Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 61

mains vonxsno? jffli autos i A TRAVEL EDIT OR I A LSI IfltMMI MWCtlll Mill VOL CLXVII i OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1957 C-l NO. 77 Bp- WE must thank Ruth K. Roberts for an opportunity to read a letter from the late Elizabeth K. Tompkins, formerly Oakland, and aunt of Ruth's husband, Harry C. Roberts.

"Dear Ruth," the letter begins, "I enclose some facts about my father for son Harry It gives me pleasure to write of the father I so little remember, being only just 7 when he died When I was a child there were no visible houses in' what is now Piedmont The Requa house was the first I remember. Lake Merritt was considerably wider than it is now. It was quite a row across in our boat, The Lady of the Lake, to beautiful Adams Point, where the most enchanting wild flowers grew under the magnificent old live oaks. It was quite a romantic spot My father, Edward Tompkins, was one of the first regents of the U.C. When Governor Booth vetoed the appropriation of state lands for its support, my father, who was then in the state senate, got "Che opposition together to pass the bill over the Governor's veto.

He was a firm believer in the future of the university. Indeed, he couldnot be laughed out of his absurd idea that same day it would have a thousand students. He founded the professorship of Oriental Languages and, in order to keep his name from being used, named it the Agassiz Professorship, in honor of Louis Agassiz who was visiting in Oakland at the time. He (Edward Tompkins) came out toNalifomia by way of the isthmus in the 'late 1850s, having exchanged orable men in public life whom he had known in either the East or the West, were Edward Tompkins and Henrjt, Haight, my mother's brother, Governor of California. My father's' portrait is in the U.C.

Library and, probably my uncle's, as he gave the Charter to U.C." Down Memory J.ane In recalling the hikes he took as a small boy in Oakland, Arthur R. McPhail points out that today it is almost impossible to find the creeks and trails he knew 60 years ago. "One of our favorite hikes was along the creek that emptied into Lake Merritt near where the Veterans Memorial Building now stands. There wasn't any Grand Avenue in those days, and the water would flow direct into Lake Merritt from the foothills. A lot of the old creek bed has been filled in and built over by the needs of the city.

We called this particular waterway Piedmont Creek. We would begin our adventures at the, lake and wander through this secluded country until we came out by what is now Richmond then trod on northward to the foothills. There was always water to wade in. In some places the water would be deep enough to serve as a swimming hole. There we would dive in, a la our birthday suits.

There was' lots of wilderness around us, and we would often catch small fish; a big thrill. we would reach the hills where we would climb the highest peaks to get a wonderful view of our Bay country; quite different then. It was certainly grand, growing up in animals and trespassers that might disturb He irrigated them regularly, fertilized them carefully; then, as spring growth appeared, he made cuttings to graft on his seedling trees. Unfortunately, one of the three was trampled by a cow, and died. 'Extra precaution had been taken with the other two in guarding them from vandals as well as Tibbets 'felt the importance of propagating the trees over as wide an area as possiblethat the experiment be not lost should some accident befall the In 1878 each tree was permitted to bear two oranges.

The day of tasting the ripened fruit provld to be a gala occasion-not only a social event but significant prelude to a great California industry. The guests were 'wild with excitement and All doubt about the survival of the town of Riverside was banished. Eliza "Tibbets was made hostess; her husband showed a gracious attitude. In 1920, on the monument at the head of old Magnolis Avenue, the inscription was To Honor Mrs. Eliza But Minnie Mills, devoted daughter of Luther Tibbets, has since gone through much loving labor and painstaking research to set the record straight and give due credit to her father, whom most writers have slighted and some ignored." Trail Blazers Back in the days when Union (Areata) and Trinidad were the newest towns on Northern California's coast it was a long, roundabout trail that took, travelers from these places to the Trinity mines.

"Consequently," says J. C. Blake of San Leandro, "everyone was talking of a shorter route, for it was known that the mines were directly east. However, no one knew anything about the country in between. The Greig-Woods party had taken a wandering course and had not heeded thi directions given by the Indians that the 7ig lake' and setting sun was but four days traveL And so it happened that three men whose names are entirely lost to history set out from Union to blaze a route "directly east to the spotted the bones of two animals.

One must have been an elk, the other a deer. Nearby was some iron that proved to be the handle of a melting ladle, such as used to melt lead for bullets. His interest aroused, he started digging and found two, frying pans, some iron spoons and the remains of a candle lantern as well as other items. Story Confirmed "Continuing to seed farther up the hill, father found the remains of three miners' gold pans," Blake tells us. "They were badly rusted, but it was plain what they had been.

At still a later date my uncle found a rifle barrel on the top of the ridge. The stock had been burned off. At another time we found buried in a hollow stump a handsaw, three auger bits and three framing chisels. All these were found near a well-worn Indian trail that led down to the valley we know as Christmas Prairie. In a small ravine, near where the tools were, found, we found an Indian's skull.

All these findings seemed to prove that this was the abandoned camp of the three gold prospectors who had attempted to blaze a new trail between Union (Areata) and the Trinity mines back in 1850. It seems too bad, to me, that Dr. Greig led the exploring party far north instead of directly west as the Indians directed. I have covered practically every mile of this route, except the short stretch from Mad River over to Areata, and nearly all the distance could have been traveled by horseback. The ridges are nearly bare that lead up from the mouth of the South Fork of the Trinity to the summit of -Redwood Mountain, and it is all open grazing land down to Redwood River.

The ridge between Redwood and Mad Rivers must have been either open timber or open prairie land. But the route Dr. Greig and his party took (was through the roughest and most heavily timbered and brushed country they could find in all that area, and three times the distance. No wonder there was dissention and quarrels. Mad River got its name from this party having a row aboul crossing this stream," mile southeast of Kelseyville and approxi- mately.

one-eighth of a mile from State" Highway 29 as the road goes over Sand Hilt' "A great part of this canyon," Mauldin reports, "is of volcanic origin, which is the oldest part of ML Konocti. Locally, this rock formation is called sandstone; but, actually, it is a form of tuff caused by volcanic flow cooling under water. Early settler! soon discovered the quality of this so-called sandstone for building purposes. Small amounts of the softer rocks were shaped with axes or crosscut saws and formed into many useful blocks. In 1872 two brothers, Middleton and Elkanah Akers, erected a rock mill at the mouth of this canyon and on the east bank.

A. small diversion dam was put across Cole Creek a short way up the canyon and the water was flumed down to the mill, turning a 16-foot wheel. It fur-' nished plenty of power for the mill and there was sufficient water at all tunes. Rock was worked out of a bank at the side of the mill, placed in position and sawed The saw was a rigid framework holding four separate blades, each separated so four cuts would be made at the same time. The blade? had no teeth.

Instead, they were plainj smooth band iron, about the size and thick ness of the tire of a buggy wheeL As the machinery started and the saw was pulled back and forth with a rocking motion across the stone, there was a constant stream of water pouring on each blade at its point of contact. This simple combination comprised the total machinery of the mill. Credit Cole Creek "The saw was slow and the process took time. After the machinery started, supervision was not necessary for some time. If a rock was started in the morning, it might be evening before it was sawed.

Or, if a rock was started in the evening, the saw would run all night before a large piece was cut through," Mauldin continues. "The principal use of the sawed stone was for fireplaces, foundations, walls, milkhouses, and for wineries. Fifteen dollars was charged; for a set of fireplace stones, which consisted of two jambs, an arch, and back pieces. It sometimes took several tons of rough rock' to work out a set of fireplace stones. The rock proved very satisfactory for such, purpose inasmuch as the stone did not crack from heat, and its strength improved with use.

Soon after erecting the mill, Elkanah Akers went to Oregon and Will Akers, a nephew, became one of the owners. He operated the mill until it burned down around 1890., As concrete came into use and proved itself more versatile and economical than stone, the mill ceased and has never been renewed. All signs of mill and ma- chinery are gone, and only a depression on the bank of Cole Creek remains to show the site of one of the country's early industrial activities. Meanwhile, farming was on the increase in the area and inasmuch as Cole Creek had water the year round, these farm-ers eventually had their eyes on the stream, They needed water to irrigate their land. But it wasn't until 1902 that a company was formed for the purpose of putting in sufficient works to use this water.

Lawrence Breen, Gilbert Edwards, Robert Allen, Joe Laughlin, J. V. Davis and Fay G. Flint were the interested parties. Ambitions Thwarted "Water rights and land leases were quickly secured," Mauldin says, "and a dam for diversion purposes1' only was installed.

Next flumes were put in and a couple miles of ditch made. The dam and adjoining fish ladder were made of concrete. The water ran through wooden flumes down the short, rough part of the canyon into an earth canal. Most of the main ditch was on the east side of Cole Creek, but a short section was on the other side. The water flow was rather small for such an acreage to be irrigated, but by each one taking an allotted, time they each received considerable benefit from its use.

Then came the 1906 earthquake. This shook up Lake County enough so that many of the springs at the head of Cole Creek had very little flow. By 1911 the project was abandoned. All that remains of this irrigation project today are memories, a little of the old main ditch and the concrete diversion dam. Actually, the1 dam is in an excellent state of preservation.

About half a mile upstream from the mouth of Cole Creek, on the side of the hill, to the west and alongside the now abandoned Cole Creek Canyon Road, is an old sand pit Ages ago a strata of beautif ul white sand built up from the volcanic formations and then was nearly covered by a clay deposit What we speak of composes the small ridge to the west of the canyon. It is called Sand Hill" THE KNAVE property he owned in N.Y. City for Pesca- afterwards sold to David Jacks, who sold it to the railroad. He brought with him a let- ter of introduction to my mother's father, Fletcher M. Haight, whowas judge of the U.S.

Supreme Court for the southern half of California. Memorable Honeymoon "My father and my mother, Sarah Haight," continues the letter, "were married in S.F. the day after Christmas, 1861, in the rainiest winter ever recorded in California. They had 49 inches of rain that year, 29in the month of January. My parents went to San Jose fora wedding trip, were marooned there for a month, and then went back to the city by boat.

Imagine a honeymoon with 29 inches of rain! But it gave my father a chance to find out immediately what a treasure he had won. That same winter my grandfather's house in the Carmel Valley was washed out to sea by the Carmel River. The men at the Pt Lobos whaling station tried in vain to save it. It floated about Carmel Bay. My mother was more than 20 years younger than my father.

This very happy marriage lasted only'lO years. My fatter died Nov. 14, 1872. He had promised to speak for the new university and, in spite of the protests of the doctor, kept his word with a carbuncle on his neck. He took a fatal cold, blood poisoning setting in.

My mother told me that he was expected to be the next U.S. Senator, as the incumbent was retiring. Forty Acres "Soon after they were married, my parents bought the Oakland property, 40 acres that extended to the present site of the Hotel Oakland and down to the Convent (where Henry Kaiser is now building a skyscraper) along the lake and up Alice St to about 14th St. Our orchard was on, the west side of Alice flanked by a gravel walk. This was bordered by a Cherokee rose hedge, grafted with roses of many colors.

At the top was a tall brown lattice work gate. The place had been a nursery and many unusual and interesting plants were found on it. We children used to play in a mulberry grove. There was not a school or a shop in Oakland and only two ferry boats a day to the City. In the morning the Captain would make the rounds of the boat inquiring if Mr.

Tompkins, Judge Shatter and others were on board. If not, he'd say, 'Give them another five In the Jate afternoon the inhabitants of. Oakland boarded the waiting boat in the City, each with a full market basket on his arm. When the ladies went to the City they left their not get an appropriation from the Legislature for a schoolhouse as they could not assemble 20 children of school age. My father got Dr.

Merritt, lumber merchant, to contribute the lumber and he himself paid for the work. I think the first public school in the City of Oakland was about at 11th and Jackson Streets. Here is something I think I ought to. tell my father's progeny. In the 1890s I happened to read in the newspaper the retiring speech of U.S.

Senator Perkins, who had served in Washington for many years. He said that the two most hon Navel Oranges Rockwell D. Hunt says it must have been more than 30 years ago that a slender little lady, whose hair was almost white, called -for an interview at his office on the. University of Southern California campus where he was Dean of the Graduate School "She knew of my interest in California history," he said, "and of my connection with the Historical Society of Southern' California. After brief conversation I perceived that she was a person who had a mission and was very much in earnest.

She was Minnie Tibbets Mills, daughter of Luther C. Tib-bets, whose name been connected with the introduction of the navel orange into California from the beginning. I could see that she felt deeply that her father had not been accorded the recognition he so richly deserved that the chief credit for the beginnings of the navel orange in the state had gone to Mrs. Eliza Tibbets, his second wife. His first wife, Minnie's mother," had died years before.

Soon I learned that Minnie (then Mrs. Mills) had a fixed purpose of setting the record straight and giving her father the credit due. him. She had come to seek my aid in how to attack her problem I expressed interest and felt sympa- thetic with her general purpose, though inwardly I had serious misgiving that she would be able to. carry to completion all the research required; gather the official, evidence, assemble the factual data for the compilation of the authentic record.

She set to work1 with a will. From time to time she called on me to make progress reports, and I surmised feeling the need for further encouragement. I was wrong in having misgivings. She seemed rather frail, and hot so young, but I had underestimated the power of concentration, her perseverance and her sheer stamina enlisted in a cause to which she was wholly dedicated, through a number of years. At length I was happy to receive from her a typed report of her findings, which I still have.

Some time later her complete account was presented to' the historical society, and finally pub-, lished in its Quarterly (December, 1943), where all may read. Minnie Tibbets Mills had finished her task, had reached her goal; thus honoring the memory of her father. Two Trees "Luther Tibbets," continues Dr. Hunt, "was one of the first colonists of the proposed of Riverside, originating in 1870. The story of the three young orange trees that were among those introduced Jnto the United States by the Department of Agriculture from Bahia, Brazil, is fairly familiar.

The small trees were 'destined to bestow upon Tibbets the honor of having originated the Navel Orange industry of They were carefully banked to await the spring, when he 'carefully dug the holes (quoting Mrs. Mills) and prepared the soil for the reception of the three trees which he planted 20 feet apart aIKgside' the west end of his house and as near as feasible to it for accessibility Around each tree he put a protective fence; but that was not alL Someone must always be in the vicinity to keep an eye out for stray Trinity. They started on foot with heavy back packs sq as to at the diggings. They went over the ridge east of Union, crossing what was later known as Boynton Prairie, crossed Mad River above the head of the valley and climbed over the badshone of the hills between Mad River and Redwood River. According to the story one of the men told our neighbor, the men reached a fair-sized stream at the end of the second day out.

The stream flowed in a southeasterly, direction, and they thought it a tributary of the Trinity. They made their camp on a small, bar and the next day they started prospecting. Although they found no gold they reported game plentiful They killed an elk and a deer and dried the meaito take with them. The second day they climbed more hills and saw a very high mountain, to the east of them. They concluded they would have to cross that peak to reach the Trinity, so continued on and came to a well-worn Indian trail, announcing that they were hear a rancheree.

As they came in sight of their camp, on returning, they saw three Indians go into their tent. One of the redskins was armed with a rifle while' the other two had bows and arrows. The men waited by some rocks, and when the Indians came out, loaded with plunder, they each picked their man and fired. The Indians yelled and dashed into the brush, still carrying their loot. Enough 'Wild West' "Some speedy investigation indicated there were more Indians around so the trio took some necessary items like food and ammunition and beat a fast retreat to town, leaving behind the remainder of their camping equipment," Blake relates.

"When they arrived in Union one of the fellows announced that he had all the 'wild west' he wanted and took the first boat down the coast to San Francisco and continued on back East from there. Another of the trio was later killed" by Indians on Yauger Creek, and the third was the one who told of his experience to Bill Lansdale, who was our neighbor when we lived on the Christmas Prairie Ranch in 1883. Because Christmas Prairie is directly east of Areata, Bill suddenly said: 'I wonder if those fellows could have camped down on Noisy estimated this creek to be about 15 miles out from Areata and that would be about as far as the men could go in that time considering that they heavy packs. The next year there was a forest fire that cleaned off all the brush and timber along Noisy Creek. My father then started to sow grass seed on the burned-off land.

While thus at work he went to the creek for a drink of water. There he lighted his pipe and stood gazing for a minute or two. Suddenly he Quaint Johnsville The Knave: Last week with a friend, Dean Shane of San Jose, I drove up Route 101 to Eureka and Areata, then over the range to Willow Creek, down Trinity River to Weltchpec and up the Klamath River to old Orleans Bar. The weather was perfect for color pictures. From Orleans we retraced our way to Willow Creek and up the Trinity to Weaverville, then east to old Shasta City, Redding and Burney Falls.

These falls are among the most beautiful iri California. Thence we proceded to Lassen Park, Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and home by Donner Summit. One of the most interesting stops was at the old town of Johnsville a few miles west of Mohawk on Route 89. Here is one of the best preserved bid towns of the gold mining days in the high Sierra. Apparently the town never had a bad fire, and the original buildings stand in quaint formation along the main street Along about 1870 John Parrott bought up the old mines of the Plumas-Eureka, Mammoth, Washington, and Rough, and Ready, but soon afterward sold them to the Sierra Buttes Company of London.

This company, in 1876, laid out the town of Johnsville on Jamison Creek, about two miles from Jamison on the same creek which had been settled in 1853. All along Jamison Creek are evidences of quartz mills, arrastras, mine shafts and placer diggings. The mines around Johnsville have long been closed, but a few families still live at the' old town in rejuvinated houses. Presumably, they work in lumbering or Highway service. Among the old buildings in Johnsville is an old frame hotel, an ancient firehouse, a general store, and a number of dwellings.

The old hotel had a balcony around three sides of the structure, part of which had fallen to the ground. The old firehouse and store across the street stand in lonely decrepi- tude. Someone still operates the old store upon which are nailed a number of amusing placards. These were probably collected from other buildings and placed on the front wall of the store. Here are some of the quaint sayings: "Mr.

Lee is an open book with blank pages." "You-ens are welcome." "Whatever isn't growing wears out" "It ain't the fustest, its the mostest which counts mostest" "Please don't go away mad." "For sale no fire water And, "I love two legged ears." There is a quiet, somnolent atmosphere about the old town that soothes a modern man's tensions and welcomes jrest. John W. Winkley. Lake County Resuming his historical notes of Lake County, Henry K. Mauldin of Lakeport today points to Cole Canyon, a formation one-.