News From Around The County
In 1926, a general engineer named Charles E. Andrew began the construction on the brand-new 234-foot open spandrel arch shaped Dog Creek bridge which is located in the Sacramento River Canyon, 30 miles north of Redding at Dog Creek, and just east of present-day Interstate 5. This bridge was designed by a general engineer named Harlan D. Miller, of Oakland, […]
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EARLY LIFE John Durwood Weast was born to Jacob Gordon Weast and Elizabeth (Reasson) Weast on January 1, 1859, at Palmyra, Fluvanna County, Virginia. At the age of one year old in 1860, John was living with his parents at Rochelle, in Madison County, Virginia. His father was a miller by trade. He was the youngest child in their household […]
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On January 1, 1902, a prospector and miner named Richard P. Wheelock struck an appealing quartz vein which warranted further investigation of the land he was prospecting on. After that, he sunk a shaft and drove an adit into a hillside establishing a lode mine, which led him to a bonanza of gold. He then called this mining claim the […]
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While other, more recent volcanic eruptions – such as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history – have garnered more attention, the May 1915 eruptions at Lassen Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, remain the most recent volcanic action seen in California. The […]
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In 1894, while prospecting in the boundaries of the Backbone mining district of Shasta County, Walter Friday, a native of Switzerland, and a resident of Flat Creek, located the lucrative quartz vein of the Friday lode mine. After that, Friday drove an adit into the hillside. Then, he began operating this mine as a hard rock mine. Later, an abundance […]
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Author: Jeremy Tuggle – Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society In 1863 Colonel William Magee, a noted surveyor, miner, prospector, and resident of Shasta, California, located the quartz vein of the Original Sky Blue mine of the Middle Creek mining district. After an examination of this vein, gold was extracted from it which yielded some lucrative high-grade […]
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Author: Jeremy Tuggle – Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society There are two wood-burning lime kilns which were made from natural stone in the Clear Creek area of western Shasta County in between the pioneer towns of Briggsville and Horsetown at Bulgin Gulch (name also found as Buljon Gulch & Bulgin’ Gulch). Since the early 1850s the […]
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Author: Jeremy Tuggle – Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society Simeon Fisher Southern, a native of Stephensburg, Kentucky, was born to Stephen Fisher Southern and Rebecca (Duncan) Southern, on September 6, 1822. As a boy, Simeon grew up on his father’s farm as a farmhand assisting his father when he wasn’t attending school. Southern was often referred […]
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Author: Jeremy Tuggle – Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society If you’re ever in Northern California one of the premier destinations in Shasta County to visit is a natural wonder called Burney Falls. This magnificent water fall was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1984 by the National Park Service. Yet, long before it was developed […]
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Author: Jeremy Tuggle – Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society The Compton mine was a producer of gold which was located in the boundaries of the Shasta mining district about 1 1/2 mile south of the town of Keswick, and south of Keswick Dam. It is on the west side of the Sacramento River, at the mouth […]
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