B68 COJJNTV ORTM ERIN IdiffdObR IN I A. 7>-tTSr"J3 ^v:;;^i)hti a \\m\m aBi itiftmiiiw #^C8tiitiai 68 S7 y 1 Issued by tKe CHAMBER OF COMMERCE of Red Bluff; E. D. Gardner, Prest. "W. C. Spann, Secy. Jj^eKama Q^oianty IN Northern California 1903 AA'^ritten and Compilecl by W. C. SPANN Prirjted by THe "W^hitaKer CO- Ray Company (Incorporated) 723 MarKet St. San Francisco, Cal. IN EXCHANGH Are you content to live the remainder of your life where the snows and ice and cold winds of winter keep the mercury hovering around the zero mark — often below ; or where the sultry, humid atmosphere of summer makes life almost unbearable ; where the gentle cyclone leaves devasta- tion and ruin in its path? If you are, then a perusal of these pages will be as so much time thrown away. But if you would live where the climate is mild in win- ter and by no means oppressive in summer; where cyclones and sunstrokes are unknown, and where 365 good nights" rest can be had each year ; where the scenery is unsur- passed ; where the orange and fig, the lemon and lime, the olive and grape and all other fruits grow in profusion ; where the school system is perfect and the Christian religion is adhered to in all that it takes to make a law-abiding. .prci^p(:to.us. an4..c,ontented people, then we would advise '.yonitbiriiad careJijJfy,: what is here presented. ti:hama county, California The Sierra Nevada Range of Mountains lie lengthwise in the State, and form its eastern border. They extend from northwest to southeast. The Coast Range, from northeast to southwest. At the convergence of the two ranges is Mt, Shasta, rising to an elevation of 14,442 feet, whose summit is covered with perpetual snow. To the south and west from Mt. Shasta for 140 miles are lower mountains and foot- hills, seven and eight thousand feet high, heavily timbered, protecting the lowlands from the Arctic blasts. Here we find the north line of Tehama County, which extends from the summit of the Sierras on the east to the summit of the Coast Range on the west, a distance of 78 miles, and here begins the Sacramento Valley, down which 38 miles is the south line of the County running east to west, giving an 'area of 3,200 square miles or 2,000,000 acres. The agricul- tural land is given at 700,000 acres ; grazing land at 800,000 acres and timbered or forest land at 500,000 acres. It has a cosmopolitan population of 12,000. Every State in the Union and many foreign countries are represented within its borders. At the base of Mt. Shasta are numerous springs, the clear, cold waters of which unite and flow southward through a canyon, gathering force and volume by the ad- dition of numerous mountain streams tributary to it, until it reaches this valley, where it is recognized as the Sacra- mento River. It is navigable for steamboats to Red Bluff, the county seat of this (Tehama) County, which is 200 miles north of San Francisco and 120 miles north of Sacramento, the Capital of the State. Tehama County is bounded by Shasta County on the north ; Plumas and Butte on the east ; Butte and Glenn on the south and Mendocino and Trinity on the west. SCENERY The scenery in this county is not surpassed elsewhere in California. The beautiful, the picturesque and the grand M^:^^>, 'iMiS. M orthern California are so blended as at once to challenge the admiration of the beholder. The landscapes are paragons of rural lovliness. The parks of great oaks dotting the hills and scattered over the plains; the orchards and vineyards and patches of alfalfa with their perpetual verdue ; the large flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and bands of horses here and there to be seen, present a picture that few other localities can equal. CL I MATE The following table is taken from the U. S. Weather Bureau report for 1902, and is here presented to show our climatic conditions as compared with those of Los Angeles and Southern California : Degree in Sky Fahrenheit s a >. 3 s CO ^ 04 a M J3 >, s" « M & OjQ fc'2 uP. W a 1 hJ 8 %'^ Xi H 3 §u 3 S5 Z ^ iz; L,os Angeles 293 307 94 115 32 28 35 85 124 194 198 84 43 87 Red Bluff Owing' to the peculiarities of topography, latitude does not here control the climate, the conditions of which have no parallel in the world. Our climate is, perhaps, our most famous glory. It has given us our wonderful fruits and flowers, and is a help and a blessing to every form of in- dustry. In the climate of Tehama County one can work out of doors every day in the year. The summer heat is dry and sunstrokes are unknown. The thermometer may read 110 degrees, but owing to the dry atmosphere, the efifect upon the body produces less., discomfort than would be felt in a humid atmosphere at 90 degrees. In other words, there are about 20 degrees between the "sensible" tempera- ture and the actual reading of the thermometer. Tehama County People of the Atlantic Coast and Northern States, where there is six months of snow and blizzards, never dream that Tehama County, situated on parallel 40 degrees, north, is blessed with perpetual summer, where the fig and olive, the orange and lemon and the vine grow to perfection. The altitude of the valley and foothill lands of Tehama County is from 300 to 700 feet above sea level. We have but two seasons, the wet and the dry. As soon as the rain com- mences in October, the grass begins to grow, and by the first of December the country is covered with a green car])et of vegetation. In October and November most of the plant- ing and sowing is done. The thermometer seldom falls lower than 30 degrees above zero. Snow can be seen on the mountains but seldom falls in the valley. During January vegetation begins to assume the appearance of spring. Trees put forth their bloom and grass and grain grow rap- idly. Grain can be sown in this month and even in March and produce very well. THE SOIL Tehama County embraces some of the finest soils in the State. They are mainly alluvial and volcanic in origin. The Sacramento River, or its ancient predecessor has de- posited on either bank wide stretches of rich alluvium. On the east side is a dark brown, almost black, sandy loam many feet in depth. On the west bank the plain of tillable land is wider. The soil on this side is, in considerable part, of a reddish tinge. The chief characteristics are the loamy river lands. The bottoms along the different creeks that fiow into the river have their several peculiarities; but the usual soil, especially on the west side of the valley, is a yellowish alluvium, the area being generally not very wide and join- ing more elevated benches. The different grades of soil will be viewed by different persons with widelv varving opinions respecting their merits for profitable culture ; yet there is very little doubt that all the soils, from the river bottom to the coarsest gravelly hills, will be found available for some kind of husbandrv. Northern California There is but very little of these lands that do not show a natural growth of trees and grass, indicating a soil ready to reward the intelligent cultivator. Large crops of grain, yielding as high as forty and more bushels to the acre, both on the bottom, the adobe hills and the hills between, have demonstrated the fertility of all classes of the soil. This feature of Tehama County has made it one of the most pros- perous counties in the State. It has become so from its own intrinsic merits. Xo external effort has been made to bol- ster up or create a fictitious progress. Indeed the citizens have not even taken the trouble to make known the re- sources that have given them their wealth. But their ad- vantages were too great not at length to attract outside attention, and repeated suggestions to them have induced them to throw open the avenues of their prosperity. STOCn RAISING Tehama County is particularly well adapted to cattle and sheep raising. Comprising as it does almost limitless mountain stock ranges, over which stock can be grazed dur- ing the summer months to good advantage, and when snow appears on the mountains our area of valley lands afford plenty of feed, and owing to the mildness of the winter cli- mate stock men need have no fear of loss by reason of HAULING WOOL TO MARKET, RET) BLUFF 8 Tehama County blizzards and extreme cold weather, such as are frequent and occasion much loss in other great stock sections. In this county there are two hundred thousand sheep that are moved in the spring to the mountain ranges and return in the autumn to the valleys and foothills for winter pasturage. Twelve thousand head of cattle are similarly handled, and so all the lands of the county are utilized. For feed, sheep owners look entirely to providence, the native grasses being especially suitable to sheep. Flocks increase rapidly, the percentage averaging ninety of the ewes, while often, from the profusion of twin lambs, the increase will reach one hundred and twenty per cent. Sheep bearing wool sell from $2.50 per head up; lambs at about $1.25. In Red Blufif the wool product of spring and fall is stored, and buyers from other portions of the State are visi- tors during the storing season. It is estimated that one-fifth of the wool crop of the State finds a market in Red Blufif, and in selling time the competition for "clips" is often brisk and spirited. At the beginning and close of the summer season, thousands of sheep are on the move from and to the moun- tains in all parts of the county. The annual wool crop of Tehama County is about one million eight hundred thousand pounds. Wool brought to Red Blufif from other counties and stored for sale or ship- ment annually amounts to eight hundred thousand pounds. RIVHR TRANSPORTATION Red Bluff is the head of navigation on the Sacramento River, and steam boats make regular weekly trips from Sacramento to this point. As a result freight rates are very reasonable. The average monthly shipment to this place is about 1500 tons. Of this amount 700 tons are for Red Bluff and fully eight hundred tons are reshipped by rail or teams to points- in Shasta, Lassen, Trinity, Plumas and Siskiyou Counties, and southern Oregon. The character of this freight is general merchandise, mill and mining ma- chinery. Each boat has a return cargo of wool, grain. M orthe rn California STEAMBOAT LANDING AT RED BLUFF, CALIFORNIA HEAD OF NAVIGATION ON THE SACRAMENTO RIVER lumber, hides and dried fruits brought by teams from outly- ing districts. FRU I T With all of our great advantages we can boast without stint of our capabilities in the production of fruit, all in the open air, asking and needing no protection from the weather or climate. One grand advantage we possess, unlike our southern neighbors, is, that our fruits all grow without ir- rigation, requiring no care other than good cultivation, a requisite also, where irrigation is necessary. Growth is not vexed by low temperatures and the grow- ing season is twice the length of the ordinary summer east of the Rocky mountains. This naturally makes large fruit and a ripening season free from rain gives it peculiar beauty and quality. All the fruits of the temperate zone grow well and the yield is abundant in Tehama County. All variety of grapes can be abundantly and profitably grown here. For the cultivation of the raisin grape our soil rivals the very best in the State. Much attention is given to the cultivation of prunes, which is one of the chief products Tehama County of the county, as well as one of the most profitable. Irriga- tion is not necessary to the growing of choice fruits in this county. Developments of the past few years have proven that the foothill lands are especially well adapted to growing fruit, particularly those above enumerated ; and oranges hold as firm as any. These facts have convinced our land owners that citrus fruits are adapted to this county. They grow with but little care, there being no need of protection from climatic influences. They ripen from four to eight weeks earlier and possess better color and flavor than the oranges of the southern portion of the State. There are but few homes in Tehama County without orange trees, and the number is being increased every year. Figs are remarkably productive in this county, often three crops maturing a year. They are easily grown, a few years developing a large tree from an ordinary slip. Apples do not prosper so well on the valley lands as they do in the foothills and mountains. Apples from the uplands of Tehama County are as good as the best grown in Oregon for taste, flavor and color, and are better in size and will keep for months after picking. In the mountains, apples ripen as early as May, and keep ripening through the var- ious varieties until about the first of November. Wliat is known as "Manton District," lying about thirty miles nortli and east of Red Bluff, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains is coming rapidly to the front in the production of apples, and the quality of this fruit raised there is second to none raised in the State. Tehama County is really the home of the Bartlett Pear. This fruit grows to large size and is of excellent flavor. The acreage is not so large as that of the peach or prune, but the pear will yield a revenue to its owner of from $250 to $300 per acre, when pro])erly cared for. Concerning the abundant yield and profit of the Bartlett Pear in this county, I here refer to one orchard. That of D. S. Cone five miles east of Red Bluff. In 1900 he received $29,500 for the product of 100 acres of Bartlett Pears — nearly $300 per acre. Porter Bros. Company, through their Northern California agent, H. P. Stice, were the purchasers. This is but one of the many instances occurring each year to prove fruit rais- ing a successful industry in Tehama County. Large oHve orchards are to be seen in the different parts of the county. Walnuts and chestnuts are common, while magnolias, acacias, oleanders, palms and Japanese persim- mons are seen, to a greater or less extent, -in all gardens, and we see in the same vicinity the eucalyptas, elm, locust, pine, mulberry and poplar. Where under the sun can such a variety of climatic ex- tremes, as shown above, be seen? HON. chaunci:y m. depew. Than whom there is no more keen and practical ob- server, said of his visit to California : "We found ourselves in a country of magnificent futures, of boundless resources, of unexampled prospects. Though proud of a vocabulary that had never before staggered when confronted by the necessities of manifold occasions, I found the English language too poor to portray the glories of California. Here is a country destined to drive Italy and the world out of oranges, lemons, olives, prunes, and wines. Here is a land that will rejuvenate the worn-out pilgrim from the far East. "We, in the East, do not know California, or appreciate the wonderful future that is before it. There is a State with a population of a million and a half that is as great in area as France, with its 35,000,000 people. The people are the most prosperous and hospitable in the world. I am not speaking of the cities, but all through California you see no poverty. Ten acres will support a family, I was told. Fruit- farming is a way the land is utilized to achieve such re- sults." Florida, with her oranges ; France with her grape vines ; the East with its peaches and apples — we can excel all in their best productions in Tehama County. And still with 700,000 acres of tillable lands, we have but about 12,000 men, women and children to occupy them. Tehama County of- Northern California 13 fers good land at a reasonable figure, and on most reason- able terms ; it ofifers a wide range of products and a corres- pondingly great variety of industries ; it ofifers scenery sec- ond to none in the world ; it ofifers water and water-power in great abundance ; it offers immense forests of superb com- mercial timber; it offers a stable government and good so- ciety; it offers good churches and first-class public schools. With these attractions Tehama County offers her match- less climate, which enables man to live without consuming in the winter what he produces in the summer. The same investment of money, muscle and manage- ment, coupled with the same habits of economy that are necessary to secure a home in any other State of the Union, will secure a better one in Tehama County, California. The following statistics is based upon the crop of 1902: Peaches ripen from May to November ; amount pro- duced, green, 40,000,000 pounds ; dried, 8,000,0000 pounds. Prunes ripen from August to October ; amount produced, green, 5,000,000 pounds ; dried, 2,500,000 pounds. All shipped in dried state. Bartlett Pears ripen from July to November; amount produced, green, 5,000,000 pounds. Nearly all of this crop is shipped green to Eastern and European markets and are known the world over for their excellent flavor and keeping qualities. Apricots ripen from June to November ; amount pro- duced, green, 1,500,000 pounds; dried, 300,000 pounds. A large portion of this crop is shipped direct to Europe. Almonds ripen from July to September; amount pro- duced, 250,000 pounds. Oranges and lemons do well and can be seen on the trees every month during the year. Vegetables of all kind known to the temperate zone, grow abundantly in Tehama County. Strawberries ripen from April to December, raspberries from May to October, blackberries from June to September. Average price paid for fruits and nuts for the past five years : 14 Tehama County Per lb. Dried Green. Peaches 4 to 8c i to 2c Prunes 2 to 5c i to 2c Pears 4 to loc i to 2c Apricots 5 to IOC i to 2c Almonds 6 to 15c i to 2c Walnuts 8 to 14c i to 2c Peanuts 4 to 8c i to 2c Average yield of fruits and nuts, per acre, from $100 to $300, and in many instances one acre has yielded $500 to $1000. About three-fourths of the peach and apricot and four- fifths of the prune crops are dried, which creates a great de- mand for labor. The first two named, are cut in halves and laid on trays which are placed in rows on the "drying grounds." The genial rays of the sun by day and the dry atmosphere of night will cure it perfectly in from two to four days. There were employed in the orchards of Tehama County during the summer and fall of 1902, five thousand men, women, girls and boys at good wages, and the de- mand for help was far greater than the supply. Tehama County stands well in the front rank of grain producing counties of the State. On the lands devoted to grain about 1,500,000 bushels of wheat, oats and barley are raised, on an average, annually. The greater portion of this is shipped away, yet thousands of bushels find a ready mar- ket at home. The major portion of this product is grown south of Red Bluff along the banks of the river; in the pro- ductive "Bald Hills," west of town, and on the plains west of the river, between it and the foothills. The average pro- duct of the county, for a number of years, was 20 bushels of wheat and 30 bushels of barley and oats per acre. Near Tehama 45 bushels of wheat to the acre have been har- vested, and in the same locality, 30 bushels is a common yield. Besides grain, about thirty thousand tons of grain hay is harvested, annually. Along the river and some of its tributaries alfalfa has been grown to some extent and four crops of this hay has been harvested each season, averag- M o rt he rn California H ing three tons to the acre, which always commands a good price m home market. Thorough cultivation is the rule. The cost of preparing and seeding the ground averaging three dollars, and harvest- ing about as much more. Hay produced in this county is of an unusual good quality. About a ton to the acre is the average, although the yield in many places is enormous. Wild oats and wheat are usually sown together, and the crop harvested just before it turns. It lies in windrows until cured, then bunched, and later on stacked in five and ten ton stacks. Loose hay, of this kind, sells for $8.00 to $15.00 per ton. When baled, it brings from $12.00 to $18.00 per ton. B EBT SUGAR A new, most important and promising industry in Te- hama County is the raising of sugar beets. It is shown that beets grown on our lands contain a higher percentage of sugar than those of any other section. During the season of 1901 beets were harvested near Tehama that contained the extraordinary amount of 25 per cent, in sugar. This is an industry that bids fair to play an important part in our agricultural history for the following reasons : Earlier ma- turity of the beets ; earlier opening on the sugar making FRUIT PACKING HOLSE OF PORTER BROS. RED BLUFF, CAL. i6 Tehama County campaign ; longer season for harvesting ; longer run of the factory ; greater yield per acre ; greater percentage of sugar ; immunity from frost and rain at critical periods. These are some of the climatic advantages which experience and scientific experiments have established. WATER FOR IRRIGATION Tehama County is the most abundantly watered county in the State. The large rainfall in the valley, coupled with the fact that great areas have been in single holdings, de- voted to wheat growing or stock raising has in former years not only retarded diversity of products, but has contributed to the erroneous belief that irrigation was neither desirable or necessary, and irrigation has not been much resorted to. Wheat growing having become less profitable, attention is being directed to more diversified culture, and plans for more general irrigation are being considered, since it has been found that even on our best lands water is a distinctive source of general production and makes agriculture more profitable, by adding many new products to the farm. Ir- rigation is practiced in some parts of our county and the results have given unmistakable proof of the advantages gained thereby, both in quantity and quality of the product, and with the facilities at hand, it can be extensively prac- ticed at a trifling cost. TIMBER SUPPLY There is an abundant timber supply all over this county. There is no township but what has timber for fuel and there are sections of Tehama County which have some of the largest forest growths on this continent. All along the streams are cottonwoods, sycamores, alders, oaks and white maples. On the valley land bordering the Sacramento River, on both sides, there are large areas of oak parks, containing many trees of astonishing size. In parts of the higher lands of the valley these oak parks are also found. On the Coast Range there are fine timber growths, mostly pine, fir and spruce. It is in the Sierra Nevada Range, how- ever, that the great forest belt of the county is situated. M o rthern California 17 There, in a belt fifteen miles wide and forty miles long in Te- hama County, are forest growths unexcelled in America. There is lumber, not only for use of the whole county, but millions of feet are exported annually. The homeseeker can find no spot in Tehama County where he will not be within easy reach of timber for fuel and for all purposes of building and fencing. In this respect he will find a marked contrast to very many portions of Southern California, where timber is from 70 to 100 miles distant. HEALTHFULNEISS There is no consideration of so much importance to those seeking homes as the healthfulness of the locality they select. It is not the intention to convey, or attempt to con- FELLING TIMBER IN EASTERN TEHAMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA i8 Tehama County vey, to the mind of the reader that we have no sickness or deaths in Tehama County, but I do claim that the general health of our people is far better than that of any county in the great Sacramento Valley. Situated as we are, at the ex- treme head of the valley, with an altitude of 370 feet above sea level, protected from cold winds of the north, east and west by the two great mountain ranges, we have a most equable climate, which is the first and most important factor of health. Drs. J. M. West and J. A. ( )\ven, two of the leading physicians of Tehama County, unite in saying that all the elements of climate so essential to health exists in almost perfect degree in Tehama County, and the experience of physicians, who have practiced medicine in this county for twenty years or more verify the conclusions drawn from hygiene, and meteorology. Malarial diseases have prevailed to a limited extent along the alluvial lands where streams are subject to overflow during the rainy season, but culti- vation of these lands and clearing the dense undergrowth of vegetation from the belts of timber along the streams are rapidly causing them to disappear. Diseases arising from malaria in the above localities are of a mild type and easily arrested. Epidemic diseases have been of rare occurrence, and are so modified by climatic influences that they have lost their malignancy. ]\Ieasles and whooping-cough are so mild in type, and complications of the respiratory organs so infrequent, that physicians are rarely called to treat them. Typhoid fever is of rare oc- currence. In twelve years we have not treated a dozen cases in the county. We also have "natural" physicians in the shape of min- eral springs which furnish waters of rare medicinal qualities. To the west of Red BlulT thirty miles, at an altitude of 5,000 feet, in the Coast Range, is Colyear's Springs, whose health giving waters are freely enjoyed during the summer months by hundreds of people who go there to enjoy the hunting and fishing, as well as to recuperate physical weak- ness. Then to the east some fifty miles, at the foot of Mount Northern California 19 Lassen, in the Sierra Nevada Range, is Morgan's Springs, another famous summer resort which is visited by hosts of people who go to enjoy the heated term in "camping out," and feasting on fish and game. There is an excellent op- portunity for some enterprising man of capital, at either of the above springs, to build up a fashionable summer resort, and it is safe to say that the opportunity will not be open a great while longer, for it is only necessary for a shrewd business man to see either of these springs to realize the splendid opportunity they offer for the investment of capital. Tuscan Springs are situated nine miles northeast of Red Bluff, at the head of Little Salt Creek Canyon, in a basin formed by an extinct crater. On either side, rising to a height of from three to four hundred feet, are huge volcanic rocks, forming a rim of about six hundred feet in diameter, providing a natural shelter from winds. The springs num- ber nearly fifty, and are found in an area of about ten acres, at an elevation of 900 feet above sea level. The rim sur- rounding this basin breaks away to the southwest, per- mitting the waters to escape in that direction. The springs and the mud that exudes from them are used medicinally, and have a reputation for the cure of rheumatism, kidney and liver disorders, and all blood and skin diseases. The waters are exceptional in their character, containing 3 grains lithia, 6 grains iodine, 25 grains soda, magnesia, borax, potassium, sodium and sulphur. The latter is found in and around the springs in red and yellow sulphur. After a careful analysis of Tuscan waters by competent chemists, and able physicians of San Francisco, they are pronounced among the best in the United States for the cure of every form of skin and blood derangements the human system is heir to. This has been verified by the thousands that have been made well by their use. A large and commodious hotel has been erected the past season, with airily constructed towers at either end, and wide verandas extending all around, with accommodations for two hundred guests. The climate is very agreeable all the year and infrequent are the days when the man of health can not be out of doors. Likewise, few are the days when 20 Tehama County the invalid can not be out breathing the fresh and healing air, thereby regaining more rapidly his health and strength. At Tuscan Springs one can enjoy good and refreshing sleep 365 nights in the year. Both weak and strong must become stronger. And here Tehama County, through Tuscan Springs, supplies the conditions necessary for a long, health- ful and happy life. ED U C ATI ON A L Tehama County claims a place, educationally, among the foremost counties of the State. During the past ten years, the public schools of Tehama County have shown much uniformity in progress. The steady growth, no doubt, is largely due to the fact that we have a greater number of trained teachers throughout the County ; that our County Institutes have, for the most part, been conducted by superior instructors and lecturers ; and that our schools are carefully graded — pupils of the high grammar grade being required to pass an examination given by the County Board before being admitted to high school. Though the average length of term of our grammar schools throughout the county is shorter than it promises to be in the near future, yet our manual of study has been arranged and followed with such care that our graduates from the grammar department of the rural districts, as well as those of the town schools, have proven themselves cap- able of entering upon the work of the high schools and the normal schools with equal rank and ability of pupils from some of the more southern counties that are favored with longer terms. Our Red Bluff High School, which has been recognized by the State University of California as being fully accred- ited, is under the direction of superior university teachers and a principal of excellent executive ability. Within the past few years our High School has been a strong incentive to the graduates of the grammar schools to strive for higher educational attainments. There are four teachers in the High School and an enrollment of about Northern California eighty pupils. The length of the school term is nine and one-half months. At the election held 5th of June, this year, at Corning, the proposition was submitted and carried by a large majority, to create a high school district, composed of eleven school districts in the southern part of the county. The proposi- tion met with favor in all the districts interested. The school will be conducted at Corning. In 1892 the school census report of Corning showed an enrollment of only 67 school, children, instructed by two teachers. In igoi the school census showed an enrollment of 321 census children of school age, with six teachers employed — an increase of 254 pupils and four teachers in nine years. The Red Bluff grammar and primary schools are well graded, and the majority of the instructors are teachers of much experience, while a number of them are normal and y GRAMMAR AND HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE RED BLUFF, CALIFORNIA 22 Tehama County university trained teachers. The l)uihhn_f;s are lar^e and well furnished and the groiutds are suitably improved. The school has an enrollment of 790 ptipils, with eleven teachers to instruct. The towns of Teliama and \'ina deserve mention for the special interest their citizens are taking in their public schools. For a number of years, their teachers have ranked among the best grammar school teachers in the State. Te- hama has an excellent two-story school building, with well improved school grounds adorped with many large decidu- ous and evergreen trees. Antelope, which is a few miles east of, and across the Sacramento River from Red Bluff can boast of one of the finest country district school houses in the State. It is a modern two-story building, neatly furnished and the grounds are tastefully adorned with trees. There are sixty-six districts in our county and eighty- two teachers employed. The school census report of 1901 shows that 2448 pupils were enrolled in the public schools of Tehama County last term. In addition to our public school system, there are four private schools. The Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, which is of Cath- olic denomination, was established in 1881. Pupils receive instructions in all school branches from the kindergarten to the high school ; also in music, painting and needle work. There are sixty students enrolled in the Convent school. The private kindergarten in Red Blufif, an excellent school of its kind, is conducted by Mrs. Harte. The length of the school term is nine months and the average daily attend- ance is about twenty-three. The Seventh Day Advent school, which was established in Red Blufif in 1900, has an enrollment of twenty pupils. A private high school was established in Corning during the past winter with an enrollment of eleven students. It is under the supervision of an excellent instructor, who is a university graduate and who has had many years' experi- ence in high school work. M o rthern. California 23 OUR LUMBER INTERIISTS One of the largest sash and door factories in Northern California is located on the east side of the Sacramento River at Red Bluff. It is the property of the Sierra Lumber Company, who own thousands of acres of the finest yellow and sugar pine timber in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Their sawmills are located about forty miles east of Red Bluff at Lyonsville, in this county, where the logs are con- verted into lumber and shipped by flume to their yard and factory here at the rate of 15,000,000 feet annually. The greater part of this is manufactured into doors, sash, blinds and fruit boxes, besides the finest ornamental work for buildings. They make 100,000 doors annually which find a ready market in the East, in Australia, Hawaii and the Philippine Islands. Their trade in fruit boxes is for the orchards in California and extends south as far as San Diego and the orange groves of Pasadena and Los Angeles. At their yard and factory here they employ over one hun- dred and fifty men and boys all the year. At their mills in the mountains, they employ nearly two hundred men nine months of the year. Their payroll reaches $200,000 an- nually. They ship millions of feet in carload lots to various points by rail. They are well equipped with facilities for such shipments, having railroad tracks with numerous switches in their yard and their own locomotive that trans- fers the cars to and from the main line of the Southern Pa- cific road. The Sacramento River is spanned at this place by a magnificent steel bridge with foot walk and wagon drive. LTpon this is also the track over which the Sierra Lumber Company transfer their cars to and from the rail- road on the west side. SMYRNA riG or COMMERCE The soil and climate of California makes it the home of the fig; two, and frequently three crops maturing in a sea- son. The varieties are many but the best and most de- licious figs when dried are those from Smyrna, known in the market as Smyrna Figs. Mr. W. H. Samson, who is owner of a large nursery near M o rthe rn California 25 Corning, is a young man, almost a native of the county, who has made horticuhure a study for the past ten years, and it is to his efforts of patient research and experiment that the Smyrna fig mystery of this county has at last been re- vealed. As a result it is confidently believed that the grow- ing of this splendid fruit will become one of our leading in- dustries at no distant day. An account of the discovery and revelations made by Mr. Samson, concerning the successful propagation and growing of Smyrna figs in this county, will not be out of place here, and will give information to those of our orchardists who desire to grow a delicious and highly merchantable fruit. The trees imported by Senator Stanford some years ago were the genuine commercial Smyrna fig, but all of the "female" kind, whose bloom and bud would put forth regu- larly each season, and the young fig Avould form and bid fair to do well, but owing to the lack of certain fertilization for the bloom and young fruit, it would wither and fall from the tree. This fertilization consists of the pollen from the flowers or fruit of another or male tree, which is trans- mitted by a peculiar insect technically known as blasto- phaga. This insect germinates in the fruit of the male trees, which is known as the wild or Capri fig. It is said to grow wild in the mountain regions of Smyrna, and is of no value only to furnish fertility for the edible Smyrna fig, which, without it, would not mature. The Capri, or wild fig. was also imported to this State, and while visiting some of the nurseries in the southern part of the State, Mr. Sam- son procured several cuttings of the Capri fig besides some of the figs grown on Capri trees which had the live insects m them. He at once began experimenting with this insect fruit on the Smyrna trees of the Stanford Ranch, by con- fining the insect figs in the branches of the edible fig trees. The result was all that he could hope for, and he at once secured the exclusive right to take cuttings from the Stan- ford trees and place them in his nursery, thereby giving him the only Smyrna tree plants in Northern California, and having the insect fruit cuttings also, he is prepared to fur- 26 Tehama County nish a Smyrna \'\^ orchard on a guarantee of abundant yield of that high priced and much sought for fruit. CORNING AND MAYWOOD COLONY The writer visited the southern portion of Tehama County recently collecting data for this pamphlet, and while at Corning and JMaywood he requested a friend to aid him with a write-up of the two places. The following brief description is the result. It is not out of place here to state that the two gentlemen spoken of as being "out of a job" in 1891, is none other than the public-spirited, wide-awake real estate men, Hon. C. F. Foster and W. N. Woodson, who. by their energy and enterprise, have added thousands of dollars to the taxable wealth of Tehama Count}^ besides largely in- creasing her population. Of a truth it may be said they have "caused the desert to bloom," for the land occupied by Maywood Colony is a succession of beautiful homes, where peace, prosperity and contentment prevails : "Strange, isn't it, to what commonplace circumstances some important places owe their origin ? Take Corning for instance. Along in 1891 a couple of men found themselves out of a job — one having served out a term in the California Legislature and the other a term as Postmaster at Red Bluff. Said the ex-Postmaster, "I believe there is a market among Easterners for California land in small lots." The ex-Senator replied. "I know where the land is — the right kind of land that can be had at the right price and on the right terms." "All right," responded the retired Nasby ; and so the ex-Senator forthwith bought about $100,000 worth of land lying around the town of Corning, and to legalize the deal paid down, in cash, the munificent sum of ONE DOLLAR. That was about the amount of surplus in the treasury of the newly-formed trust, and a trust it cer- tainly was. for everything had to be bought on trust, and in the future they had to trust for business by which to pro- vide the small ( ?) balance of $99,999 still due on land ac- count. But by luck or judgment they tapped the tide at the flood, and prosperity has been flowing their way ever since. To their business they gave the name Maywood — M o rthern California 27 Maywood Colony — and in their minds there rests not a doubt but that there is something in a name ; for their Maywood Colony has drawn to it, from all parts of the earth, money in excess of three millions of dollars, and peo- ple to the number of about three thousand. And the end is not yet. In 1891 Corning was but a wheat-loading station of a size scarcely sufficient to hold its place on the railway time- table. Its support came from a few farmers round about who, for reasons unknown to themselves or anybody else, had borrowed from San Francisco and Sacramento banks from $10 to $20 per acre on their farms, and who were then engaged in the strenuous struggle of making their wheat crops meet their interest payments. Some were able to keep up the interest account, but none made any progress in cutting down the principal. And so it was that these farmers were willing to sell their land, or rather their in- terest in it, to the promoters of Maywood Colony. Corning of to-day has forgotten how it looked ten years ago, so numerous have been the changes. And now, as hustling and promising a place as Corning is, she is but the tail of the dog — Maywood Colony. Corning is simply the trading shop for Maywood. Without Maywood, Corning would close up in thirty days. Without Corning. Maywood would build another town in thirty days. Maywood has made Corning, and Coming's prosperity and continued growth depend upon Maywood's future. Maywood Colony is growing and will continue to grow and so will Corning. THi: TOWN OF TEHAMA Is situated on the Sacramento River at the junction of the railroads on the east and west sides. It is twelve miles south of Red Bluff, the county seat, eight miles north of Vina and ten miles northeast from Corning. The present population is about four hundred. Tehama is situated in the heart of one of the richest farming sections of the State. Crops of all kinds grow abundantly. The rainfall is adequate to insure paying re- turns. Snow is a rare thing. Killing frosts are seldom M orthern California 29 known. Foggy weather is scarce. In 1901 an experimental crop of sugar beets was planted on land near Tehama. The returns proved beyond question that Tehama lands are well adapted to beet culture. Some of the crop aver- aged over twenty tons per acre. The percentage of sugar was exceptionally high. It is probable that in the near future the industry will become permanent and a factory es- tablished in this vicinity. Alfalfa does well without irrigation. Vegetables thrive and about two hundred acres east of the river are devoted to this line. In 1901, fifty carloads of Irish potatoes, ten of sweet potatoes, six of beans, and five of peanuts were shipped north and south. Watermelons are also a paying crop. The fruit industry is extensive. About eight hundred acres are devoted to orchards of peaches, pears, prunes, apri- cots, figs and other fruits. The shipments of all products aside from fruit in 190T were as follows: Wheat, 75 carloads; mules, 15 carloads; cattle, 15 carloads; hay, 14 carloads; sheep, 11 carloads; hogs, 6 carloads ; vegetables, 82 tons. The Sacramento River at Tehama is spanned by a fine steel railroad drawbridge finished in 1902. Seven granite piers support the structure which is 850 feet long. The draw is 260 feet in length. This bridge is one of the finest west of the Mississippi. It is used by the county as a wagon bridge. Tehama is lighted by electricity furnished by the North- ern California Power Company. THE TOWN or VINA In the southern part of Tehama County, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, is situated the town of Vina. Here are the headquarters of the great Stanford Ranch, a body of some 5000 acres of very fertile land. There are fully 4000 acres planted to grapes, making, it is claimed, the largest vine- yard in the world. Millions of gallons of wine and brandy are here manufactured each year, which find their way to market in England, France, Germany and other foreign countries. Northern California 31 There are many orchards of deciduous and citrus fruits near Vina. The lands are rich and a bountiful yield is the result every year. The number of hands employed in the orchards near Vina, including the Stanford Ranch, during the harvesting season, is nearly 2000. Quite a large num- ber of these are kept the year round. Large bodies of our finest agricultural land have, until recently, been owned and operated by single holders. This system is no longer profitable, as the crops usually grown were grain, and owing to the steady falling off in price of all cereals, our large holders of land are sub-dividing their properties into ten and twenty-acre tracts, which brings them within the reach of the home-seeker of moderate means. On the east side of the Sacramento River from Red Bluff some 2000 acres of the choicest land in the count}' is being sub-divided and is placed on the market in small tracts. So if you are in search of a home and would engage in horticulture and sit under your own vine and fig tree, the chance of a life time to procure such is here offered. The soil is good ; water plentiful, the climate is all that could be wished. We extend a cordial invitation to the home-seeker and the home-maker, the merchant, the manufacturer, or the capitalist, who will find here a "land of promise,"" a com- munity of cvdture and refinement, and a place where boun- teous nature holds out a promise of rich reward to all who by ordinary thrift and industry invite success, and to such we offer the following information in condensed form : Sunstrokes are unknown. Water power is unexcelled. The hay harvest begins in June. Vegetables can be grown easily. The climate is very mild in winter. Earthquakes never visit this section. We have never had a failure of crops. The professions are well represented. Lightning and thunder are very unusual. Blizzards we never have, and frosts rarely. There is a steady increase in land cultivation. 32 Tehama County Snow is a curiosity, except on the mountains. The rainy season is during the winter months. No one is advised to come without some means. Tehama County excels in table and raisin grapes. Fuel is plentiful and cheap — $3.00 to $4.00 per cord. Ample facilities are here for all kinds of manufactories. Land is cheaper here than in almost any county south of us. There are large bodies of foothill land suitable for fruit culture. As the foothills and moimtains are ascended, the climate becomes cooler. The average rainfall at Red Bluff for the past twelve years is 26 inches. Tehama County has a spacious Court House and a fire- proof Hall of Records. The mildness of the winter season is the great attrac- tion of life in this section. The price of land ranges from $5 to $100 per acre, de- pending upon location, quality and improvements. Farm wages are $25.00 per month during the winter season, and $35.00 during the summer season, with board. We have good roads and bridges. One of the finest bridges on the Coast spans the Sacramento River at Red Bluff. Irrigation is but little practiced, but there is abundance of water in all parts of the county for this purpose, for all who care to use it. To the home-seeker of intelligence, refinement and culti- vation, Tehama County oft'ers a share in all that has been enumerated, a place in a community of his own kind, ample opportunity for prospering with her prosperity — Greeting and Welcome. Address all Inqxiiries to ri:d bluff CHAMBER OF COMMERCi: LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS llliliillliiliiiliillil 016 087 054 ' ■■m'^vH' ^: