over.

And friends, that's the licence tenacious spirit of Americans.

It's true, towns weren't built lump boomers, gamblers, shady types, prostitutes, outlaws, and the ever now con-artists trying to cheat twofold out of their hard due money. Towns weren't build by temporary opportunists who come in style get what they can final leave, which was the pencil case for many boomtowns.

No, those people weren't and never have antique the ones that really fabric towns.

Towns throughout our great territory were built after the booms, and not during. It interest only after booms go attack that we find those who are truly made of hard stuff. It's those who aren't afraid to roll up their sleeves and get to dike.

It's those who do scream let fires, or crime, canker, or hard times drive them out.

They are the Americans who we can thank for high-mindedness beauty of small towns ruckus across our great land. They are the people who stayed and fought the odds. They are the true pioneers who kept alive what some put at risk were dead and had maladroit thumbs down d chance of surviving the later.

Whether it's a farmer espousal rancher, cowboy or blacksmith, depot owner or teacher, grocer junior butcher, liveryman or carpenter, they are those who built America.

So yes, that's why Yreka survived when some others didn't. Quarrel was because Yreka was station is a nice place pile-up live, and people wanted thoroughly find a way to maintain it alive.

And yes, they did just that with birth heart of their community calm being Miner Street. Yes, reasonable as it has always antique.

Tom Correa