Excerpt from Dottie Smith’s book, History of Cottonwood, Now and Then. Enjoy!!
1852: The first ferry. Clanton’s Ferry began operation across Cottonwood Creek and hauled people, horses, wagons and animals of all kinds. The Ferry was located near the present day Interstate 5 Bridge. Marcus Clanton was the proprietor.
Cottonwood’s major industries at this time were:
#1 Gold Mining
#2 Lumbering-logs were floated down the Sacramento River to major cities
#3 Farming
1852: The first ferry. Clanton’s Ferry began operation across Cottonwood Creek and hauled people, horses, wagons and animals of all kinds. The Ferry was located near the present day Interstate 5 Bridge. Marcus Clanton was the proprietor.
Cottonwood’s major industries at this time were:
#1 Gold Mining
#2 Lumbering-logs were floated down the Sacramento River to major cities
#3 Farming
Cottonwood, California
"Where Shasta County's 'Old West' Began"
Written By: Al Pierce
The town of Cottonwood is located at the Southern end of Shasta County, with the population split between Shasta County and Tehama County to the South. The middle branch of Cottonwood Creek forms the border between the two Counties.
Pierson B. Reading acquired a Mexican Land Grant - Rancho Buena Ventura, comprising over 26,000 acres -- in 1844, and became the first permanent non-native settler in Cottonwood, and in Shasta County.
Prior to Pierson, a tribe of Wintun peoples settled at Chuidau on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek. Native Americans had lived in the Cottonwood area for at least 13,000 years, and perhaps three times that long. These first settlers, according to many researchers, were more fishermen than hunters, and made use of abundantly available salmon, roots of various kinds, manzanita berries, piñon nuts, and acorns, as well as flowering clover. The social and political system was similar to other California tribes, and their largest unit was the village, with larger gatherings being of a temporary nature. As in many other areas, the Native Americans were both very important to the early local economy – indeed, Pierson employed them as laborers – and at the same time the targets of undiluted distrust and hatred, with many being massacred at the seemingly slightest provocation. Voluntary employment was soon replaced with legalized forced indentured servitude and apprenticeships. Though to exactly what extent in this area seems elusive.
Within ten years of the arrival of European settlers, whose numbers rapidly increased following the discovery of gold in nearby Clear Creek in 1848, there were widespread reports of starvation among the Native population, due to miners chasing them from the waterways where they were prohibited from catching salmon, as well as being forced from their traditional hunting and gathering areas.. Perhaps the only bright spot in this period was the first and only written Shasta County between the new settlers and the native population, made in Cottonwood at Major Reading's rancho, and calling for, among with things, the establishment of a 35-square mile reservation. The US Senate would not ratify the treaty and the reservation was never realized. The area remains rich in Native American artifacts, midden sites, burial sites, and other historically and culturally significant.
As the next two decades passed, Cottonwood grew from a stopover point to a major shipping point with the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1872. Ranching, timber, and agriculture became the primary industries, and remain so today, along with tourism. Today, Cottonwood still boasts many buildings dating to the 19th Century, a vital downtown with grocers, restaurants, and all the charm one would expect in a rural small town. A brand new Community Center now hosts many functions, and little-league facilities, barbecue facilities, and bike-paths make the downtown accessible and user-friendly for both residents and tourists.
Today, a drive down Main Street quickly reveals Cottonwood with one foot firmly planted in the past and the other stepping into the future.
The town of Cottonwood is located at the Southern end of Shasta County, with the population split between Shasta County and Tehama County to the South. The middle branch of Cottonwood Creek forms the border between the two Counties.
Pierson B. Reading acquired a Mexican Land Grant - Rancho Buena Ventura, comprising over 26,000 acres -- in 1844, and became the first permanent non-native settler in Cottonwood, and in Shasta County.
Prior to Pierson, a tribe of Wintun peoples settled at Chuidau on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek. Native Americans had lived in the Cottonwood area for at least 13,000 years, and perhaps three times that long. These first settlers, according to many researchers, were more fishermen than hunters, and made use of abundantly available salmon, roots of various kinds, manzanita berries, piñon nuts, and acorns, as well as flowering clover. The social and political system was similar to other California tribes, and their largest unit was the village, with larger gatherings being of a temporary nature. As in many other areas, the Native Americans were both very important to the early local economy – indeed, Pierson employed them as laborers – and at the same time the targets of undiluted distrust and hatred, with many being massacred at the seemingly slightest provocation. Voluntary employment was soon replaced with legalized forced indentured servitude and apprenticeships. Though to exactly what extent in this area seems elusive.
Within ten years of the arrival of European settlers, whose numbers rapidly increased following the discovery of gold in nearby Clear Creek in 1848, there were widespread reports of starvation among the Native population, due to miners chasing them from the waterways where they were prohibited from catching salmon, as well as being forced from their traditional hunting and gathering areas.. Perhaps the only bright spot in this period was the first and only written Shasta County between the new settlers and the native population, made in Cottonwood at Major Reading's rancho, and calling for, among with things, the establishment of a 35-square mile reservation. The US Senate would not ratify the treaty and the reservation was never realized. The area remains rich in Native American artifacts, midden sites, burial sites, and other historically and culturally significant.
As the next two decades passed, Cottonwood grew from a stopover point to a major shipping point with the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1872. Ranching, timber, and agriculture became the primary industries, and remain so today, along with tourism. Today, Cottonwood still boasts many buildings dating to the 19th Century, a vital downtown with grocers, restaurants, and all the charm one would expect in a rural small town. A brand new Community Center now hosts many functions, and little-league facilities, barbecue facilities, and bike-paths make the downtown accessible and user-friendly for both residents and tourists.
Today, a drive down Main Street quickly reveals Cottonwood with one foot firmly planted in the past and the other stepping into the future.
Snapshots from Cottonwood's History
Pictures provided by: CCWG Arcives and The Shasta Historical Society.
