LOWER SPRINGS

Above: a cabin at Lower Springs. This photograph was taken in 1900. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

After the first two gold discoveries in California were confirmed to be true, scores of people descended into California from around the world, and onto the Rancho Buena Ventura in 1849. As Gold Rush pandemonium struck this region and populated places near it, the forty-niners began pitching up their tents at a rapid pace. These people made their camp sites about two miles southeast of Reading Springs. After that, they began to prospect the nearby creek channels to stake out their placer mining claims. Not everyone was successful at mining. 

At this location, a tent community called Lower Springs was established by these forty-niners, that year. Lower Springs became one of the original gold rush communities of Shasta County. This new tent community was named Lower Springs because its name derived from the nearby community of Reading Springs. Later on, the name of Reading Springs was changed to Shasta on June 8, 1850, and the community of Lower Springs kept its name.

A man by the name of Benjamin Swasey was among the first settlers of this flourishing mining community. He was a native of New Hampshire and he arrived in Shasta County in 1849. After his arrival, the Lower Springs mining district formed its boundaries in the area. Some people made their fortune while others weren't as lucky, yet these miners kept locating new placer mines in this mining district. During the summer months, the Lower Springs mining district became dry diggings with the lack of rain, and water resources were unavailable for miners to use in their placer mines at that time.

Eventually, the rain fell and restored the water in the creek channels every year, as early as fall or as late as winter, however; summer rain storms were known to happen.  It was Swasey who purportedly owned some land near Lower Springs at Gold Gulch. Gold Gulch was a tributary of Salt Creek which reportedly yielded him, $1,500 to the cubic yard in gold. Salt Creek was another stream which channeled near Lower Springs.

In 1850, the first wooden home structure was erected at Lower Springs, and soon after, other homes were completed with additional bungalows and cabins. Lower Springs had a thriving population during its hey-day, the exact number of settlers weren't recorded. However, Lower Springs' population fueled this flourishing community to be a contender for the county seat of Shasta County, along with Horsetown and Shasta, in the running on the ballot at the local primary election in 1851. This is when the county seat was removed from the Reading Adobe at Cottonwood to Shasta.

Then on, March 6, 1851 the town of Shasta became the second county seat of Shasta County. The original location of Lower Springs was on the stage road which routed rigs from Canon House (Canyon House) to Shasta. The current site is located a quarter-mile west of the junction of Highway 299 and Ridge Drive.

The burgeoning community of Lower Springs was prone to Indian attack's, and the Indians raided many cabins in the area at that time, taking with them all of the supplies and provisions the early settlers owned. Then on, April 17, 1851, a man by the name of Merady Swan, a native of Missouri, was murdered by Indians in this community. The following article is from the Sacramento Transcript newspaper of Sacramento:

"Killed By Indians - A man named Merady Swan formerly of Missouri, was shot in his cabin at Lower Springs, two miles this side of Shasta City, one night last week. The Indians slipped up to his cabin at night and shot him through a crack in the door, while he was sitting at the table. Several other persons were in the house, which prevented them from robbing it." (SIC)

In May of 1852, the miners of this mining district were averaging five dollars to the pan per day on Salt Creek. A new settler to the area by the name of Jonathon F. Gage, a native of New Hampshire, erected a log style house there. Gage was married to Alice Jane Swasey a sister of Benjamin Swasey. Jonathon’s profession was farming but he also tried his hand at mining. Together they raised a large family, and then in 1866 they relocated from Lower Springs to Middletown, this is where Gage registered to vote that year.

In 1853, Benjamin Swasey filed a land claim at Shasta, for one hundred and sixty acres of land at Lower Springs, and then he erected a house on this property for him to live in. He also erected two additional buildings at Lower Springs for his businesses. Swasey became the proprietor of the Swasey hotel and the Swasey mercantile store. The hotel included a large barn and a corral with a natural spring of water. Hay and barley were also stocked in the hotel's barn. His business prospered as Swasey advertised in the Shasta Courier newspaper from Shasta. 

Above: an advertisement for Swasey's hotel at Lower Springs, the ad above is from the Saturday, January 21, 1854 edition of the Shasta Courier newspaper.

Above: this is an upper torso photograph of an elderly, Benjamin Swasey. Benjamin was born on January 31, 1822 in New Hampshire and he died in Oakland, Alameda County, California on September 19, 1912, at the age of ninety. He is buried at Redding in the Redding Memorial Park. He was married twice, first to Nellie Dalton, and second to, Emily Marshall. Then in 1861, Swasey became a photographer and relocated to San Francisco. This image was taken circa 1880s at Vance's Gallery in San Francisco. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Aside from the businesses owned by Benjamin Swasey, this community also included a boarding house called the Virginia House and a blacksmith shop which was owned and operated by Henry Jones. Jones was a native of Ohio, and he was married to his wife, Emily. There was at least one son produced during this union which they named James Jones. At a later date, Henry Jones changed his profession to become a gunsmith.

Then on, Saturday, April 2, 1853, the Shasta Courier newspaper reported the following information in the forthcoming article:

"DIGGINGS ABOUT LOWER SPRINGS - We have heard of remarkably good wages being made within the past few days in these diggings, and what is more, we know it to be true. Dr. Dunlap, in digging a cellar under his house, took the trouble to prospect the dirt, and found it paid upwards of two cents to the pan from the surface to the bed rock. This ground of course would pay fine wages for sluicing, if water was to be had." (SIC)

Later that month, additional excitement occurred at the placer mines on the hillside above the Virginia House, which yielded lucrative results to local miners. Miners also crossed the main stage road to the land opposite of the boarding house and they made the most gratifying success there. There were many delightful parties were held at the Swasey house where people danced the night away and during each ball a supper was prepared by Swasey’s wife, Nellie, to serve the guests. Anyone was welcome to join them and it was a great way for the lonely miners of the area to interact with the beautiful and single ladies.

The following year, the miners of the area were extremely harsh on the Chinese immigrants in the Lower Springs mining district, and at that time, they voted to ban all Chinese immigrants, and then, they forced them to turnover their mining properties to the miners of the area which were not of that race, and the "white miner" weren't the only race to enforce this policy. Hong Kong, near Shasta was closest Chinatown to Lower Springs, which was located two miles away. There were quite a number of anti-Chinese mining districts in Shasta County. Lower Springs wasn't the only mining district to evict the Chinese.

Above: This undated surveyed map shows the boundaries of the Lower Springs mining district and some of the mines included. Please note the name: the Old Spanish Mining Co., of course other mines and companies are noted on it as well. 

In the fall of 1854, a brand new trading post was established at Lower Springs by J.D. Dunlap & Company, and they began advertising their general merchandise store in the local media. Two months later, in December of that year, the first rain eventually fell, and miners had an abundance of water to use. The miners started washing their placer mines and they were making one hundred dollars per day by rocker at that time.

Above: an advertisement for J.D. Dunlap & Company at Lower Springs. This ad is from the Saturday, October 21, 1854 edition of the Shasta Courier newspaper.

The construction of the Clear Creek Ditch, sometimes referred to as the Clear Creek Canal, began in December of 1853. Local miners raised the money to back this large project to convey the water of Clear Creek into the nearby dry diggings of Briggsville, Horsetown, Lower Springs, Muletown, Shasta and Whiskeytown. The ditch connected with a large reservoir which was built as a major part of this project.

Local miners celebrated the ditches completion on November 24, 1855. The length of this ditch measured at sixty miles. The reservoir at Middletown covered fifteen acres to a depth of eight feet. Immediately, the water from this ditch began conveying water into the Lower Springs mining district at Salt Creek. The miners at Lower Springs now had an abundance of water to use in their mining claims.

There wasn't much of a ruckus at Lower Springs between the years 1856 and 1857; however, this community managed to stay relevant. The miners in the area focused on their placer mines, and local businesses advertised their companies in the local media. However, in July of 1857, Swasey’s hotel was still owned by Benjamin Swasey, but it was now under new management. A man by the name of Willam H. Bond was hired by Swasey to manage the hotel for him. Swasey still ran his mercantile store but his extra time was focused on being the public administrator of Shasta County, which is part of the reason he couldn’t manage both the mercantile store and the hotel by himself.

Above: an advertisement for the Administrator's Sale of Real Estate for the estate of T.B. Pritchett, deceased. This estate sale was held on Main Street at Texas Springs, in Shasta County, by Benjamin Swasey, Public Administrator on August 22, 1857. The above ad is from the Saturday, August 8, 1857 edition of the Shasta Courier newspaper.

Two years later, on February 19, 1859, the Shasta Courier newspaper heralded the following article:

“Pottery - The manufacture of pottery has been fairly commenced by Messrs., Bly & Co., at Lower Springs. It is the first manufactory of the kind that we have heard of being established in the Northern part of the State. The first kiln was burned a few days ago. It was entirely successful and the ware is of excellent quality. We have been presented with a large pitcher from this first kiln and we value it highly. It argued well for California to witness the commencement of manufacturing establishments throughout the State - however, humble they may be in their inception. We wish Messrs., Bly and Co., an abundant reward in the pursuit of their laudible enterprise.” (SIC) 

Apparently, the above article by the Shasta Courier newspaper conflicts with previous statements by local historians who claimed that, a man by the surname of Tozure, had owned and operated the first pottery shop at Lower Springs. There's no information to suggest that Tozure was employed by Bly and Company, or that Tozure had become Bly and Company’s successor at Lower Springs. There might have been two different pottery shops at different era's in this community, in operation, because the above article suggest otherwise.

This quiet burg was interrupted one day, in January of 1863, by an affray started by Lawrence O' Connell who assaulted William Thompson over a bottle of strychnine whiskey. This is one incident that the local media frenzied over. It was Thompson who was severely beaten by O’ Connell that day, and after the violent dispute, O'Connell immediately departed Lower Springs for Latona. Thompson traveled to Shasta where he pressed charges of assault against his assailant at the Sheriff’s office. O’Connell was later arrested at Latona by Sheriff John S. Follansbee, and then, Follansbee escorted him to Shasta where he was jailed.

In June of 1863, Jones & Company struck a fine ledge of gold particles on their mining property at Lower Springs. They believed that this ore would carry a high value at the assayers office and it won them quite a bit of praise in the local media. The ledge was measured at twenty-two feet wide, immediately, Henry Jones and his crew sunk a shaft down twenty feet below the surface of the earth. 

As they continued to lower the shaft, the ore they sought after revealed better quality. This discovery brought a boom to the community of Lower Springs, and it became one of the first quartz mines in the Lower Springs mining district. Everything until then had been placer mining, in that area, Jones & Company would soon develop the property further with tunnels, drifts and upraises. Its believed that this former placer mine became the quartz mine known as the Old Spanish Mine.

After this quartz mine was dug out, a number of placer mining properties in the Lower Springs mining district were transformed by miners into quartz mines. In November of 1864, Henry Jones who was one of Lower Springs leading citizens was elected as Supervisor of District 1 of Shasta County, the local media referred to Jones as being “eminently qualified for the position”. That month, a number of large quantity of rocks from the Old Spanish Mine at Lower Springs was hauled to the Spring Creek stamp mill on Spring Creek to be crushed so they can obtain the gold from the quartz rocks.

Then on, Saturday, March 4, 1865, the Shasta Courier heralded the following account of a recent discovery made by Henry Jones: 

“A SWEET DISCOVERY - Last week Mr. Jones, of Lower Springs observes s large number of honey bees working upon the willows in that vicinity, and being quite an expert apiarist, he noticed that in leaving the willows they generally flew in the same direction, and by taking observations from some willows in the vicinity of Mr. Wiser’s garden he saw that the course taken by the bees from the two points converged upon a hill about a half mile from Lower Springs, and upon going to the place, he found the bees occupying a log upon the hill. The log was opened and forty pounds of excellent honey taken therefrom and sufficient left for the bees, which Mr. Jones has taken to his house.” (SIC)

A man named Bert Wiser partnered with a another man by the surname of Terry and together they established an excellent vineyard at Lower Springs. Wiser & Terry were well-known purveyors of wine which became a locally renown favorite of the era. Their wine was bottled at their Lower Springs vineyard and then transported to Wiser’s home at Buckeye, in Shasta County. He lived on the Buckeye Ranch where Wiser & Terry kept a rather large cellar that they stored their wine in. Their wine was labeled as Wiser & Terry, Lower Springs, California.

Another serious affray occurred in this community on March 15, 1865, when a shooting of a Chinaman transpired over an apparent purchase of a mining claim and water ditch. The German settler who apparently sold the property to the Chinaman denied the fact that he had sold him the land. Then the German claimed that he didn't realize the area was an anti-Chinese district. After they quarreled- the German shot the Chinaman in the arm and the feud was settled according to reports, but both parties lived, and no one was arrested.

On September 9, 1865, the local media reported the following; 

"We are advised that there are fair prospects for the erection of a small mill at Lower Springs, this fall. - The good work goes on, and if the people will but prospect, the future of Shasta is assured." (SIC) 

The above quote by the Shasta Courier newspaper is referring to a brand new stamp mill to help crush the rock to obtain the ore from the samples they retrieved. The mining company to establish this new stamp mill at Lower Springs was the Union Company who hired a man by the name of L.A. Kelly to be their superintendent at the stamp mill and supervise their daily operations here. The Union Company's stamp mill wasn't in operation until mid-December. It's not known how many stamps this crusher had.

Between the years 1866 and 1870, there were newer quartz mines which were located in the Lower Springs mining district. The quartz rock from these mines were hauled to the Union Company's stamp mill or the Spring Creek stamp mill. The ore from these mines were assayed at high value, and due to this mining boom these lucrative quartz mines brought new settlers to the area. The Union Company actually began to dig and blast through surface rock to make their own quartz mine at their stamp mill property to prospect.

While the decade of the 1870s and 1880s evolved around the mining district at Lower Springs, the (old) gold mining burg flourished once again as work continued in number of mines in the area. One quartz mine in particular is the Old Spanish Mine, which is located in the Lower Springs mining district. Throughout history, this mining burg never established a post office, and it continued to be prominent into the 1890s, and past the turn of the 20th century. Today, Lower Springs Road retains the name of this once thriving gold rush community and present day Swasey Drive was named after forty-niner, Benjamin Swasey.

Above: In January of 1905, this plat map of the Telluride Consolidated Mine was surveyed by Alfred Baltzell, an U.S. Deputy Mineral Surveyor, for its owners Charles Piftschek, and Anton Herzlieb, of Redding. The Telluride Consolidated Mine embraced the Tellurium Quartz Mine, Diagonal Quartz Mining Claim, and the Hill Gravel and Quartz Mining Claim. All of these were located on the property of Piftschek and Herzlieb.

Legend has it that these iconic palm tree's were planted by pioneer, Benjamin Swasey at Lower Springs, and they grew in front of his Swasey hotel. The palm tree's lasted until the decade of the 1970s when the area was developed and they were uprooted. This photograph was taken in 1972. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

RESOURCES:

1850 U.S. Census

Killed By Indians - The Sacramento Transcript newspaper of Sacramento, April 17, 1851

From The Interior - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, May 31, 1852

Lower Springs - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 12, 1853

Diggings About Lower Springs - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 2, 1853

The Lower Springs Road - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 7, 1853

The Ball At Lower Springs- The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 21, 1854

J.D. Dunlap & Co. - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 21, 1854

Lower Springs - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 23, 1854

A Serious Difficulty - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 13, 1855

Convention of Shasta County Miners Relative to the Chinese Question - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 20, 1855

Clear Creek Ditch - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, October 29, 1855

Clear Creek Ditch Finished! - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, November 24, 1855

Swasey’s Hotel advertisement - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 11, 1857

Slanderous - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, February 19, 1859

1860 U.S. Census

Supervisor - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, November 19, 1864

Quartz - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, November 26, 1864

A Sweet Discovery - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 4, 1865

Shot - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 18, 1865

Still Another Mill - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 9, 1865

Lower Springs - Union Co. - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 9, 1865

New Discovery - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 6, 1866

Struck It - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, February 10, 1866

Prospecting Mill - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 10, 1866

Buckeye Ranch - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 1, 1865

1866 California Voters Registration

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S. Census

California Journal of Mines and Geology, Volume 10 1890, page 632.

Mining District Near Redding’s Limits - Mineral Wealth Magazine, March 15, 1905

Benjamin Swasey Dies At Home In Oakland - The San Francisco Call newspaper of San Francisco, September 20, 1912

My Playhouse Was A Concord Coach, an anthology of newspaper clippings and documents relating to those who made California history during the years 1822-1888, by Mae Hélène Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949.

Lower Springs by Mabel Frisbie - The Covered Wagon, 1957, published by Shasta Historical Society.

In the Shadow of the Mountain A Short History of Shasta County, California, by Edward Petersen ©1965

Gage-Carter Family Stories, Compiled for Lloyd D. Carter, edited by M. Walsh © October 1990 929.2 Gage/Carter in Shasta Historical Society library

Middle Creek & Lower Springs Mining District 622 Mining, available at the Shasta Historical Society

MAJOR PIERSON BARTON READING (1816-1868): THE FIRST EUROPEAN-AMERICAN SETTLER IN SHASTA COUNTY

Major Pierson Barton Reading (1816-1868). This Carta de Vista was taken in 1862. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Pierson Barton Reading (pronounced like the color red), was born to Pierson Reading and Charity (Guild) Reading in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on November 26, 1816, and in 1830, Pierson departed New Jersey, leaving his family behind at the age of fourteen to live with his step-uncle Charles B. Green in Madison County, Mississippi. 

Then in 1834, Reading begins his career as a cotton broker in Madison County. Three years later, at the age of twenty-one, he goes broke due to the price of cotton crashing at the market. Pierson eventually returns to his family in New Jersey. According to the Reading family lore, and local historians, Pierson marries for the first time even though his first wife’s name is unknown but apparently during their short union a daughter was born to them on August 7, 1842, and they named her Jeanette "Janette” Reading, Jeanette was born in Louisiana. At a later date, he leaves his wife and daughter behind in Louisana for Missouri and Reading eventually becomes divorced.

However, according to my friend David L. Templeman, a great-great grandson of Pierson Barton Reading and Euphan “Fannie” Wallace (Washington) Reading. Templeman claims the following about the presumed first marriage of Major Pierson B. Reading:

"There is absolutely no record of a first marriage. There is a story of Janette's mother dying of yellow fever while in New Orleans, when Janette was a baby. Yet no grave or record can be found. I can only imagine Janette's actual mother was not married to Pierson B. Reading. Perhaps a house servants baby. The spelling of her name is French, which aligns with the New Orleans origin story. Unfortunately, a crew of excited historians spent a lot of time speculating about Janette's origins and have released a couple of unsubstantiated proposals. All hold little or no merit.

The first myth is that Janette is Pierson B. Reading’s illegitimate half sister, through his father Pierson Reading's affair (which is also unsubstantiated). There is a fraudulent letter floating around, written by the "niece of Janette", claiming there was a whole family born to Pierson Sr. (again this is Pierson B. Reading’s father). My grandmother was convinced it was a fraud, a con artist chasing money. The second myth is that Janette is the illegitimate daughter of a Reading or Green cousin in Vicksburg. Personally I like to believe she is my great-great Aunt, daughter of Pierson B. Reading." Templeman is also a keen researcher into his own genealogy.

In May of 1843, at Westport, Missouri, Reading joined a large party of immigrants ranging between five hundred and seven hundred people who were traveling to Fort Hall, in Oregon. This immigrant group was led by Peter H. Burnett, and they ventured across the plains heading west towards Oregon with 113 wagons which carried the supplies they needed to survive the long trek. At this time, Reading became good friends with another man in the group by the name of Samuel Hensley.

In September of that year, the Burnett party arrived at Fort Hall; it took them five months to complete the trip over the rough and rugged terrain as the adventure west ended. Once the immigrants arrived in Oregon a small number of men decided to leave the Burnett party and continue south into California. This new group formed the Chiles-Walker party, and their destination was Sutter’s Fort. After purchasing the necessary supplies needed to descend into California, they departed Fort Hall on September 16, 1843. Besides Reading, the Chiles-Walker Party included the following men: Charles Bradley, Henry Chase, Isaac Chase, James Chase, Joseph B. Chiles, Captain John Grantt, Samuel J. Hensley, William Martin, Milton McGhee, John Myers, Joseph R. Walker, and Squire Williams. It was Walker who led the party.

On Thursday, October 26, 1843, the Chiles-Walker party arrived in the region of what became Shasta County, after passing over the Sierra Nevada Range. On that day, they reached the landmarks which we know today as Pit River Falls and Burney Falls. After stopping at both sites, they continued their journey as they encountered numerous Native Americans along the way, who lived in semi-subterranean homes, they knew the white men were in the area but they avoided them. Eventually, Reading saw his first glimpse of his future home, the Rancho Buena Ventura, and then they continued heading south with his party. California at that time was controlled by Mexico. It was Hensley who suggested to Reading that he should obtain a land grant from the Mexican government for this particular area that they were passing through. On Friday, November 10, 1843, they reached Sutter's Fort (or Fort Nueva Helvetia) owned by Captain John A. Sutter.

In 1844, Pierson applied to receive the above property. Reading’s application for the land grant was signed off by Mexican Governor, Manuel Micheltorena on December 4, 1844. This land grant consisted of 26,632.08 acres of land, which extended from the south at Cottonwood Creek and to the north at Salt Creek in Redding. The grant also stretched three miles west of the Sacramento River. He named his land grant the Rancho Buena Ventura meaning “good fortune” in Spanish. In order to obtain his Mexican land grant Reading had to denounce his American citizenship and become a full-fledged Mexican citizen. This is why most American immigrants in California did not apply for land grants under the Mexican government at that time.

A map of the Rancho Buena Ventura land grant owned by Major Pierson Barton Reading. 

The Rancho Buena Ventura became the second land grant in what is now Shasta County. The first land grant was located on the east side of the Sacramento River which was called the Rancho Buena De Briesgau. It was comprised of 22,000 acres of land, and it was William Bennitz who applied for this land grant which was granted to him on July 26, 1844, by Governor Micheltorena. Bennitz was a native of Breisgau, Germany, which is why his rancho was named De Breisgau. However, Bennitz never settled on his property and due to this reason it was never recognized as an official land grant by the Supreme Court of the United States. Then in, September of 1845, Reading joined the United States military to enlist into the Bear Flag Revolt. He enlisted into John Freemont’s battalion as a Paymaster. Reading worked himself through the ranks and he was eventually promoted to the rank of Major.

During the following year, Pierson becomes an active supporter of the settlers revolt to turn California into a State of the Union and on June 14, 1846, a group of American immigrants and ex-patriots marched on Vallejo’s post in Sonoma to successfully over throw the Mexican Government and they declared Reading’s closest neighbor William B. Ide as President of the new Republic of California.

In 1847, Major Reading returned to live on his Rancho Buena Ventura permanently and he erected an adobe house. Reading became the first permanent white settler of what is now, Shasta County, at that time. (His Adobe House fell to vandals in 1942, but it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is California Historical Landmark No. 10)

It wasn’t long before gold was discovered in California by James Wilson Marshall on January 24, 1848, at Coloma on the American River in a tailrace of a sawmill owned by Marshall and John Sutter. After the reports were confirmed that Marshall found gold, it sparked the California Gold Rush and the rush for riches began as new people arrived in California to search for gold. These new arrivals in California would soon be known as forty-niners.

Major Reading took a trip south to the site where Marshall made his discovery and he noted the same red clay on the property and he determined that it was possible that gold could be found on his own property, or at least near it. Then on March 18, 1848, with the help of the Wintu Tribe of Native Americans, Major Pierson B. Reading discovered gold in Clear Creek at what is now known as Reading's Bar, making the second gold discovery in California. Miners would soon descend upon the Rancho Buena Ventura prospecting for gold and squatting on Major Reading’s property, and placer mining erupted along the creek channels.

While prospecting for gold these miners formed tent communities, and the following are the earliest known communities, which were established in 1849: Churntown, Cottonwood, Horsetown, Lower Springs, Middle Creek, and Reading Springs (Shasta). The first community which was established in what is now Shasta County was Cottonwood. In 1848, Major Reading co-established a general merchandise store with Samuel Hensley in Sacramento which was called Hensley, Reading & Company. The firm only lasted for two years when the partnership dissolved in 1850.

Two years after the advent of the California Gold Rush the Rancho Buena Ventura contained the following livestock: 210 horses, 10 mules, 15 cows, and 30 oxen. Major Reading led a prosperous life in California on the western frontier. Then on, February 18, 1850, the County of Shasta was created as one of the original twenty-seven counties of California. It wasn’t until September 9, 1850, that California was admitted into the Union as the 31st State. Major Reading’s adobe residence became the county seat of Shasta County on, February 10, 1851, it was used for court proceedings and the housing of court related documents but government business was never held there.

Pierson B. Reading of Shasta for Governor. A political advertisement from the Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 7, 1851.

Six months later on, August 15, 1851, Major Pierson B. Reading, Dr. Oliver M. Wozencraft and Captain McWhinney establishes the Treaty of Peace and Friendship at the Rancho Buena Ventura with the surrounding Indian tribes. With this treaty they were hoping the Indians would become friendlier towards the white settlers. It became one of 18 peace treaties which was never ratified by the American Government.

Then on, September 3, 1851, Major Reading runs for the office of Governor of the State of California on the Whig ticket in the gubernatorial election. Reading loses the election to Democratic opponent John Bigler who led the election with 441 votes. Bigler became California’s third Governor. At a later date, Pierson meets a gentleman in San Francisco who told him that he was ordered to toss out some 4,000 votes to help arrange Bigler’s victory in the election.

Due to Pierson’s interest in the local Native American tribes he was appointed by Congress to become the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California on June 18, 1852. Then between: 1853-1854, Pierson promoted a survey of the Noble’s Pass route for a wagon road and with a  group of businessmen from Shasta, contributed $2,000 to send Hamden Holmes Noble back over the route he discovered in 1851. Major Reading also encouraged and supported the construction of the California-Oregon Stage Road. (It is currently California Historical Landmark No. 58.)

Prior to 1855, a man named Richard Bland Lee II was stationed as a Lieutenant at Fort Reading on Cow Creek in Shasta County. Lee became great friends with Pierson and he became a frequent visitor to the Rancho Buena Ventura. It was Lee who persuaded Reading to pursue his niece Euphan “Fannie” Wallace Washington since he was planning a future trip to Washington D.C., where she lived. Fannie was a nickname she was often called by her close family and friends. She was born in September of 1831 to Anna Matilda (Lee) Washington and Doctor Bailey Washington III., at Washington D.C., she was an elegant young lady.

The main reason for the trip east was to check the legal status of his land grant. It was during December of 1855, when Reading traveled east towards Washington D.C., and upon his arrival he immediately began courting Fannie. While Reading was checking his status of ownership of the Rancho Buena Ventura land grant, the Supreme Court of the United States approved his ownership on January 11, 1856. The patent was signed by President, Franklin Pierce. Reading’s trip east was a double success because his land grant was confirmed and a wedding date was decided by Pierson and Fannie.

Then on, March 13, 1856, they were married in Washington D.C., by the Reverend George Cummins at the Trinity Episcopal Church. On this day, a gift was presented to Pierson by Elizabeth (Collins) Lee who was the maternal grandmother of Fannie. It was Elizabeth who told Pierson that he reminded her of President George Washington and then she presented Reading with a lock of the president’s hair of whom the Lee & Washington families were related too. A month later on, April 5, 1856, Mr. and Mrs. Reading departed New York to take his bride west to California crossing the Isthumus of Panama while they made their way towards San Francisco.

While aboard the steamer James L. Stephens, Fannie became sea sick, and the newlyweds reached San Francisco on May 4, 1856, once they reached land Fannie began feeling a lot better. At San Francisco, they checked into the Oriental hotel. They stayed in the city for a while before they resumed their journey north to Shasta County were here they arrived at the Rancho Buena Ventura on May 12, 1856. This was the first glimpse of her husband’s property that Fannie saw that day. Fannie was now among the early pioneer women of Shasta County, she would start writing letters home to her family about her “western” adventures on the frontier of California.

Eupan "Fannie" Wallace (Washington) Reading (1831-1918). Circa 1860s, the photographer is unknown. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

The adobe house which Pierson built in 1847 was too small for him and Fannie to raise a family together so during the year 1856 he added onto the adobe structure by erecting a two-story building. It was a wood framed structure that contained eight rooms. Pierson never referred to it as a mansion but local residents dubbed it the “Reading Mansion”.

The Reading Mansion appears here in this sketch by Alice M. Reading, a daughter of Major Pierson B. Reading. The adobe on the right is the original structure which was built in 1847 by Reading. The 2-story house was attached in 1856 after his marriage took place. The house contained 8 rooms and it burned down in 1881. The adobe fell into decay in 1942. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society. 

Euphan “Fannie” Wallace (Washington) Reading would eventually bear Pierson six children between the years 1857 and 1865, respectively. Those children were the following:

1. Anna Washington Reading (1857-1906)

2. Alice Matilda Reading (1859-1939)

3. Pierson Barton Reading Jr. (1861-1862)

4. Richard Washington Reading (1863-1925) [twin]

5. Robert Lee Reading (1863-1918) [twin] {actually lived in Shasta County, civil engineer of Shasta County}

6. Frances Collins “Fannie” Reading. (1865-1888)

During the interim, of the above births of their children, in January of  1862, the Original Williams & Kellinger Gold, Silver & Copper Mining Company was incorporated at Copper City with $75,000 divided into 300 shares of $250 each. There principal stockholders were the following people: J.J. Bell, John Kellinger, Major Pierson B. Reading, Dr. George Silverthorne M.D., Charles Williams, and Hogue Worley. Copper City was located on the Squaw Creek, about thirty miles north-east of Shasta. The above company owned and operated the Williams and Kellinger mine located on Kellinger Hill (now Killanger Peak). It was a mine discovered by Charles Williams, but the hill it was located upon was named after his mining partner John Kellinger.

Major Reading had a vision to navigate Steamboats up the Sacramento River north of Red Bluff to Clear Creek between: 1850 and 1860. His dream never became a reality, however, between the years: 1863 and 1864, Pierson establishes a town called Latona in Shasta County as the head of WHOA Navigation to bring steam boats up the Sacramento River. The meaning behind WHOA Navigation defines it as being a slang phrase to describe Shasta in the 1850s. Shasta was the end-of-the-line on the wagon road. Major Reading hired Colonel William Magee to survey this four hundred acre town site for him. Latona was named after a Greek goddess.

During 1864, Pierson engaged himself into mining activities with Kendall Vanhook Bumpass. Bumpass was an early day miner and prospector. Pierson and Bumpass owned a mining claim in the Lassen area. This mining claim turned chaotic with deep pockets of lava flow in which Bumpass lost his leg and he had to have it amputated. Today this mining claim is known as “Bumpass Hell” and it is now located in Lassen National Park.

The esteemed pioneer, Major Pierson Barton Reading, died on his Rancho Buena Ventura land grant on May 28, 1868, at the age of fifty-two years. He was buried in the Reading Family Cemetery on Adobe Road in Cottonwood where other members of his family are interred at this location. Fannie survived her husband another 50 years until she died. Fannie remained on the Rancho Buena Ventura for another three years until she relocated in the east where she settled at Alexandria, Virgnia, in 1871. She made another move in 1878 from Alexandria to Washington D.C., where the pioneer died on May 4, 1918.

There are currently nine historically important sites in Northern California which are dedicated to the memory Major Pierson Barton Reading:

1. Reading’s Bar in Shasta County on Clear Creek, located south west of Redding is named for Major Reading. This is where gold was discovered by Major Reading on March 18, 1848.

2. Reading’s Bar in Trinity County near Douglas City is named for Major Reading. Reading made the first discovery of gold in that county as well in 1848 at the mouth of Reading Creek.

3. Reading Creek in Trinity County is named for Major Reading.

4. Reading Springs (a creek) in the town of Shasta is named for him. (Note: the town of Shasta was formerly called Reading Springs before June 8, 1850, when the town was renamed Shasta by Armstead C. Brown who named it because it was the closest town to Mount Shasta, at that time. Mt. Shasta was in the original boundaries of Shasta County. Siskiyou County wasn’t established until 1852.)

5. Reading Island on the Sacramento River just below the bluff of the Reading Adobe in Cottonwood is named for Major Reading. Due to the channel of the Sacramento River changing, this island is no longer in existence.

6. Fort Reading which was established on May 26, 1852, along the west side of Cow Creek in Shasta County, was named for Major Pierson B. Reading.

7. Reading Rock on the Pacific Ocean is named for Major Reading, it is located near Orick, Humboldt County, California.

8. Reading Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park was named in honor of Major Pierson B. Reading in 1943.

9. The Reading Family Cemetery is named in honor of Major Reading’s family who is buried there on Adobe Lane in Cottonwood.

Above: the present site of Major Reading's adobe on Adobe Lane in Cottonwood. The adobe fell into decay in 1942. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

Above: the original Reading Adobe monument at the present site of Major Reading's adobe on Adobe Lane in Cottonwood. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

Above: a newer sign with photographs helps record the history of the Reading Adobe on Adobe Lane at Cottonwood. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

Above: the location of Reading's Bar. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

Above: the entry way into the Reading Family Cemetery where Major Pierson Barton Reading is buried, its located on Adobe Road in Cottonwood. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

The Reading Family Cemetery where Major Pierson Barton Reading is buried with members of his family, its located on Adobe Road in Cottonwood. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on July 8, 2018.

RESOURCES:

California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1850(Ancestry.com)

My Playhouse Was A Concord Coach, an anthology of newspaper clippings and documents relating to those who made California history during the years 1822-1888, by Mae Hélène Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949.

Man Of Destiny Pierson Barton Reading Pioneer of Shasta County, California by Helen S. Giffen, edited by Eleanor Lee (Reading) Templeman, published by Shasta Historical Society, © 1985.

The Journal of Pierson Barton Reading Overland to California, 1843, by Madge Richardson Walsh, ©2003 published by the Association for Northern California Historical Research.

RP-004 - Reading, Pierson Barton Pioneer Plaque File on file at Shasta Historical Society.

Mining Corporations – The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 16, 1863

Death of Major Reading - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 30, 1868

Died - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 30, 1868

Funeral - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, June 6, 1868

Pioneer Woman Called Beyond At Washington - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, May 6, 1918

An E-mail Correspondence - Subject: Jeanette Reading dated August 9, 2018 between David L. Templeman and Jeremy M. Tuggle, filed in the RP-004 Reading, Pierson Barton Pioneer Plaque File on file at Shasta Historical Society.