The Fender brothers, Aaron and William, built a ferry across the Pit River near Potem Creek in approximately 1900. A few years later in 1914, a bridge was built near the place where the ferry crossed. Today's Fender's Ferry Road...

Shasta County had two: The 42-mile-long Blue Ridge Flume and the 32-mile-long Terry Mill Flume. The flumes transported rough-cut lumber from the mountain sawmills down to the valley sawmills. They went only one way - down. Water was diverted into...

First, I want to offer my condolences to Siskiyou County for the loss of part of their heritage. What a terrible loss it is. I clearly remember the feeling I had when I heard that St. Rose's Catholic Church in...

Our much-loved neighborhood one-lane bridge across Swede Creek in Palo Cedro is now history; it has been replaced with a new bridge. In all honesty, I liked the one-lane bridge much better because it was safe (tests said it...

It was Harrison Gulch, located way out in western Shasta County, named for W. R. Harrison, elected in 1850. During the winter after his election, he walked to Hamilton, the county seat of Butte County, took the oath of office...

Did someone make a mistake? No. When Shasta was in its early years, a wagon road was established between Red Bluff and Shasta. It was used mainly to transport the tons of supplies and merchandise taken off the steamboats in...

Most people automatically think of Middle Creek Road as the road where the Ruggles brothers robbed a stagecoach and killed the popular guard Buck Montgomery. And that is true. The road begins at Red Bluff Road in lower Shasta and...

Fear was high during World War II that Japan would bomb the west coast. One of the things done was to keep a watchful eye on the skies. To do this, many air raid warning towers were built. Little ole'...

It goes all the way back to 1853 when Sylvester Langdon purchased the land from John Ogburn. Sylvester met his fate at the hands of a bear on nearby Bear Creek just four years later in 1857. He was buried...

A possible wheel from the J. G. Kellogg locomotive has been found in the Sacramento River. The wheel was found by Wes and Rachelle Lewis of Anderson while salmon fishing near the mouth of Cow Creek. They saw it in...

Can you imagine living without bread? Today all we have to do is go to the store and buy a loaf. Simple. It wasn't that easy for our pioneers. To make bread you need flour. To get flour to make...

Millville was the leading eastern Shasta County town second only to Shasta in population until the railroad arrived in 1872 and established Redding signaling the end of Millville's glory days. During the late 1850s and throughout the 1860s, the town...

The Fall River Mills Airport, also known as Tonkin Field, is located off Main Street in downtown Fall River Mills. What is now the airport was originally a dirt strip used by the Red River Lumber Company of Westwood....

At one time the hotel was advertised as the place "where the wicked ceased from troubling and the weary were at rest." The hotel was located at the junction of Oak Run Road and Reid's Toll Road beside Cedar Creek...

Chet Sunde, proud member of the local Grindstone Club, sent me the following information. The first paragraph is his greeting to fellow club members, the last paragraph is the eye opener. Thanks Chet! Gentlemen, Ironically (now that our unseasonably sunny...

When Chauncey C. Bush, Father of Redding died in 1907, he was buried in the Redding Cemetery. On May 14, 1920, his body was disenterred and transported to Oakland where he was laid to rest beside his wife in an...

Just received an email from Honey Bandit's "Mom" Palomino Armstrong. Thought you'd be interested. HONEY BANDIT attended an awards presentation for the two local winners of our writing contest. The winners wrote about "Why Wild Horses Should Be Free". Xander,...

This is the Spowart Williams family posing for the camera in front of the Schilling Post Office at Whiskeytown during the early 1940s. The photo was sent to me by Facebook friend Leslie Williams Schwerdt. Anyone remember the post office?...

I've known about this rock for some time. It's located three miles off the coast in Humboldt County and was a favorite fishing place for sport fishermen. I say "was" because new fishing regulations prohibit fishing near the rock making...

When it stood, it was the second oldest house in Shasta. It was named The House of Seven Gables for its seven gables and had nothing to do with that "other" house in Salem, MA. The following info is taken...

This is the last map of Shasta County - before Shasta Lake and Keswick Reservoir....

This photo was taken by friend Patty Carlile, aka "Salmon Patty" on Dec. 31, 2011. Completion day is scheduled for May 1st. This new cement pier is being constructed on the same "footprint" of the existing wooden pier. Meanwhile, all...

I wrote a story on January 6 and stated that the well known Big Wheels Restaurant at Shingletown was "...a thing of the past". My reasons were that the owners telephone was disconnected with no forwarding number, he had moved...

In June of 1960 the new owners of the famous caverns announced the caverns were being developed and would open in the fall. Former owner Mrs. Grace Tucker of Redding and Berkeley sold the caverns to Roy, Glenn and Edward...

It was a really bad flood and happened at a really bad time - right in the middle of the construction of Shasta Dam. Remains of the concrete building on the left still stands at Turtle Bay. It was the...

Attention treasure hunters. This story is from the Riverside Daily Press, is dated 12-6-1910, and was sent to me by genealogist and friend Marilyn Rountree. I guess you could say this story is worth its weight in gold... ANCIENT COINS...

On July 1, 1952, after one hundred years of requests, the federal government finally granted the post office at Whiskeytown the name Whiskeytown. Everyone was so happy a celebration was held that included square and folk dancing, a play named...

Sorry everyone, I'm temporarily cancelling the History Mystery Photo Contest. It'll be back in approximately a month. Sorry for the inconvenience :-(...

Yes, there are two. The most well-known is in Cottonwood and serves as the dividing line between Shasta and Tehama counties. The not-so-well-known other Cottonwood Creek is south of Shasta Dam and south of Coram. The photo shows the other...

In 2009, Becca Howsmon of Becca's Café in Anderson and I took up the cause to help a 7-year-old Cottonwood boy who had been nearly beaten to death by his stepmother Rachel Limon. We named him the "Christmas Boy" because...

Don't know when this photo was taken but it had to have been close to 1943 when it fell to the ground, a victim of vandalism, neglect, and the elements. This was the home of Shasta County's first permanent settler,...

...

Don't know the year this picture was taken but considering the years of the cars, I'd say around 1940, but then, I'm not a good judge of car years. Maybe someone out there has a better answer than I, and...

Jeremey Kelley of Redding found this interesting mystery object beside the edge of the Sacramento River near the river trail. I don't have a clue what it is. Does anyone want to make a wild guess what they believe it...

...

Grass didn't grow under the feet of Herbert Bass, son of pioneer John. He was involved in many businesses that included ownership of general merchandise stores in Montgomery Creek and Ingot, a stopping place/hotel in Montgomery Creek, partner in...

The mystery photo is the Hillcrest Lodge/restaurant and Bob Parker guessed it correctly at 9:17 a.m. Congratulations Bob! He's won himself a $10 gift certificate from River City Java to spend on anything he chooses and also a winner's wall...

What was the name of this once popular place? Welcome to the weekly History Mystery Photo Contest. If you're the first person to give the correct answer, you'll win a $10 gift certificate from River City Java plus an award...

This is just about the cutest picture I've seen in a long time and it's so cute I decided to post it here. The bathing beauties are brother and sister Fisk and Nora Ehn of Boulder, Colorado, grandchildren of cattle...

It happened in 1946. The switch was thrown at 10 p.m. and 28 lamps lit up along the main thoroughfare through the business district and intersections throughout the residential area. August Duval was the oldest settler of the small community...

It's sort of creepy looking, but yes, it was a hospital. It once stood on the northwest corner of Tehama and Oregon Streets in 1900. It advertised itself as a private sanitarium complete with medical, surgical, and obstetric services, an...

That's it standing on the right. The building on the left still exists; it's the Masonic Lodge at Shasta. The Armory Hall was deeded to the Masonic Lodge. But the Masons didn't have the money to maintain it. In 1935...

At the time, it was an exciting event. The big day was May 24, 1958 and the official change-over came complete with a marching band marching south on Market Street and north on Pine Street. Even though the change took...

...

We are always reminded of the holidays when we are driving north of Red Bluff on Interstate 5 just before we approach the roadside rest area. Standing there all by itself is a sad looking tree all decked out with...

The little white fenced cemetery is the graveyard for Major Pierson B. Reading, Shasta County's first white permanent settler. And "mrchevy1957" is our winner! Congratulations Mr. Chevy! He has won himself a $10 gift certificate from River City Java plus...

Who is buried in this private cemetery? Welcome to the weekly History Mystery Photo Contest. If you're the first person to give the correct answer, you'll win a $10 gift certificate from River City Java plus an award certificate with...

They were called "Free Bridges" because they didn't charge tolls. Shasta County had three. The first Free Bridge was located across Clear Creek in the 1850s at the same place where the wooden-floored footbridge stands in the Tower House Historic...

It was a huge steel bridge - 320 ft. long and at the time the longest steel span in California. All that remains of the bridge are the concrete piers just south of the present Cypress Street bridge. Where did...

Most of the dredging machines were like this one, big as houses. And they didn't need much water to operate. They operated in many places throughout the gold mining areas. And the evidence that they were here still exists -...