THE HISTORY OF MY VALLEY.....A Brief Introduction! By Gail L. Jenner

Tucked away between the mountains surrounding our rural valley in Northern Californa lay three smaller valleys that have contributed substantially to this region's mineral, agricultural and economic base since the 1850s: Scott Valley, Quartz Valley, and Seiad Valley. The three mountain valleys are home to approximately 8,000 people today. Historically, of course, this land was home to thousands more, including the local tribes -- the Shasta and the Karuk. This area is still considered a rugged region, with the Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Klamath National Forest, the Trinity-Salmon Alps and 45 miles away, the majestic Mt. Shasta (part of the Cascade Range). It is home to my husband's family -- now a fifth generation cattle ranch. I have been married to my cowboy/ranching husband for nearly 43 years.

Taylor Lake in the Salmon Mountains.

Russian fur trappers possibly entered the region as early as 1825, and Jedediah Smith reportedly crossed through the Trinity Mountains above the mouth of the Klamath River in 1828. But it was the Hudson Bay trappers Stephen Meek, Thomas McKay, George Aldophus Duzel, and sixteen other men – along with a number of horses – who discovered the area called Beaver Valley in 1836 (now called Scott Valley). Stephen Meek later declared that Scott Valley had been one of the best places to trap beaver and wild game he’d ever seen, and though he went on to hunt and trap all over the West, he returned to the Josiah Doll ranch in Scott Valley in 1871. Here he lived until his death at the age of 90, and when he died in 1889, he was buried in the Etna Cemetery. Today there are still a number of ‘potholes’ near Oro Fino that are supposedly remnants from the days when trappers dug out great fire pits. And until a few years ago, the remains of a two-story “sod house” could be found where the local high school football field is now. According to local historian Bill Balfrey, whose grandmother knew its original history, the structure had been an early “fort” for the Hudson Bay trappers.

Stephen Meek, brother to Joseph Meek, mountain man, trapper,

As with the rest of California, it was the great Gold Rush of 1849 that opened the doors to Siskiyou County. Harry L. Wells, in HISTORY OF SISKIYOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, credits the first mining in this region to Lindsay Applegate who traveled south from Jacksonville, Oregon, in 1849 to mine along Beaver Creek, the Klamath, and the Scott River. In June of 1850, however, prospectors from the Trinity River crossed the Salmon-Trinity Alps and found enough gold to whet their appetites. John W. Scott, from whom the valley and river later derived their names, discovered gold at “Scott’s Bar”.  

Within a year, the “northern mines” were drawing prospectors from every part of the world – perhaps as many as 20,000 – who, “like coveys of scared quail, scuttled hither and thither”.  Without roads, the only manner of travel was by foot or by mule train. Few stayed in one place long, though settlements throughout the region boasted booming populations at various times. Hamburg, for instance, a tiny spot on today’s map, swelled to a population of about 5,000. Somes Bar, at the junction of the Klamath and Salmon rivers, listed 500-1000 men in 1852, though by 1908, had little more than a store and hotel. Deadwood, a settlement established at the forks of Deadwood and Cherry Creeks, grew to such prominence that it vied for county seat. Yreka, today’s county seat, won its title by only two votes, while Deadwood no longer exists – except in the memories of a few “old-timers”.

The timber industry developed simultaneously in this part of Northern California and mills were established all over. Mining continued well into the Twentieth Century and even during the Great Depression, miners flocked to the region, staking claims and setting up temporary settlements in the national forests. Along with mining and logging/timber, of course, the region became a dominant agricultural area, in particular a livestock producing region. With these high mountain valleys, food crops are not sustainable, but livestock thrives. It continues to be an area dominated by livestock.

Cattle thrive in this rugged mountain valley, elevation 3000 feet.

My husband's family came with the gold rush: E.P. Jenner arrived in 1849 and the Wagners arrived in the 1850s. The Wagners began farming in the 1850s and the Jenners took up farming in the 1870s. Today the family is in its fifth generation with the sixth generation beginning to participate in life on the ranch. The ranch is a storehouse of memories and artifacts -- and I'll share some of those old memories and stories in future blogs! The inspiration it provides is part of the reason I continue to write and collect local history. It needs to be preserved!
A handful of my "own" ranching stories I've included in the upcoming ANKLE HIGH AND KNEE DEEP, an anthology of farm/ranching women's "voices" -- to be released in June by TwoDot/Globe Pequot. For a preview of the book, check it out on amazon.com: ANKLE HIGH AND KNEE DEEP -- coming in June 2014.

For more about my books, check out: www.gailjenner.com or visit my Prairie Rose Publications page at: http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/gail-l-jenner.phphttp://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/gail-l-jenner.php