It wasn't too long ago that most of Scott
Valley was a lake. Beaver had made dams across the rivers and
streams backing up the water. The Scott Valley branch of the
Shasta tribe lived in this virgin paradise with everything they
needed for food, clothing and shelter close at hand. The green
mountain slopes provided acorns, nuts, berries, wild cherries and
plums.
Deer were abundant as were wolves, coyotes, grizzly and black
bear, badger, muskrats and mink. The three foot long Salmon and
Steelhead were thick in the streams. The beaver drew the trappers
to the area. Famous mountain man Stephen Meek trapped Scott
Valley in 1836. He came to the area with a party led by Thomas
McKay, a well-known mountain man. He later described it as,
"The richest place for beaver I have ever seen." Scott
River was named Beaver River and the valley, Beaver Valley. Meek
returned many times to the valley and is buried in Etna Cemetery.
The Oregon Trail wound its way from Redding through Old Shasta,
up over Scott Mountatin, along the eastside of the valley to Fort
Jones, out McAdams Creek Road to Deadwood and Yreka. Miners
followed this trail and then up every creek and draw searching
for gold. John W. Scott found a large nugget at Scott Bar and the
town, the river, the valley and Scott Mountain were all given his
name.
The miners at Scott Bar needed pasture for their horses and
mules. The closest area was around Fort Jones. Thus ranching was
established in the valley at what later became known as the
Meamber Ranch.
Fort Jones
The town of Fort Jones was first named Wheelocks after O.C.
Wheelocks who built a trading post here in 1852. Fort Jones
became a stage stop along the Oregon Trail which traveled through
Scott Valley. In 1854 it was named Ottiitiewa, the Indian name
for the Scott Valley branch of the Shasta tribe; however, it was
renamed Fort Jones in 1860 after the U.S. Army fort that had been
built in 1852 a short distance south of Wheelocks. The fort was
active only a few years and was abandoned in 1857. Fort Jones
became an active trading center for miners and ranchers alike.
Numerous stores, a livery stable, and a hotel sprang up to meet
the consumer needs of a growing area. An 1880 census records that
400 people lived in Fort Jones. Other early names for the
community include Scottsburg and Scottsville. Today there are
many older homes reminiscent of this bygone era and a few
commercial buildings such as the Willard Store building which now
houses a flower shop, antique store and restaurant.
Etna
Enterprising ranchers and businessmen joined together and started
the town of Etna by establishing mills to utilize their produce.
In 1853-54 two competing business areas started just one mile
apart. Both contained a sawmill and a flour mill, and they took
their names after their respective flour mills-Rough and Ready
and Aetna Mills. Stores, hotels and dwellings sprang up around
the mills and trade flourished between the ranchers, the
businesses and the Salmon Mountain mines. The Aetna Mills post
office is now a private home. Then in the 1861-62 flood, Whiskey
Creek (Etna Creek) became a torrent and destroyed the town of
Aetna Mills. The people rebuilt their businesses in Rough and
Ready and moved their post office to that community. There was
some confusion as the post office was one name and the town
another. Also, there was another town with the name of Rough and
Ready in Central California. Soon everyone was using the name of
Aetna Mills which officially became Etna on March 13, 1874.
People still refer to the former area of Aetna Mills as "Old
Etna." What is now the Scott Valley Drug Store was one of
the eleven Denny Bar chain stores-Denny Bar was the first
Northern California chain store.
Some famous people came from this town-Anita Beers Loos, author
of the screenplay and book, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
was born here as was Randolph Collier, a well-known California
Senator. Hallie Daggett, first woman fire station lookout, is
buried in the Etna Cemetery next to her father, John Daggett, a
lieutenant governor, president of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco
and mining engineer. Hallie's cabin was moved and is now on
display at the Etna City Park.
Callahan
Callahan was named after Mathias Bernard Callahan. He was a
merchant who had established a trading route between Trinidad on
the coast and Yreka. He was on his way to Yreka with his wife and
son when his wife floated off her horse while crossing the Scott
River at what was to be named Callahan. An Indian boy rescued her
and by the time her husband arrived at her side she had given
birth to a premature son, weighing only three pounds. Callahan
bought a cabin nearby which he turned into a place for food and
lodging for travelers on the Oregon Trail-this was in 1852. Today
Callahan is just a shadow of what it once was, and you can get a
glimpse into the past by looking at the old buildings. Steel
plates cover the windows of the former Wells Fargo building,
which was also one of the Denny Bar stores. Farrington's
Mercantile and General Store was established in 1860 and is the
oldest continuous family run business in Scott Valley.
Greenview
Greenview was first called Hayed Corner because the Hayes family
had built several homes on the homestead that became a crossroad
between Etna, Oro Fino, and Fort Jones. The name Greenview is
said to have come from the view the Green family had from their
home. Buildings that once graced this little town were the
Siskiyou Creamery, Petersen's Store-which later became a Denny
Bar store, a hotel, a blacksmith's shop, a butcher shop, a
theater, and Judge Baldwin's Store. Little remains of the
Greenview of the last century except a few of the older
commercial buildings that have seen a variety of uses. There is
still evidence of the rock and mortar construction in a few of
the buildings-particularly the old livery stable on Main Street.
Check out the little church that was one of the first churches in
Scott Valley.
Quartz Valley Area
Quartz Valley was first settled in 1851 when W.J. Evans
established a ranch there. In 1860 there was a mining camp
established in Mugginsville-there was a post office, eight stamp
mills, a grist mill, a store, a hotel and a blacksmith's shop.
Mugginsville was the home of of many quartz miners who worked in
the stamp mills and deep mines in the area such as the
Morrison-Carlock Mine. The large Howard's House, which is still
standing, was built in 1860. It is said that many a fine party
was held in the upstairs ballroom of that home. A few other homes
remain standing; however, there is no evidence of the hotel or
other enterprises. This area was also the home of the Quartz
Valley Reservation.
Oro Fino Area
Not far from Greenview, nestled in a little valley, is Oro Fino,
which means fine gold in Spanish. Oro Fino was once a prosperous
mining community. In fact, it was one of the richest strikes in
all of Siskiyou County. It was home for many miners as there were
two large hydraulic claims, a quartz mill, a store, a hotel and a
post office that was commissioned in 1861. The post office closed
in 1903. Oro Fino is presumed to have the first white man's grave
in Siskiyou County. A grave was discovered there from the early
1830's by a headstone carved on a native rock. Mining dwindled in
Oro Fino by the 1880's, but resumed again for a period in the
1930's and 1940's. There is nothing left of the town site;
however, there is one lovely old home remaining. It was built by
Lafayette Eastlick, one of the owners of an early mine nearby.
Salmon River Area
The Salmon River area to the southwest of Scott Valley was a rich
gold bearing area. Gold was first discovered on the South Fork of
the Salmon River above Cecilville in the spring of 1849 by a
group of fellows from Illinois. It was then discovered on the
North Fork the next spring near the present day Sawyer's Bar by a
group of miners who came over Etna Mountain. This is a very
rugged, mountainous area. Supplies could only be brought in by
pack train. Sometimes they were brought from Callahan or Etna,
but frequently over the Trinity Alps or up from Arcata on the
coast. Freighting was very costly. A road was not built over Etna
Mountain until the 1890's and from Callahan to Cecilville in the
1950's.
Very little resistance was met with from the Indians of the
several tribes in the area. Many thousand Chinese came to work in
the mines in this area. Very little evidence of their existence
remains beyond the many piles of rock that resulted from the
mining. Some of the best producing mines bore interesting names:
the Black Bear, Evening Star, Live Yankee, Knownothing and the
King Solomon. Very few buildings remain from this prosperous
mining era. Towns that remain are Cecilville, Forks of Salmon and
Sawyer's Bar.