Thompson & West on Rose Bar

This well known bar has the honor of being the first point on Yuba river, where gold was discovered. Jonas Spect, of Colusa, found gold at this point, June 2, 1848, but not in paying quantities, and went further down the stream. The next man we hear of at Rose Bar, was a Mr. Inman, later in June; Claude Chana, of Wheatland, came there a few days after. He says: - "I met a man named Inman, who came overland with me in 1846, just before I got to the bar. He said he had been working there a few days, but could only make five dollars per day and so left to find a better place." Chana, however, went on to the bar and commenced to work, and with five Indians, made one hundred and fifty dollars each the first day, at the same spot Inman had deserted. They simply dug a little deeper. This was the first actual working of the bar. In July, 1848, John Rose came to the bar with about a dozen men, from the American river. Accompanying the party was John Ray, with his wife and several children. This was the first family at the bar.

That fall John Rose and his partner, William J. Reynolds, started a store at the bar. Rose did the buying at Sacramento, and in that way the locality became known as Rose Bar. Jonas Spect had a store here, kept by Mr. McIlvain. Most of the company abandoned the place that fall, but others arriving, increased the number to twenty-five by the first of January, 1849. There had been heretofore room enough, and to spare. The miners were not confined to any particular location, but worked at any point that suited their fancy. When the miners began to arrive from the East, it became a little crowded, and in the spring of 1849 a meeting was held, at which it was decided that a claim should be one hundred feet square, and that the miner should be confined to his claim. Rose, Reynolds and Kinloch, a young man they had taken into partnership, furnished beef from their ranch in Linda township.

In September, 1849, a company of fifty men, among whom was William H. Parks, commenced to dam the river, so as to mine the bed. They completed the dam, and commenced work early in October. The rain set in on the eighth, and in two days the water overflowed the dam and washed it away. In the few days' work they had taken out one thousand dollars each. A few days before the destruction of the dam, Mr. Parks sold out, and with an experienced baker started a store, bakery, and boarding house. During the year the bar became very populous, and in 1850, there were two thousand men working here. At that time there were three stores, one of which was kept by Baker & States, three boarding houses, two saloons, bakeries, blacksmith shops, etc. The course of the river was turned seven consecutive years, the last time in 1857. But little work was done here after that, and now the bar is covered by tailings from the mines, many feet in depth. When the high water came during the winter of 1849, the miners moved back into the ravines, where they found very rich surface diggings. Squaw creek was a very rich locality.
 
from Thompson & West's "History of Yuba County" - 1879.


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Thompson & West on Sucker Flat

GATESVILLE, OR SUCKER FLAT

The latter name was given it because Gates was a native of Illinois. A store was started here that winter by a man named McCall. Rose Bar was on the river and Sucker Flat just back of it, the two places being practically one. In 1851, the joint population was three hundred men and five women. The nearest post-office was at Parks Bar, a few miles below and on the opposite side of the Yuba river. Rose & Reynolds closed out their business in 1850. L.B. Clark had a store at Rose Bar also. When the bar began to be worked out and the hydraulic mines were developed, Sucker Flat became quite a town, and Rose Bar was abandoned. Daniel Donohue purchased McCall's old store in 1853, and a few other stores were started. In 1858, a fire destroyed Donohue's store, several other small stores, and a great many dwellings. Rose Bar is now covered up with tailings from the mines, and Sucker Flat is simply a place of residence for the men who work in the hydraulic mines. There are now three small saloons, two boarding houses, and from fifty to sixty miners' cottages. The population is about three hundred. Smartsville is now the base of supplies for the people of Sucker Flat.

from Thompson & West's "History of Yuba County" - 1879.

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Thompson and West on Smartsville

James Smart built a hotel at this place in the spring of 1856. This was the first building except a few cabins, here and there, occupied by the miners. The only large settlements at that time were Timbuctoo and Sucker Flat. L.B. Clark bought the place in 1857, and kept a store. The hotel is now owned by B. Smith. A saloon was started in 1856, also a small store was kept by a Mr. Shearer. As the mines began to develop the place gradually to settle up, until at present, it is a thriving mining town. The old cemetery on the hill, near the Empire Ranch, was first used in 1852, for the burial of a man from Oregon. This was followed by the entombing of several men who died with cholera. About three years ago a mine caved in at Sucker Flat, killing seven men, who were all buried in one day. A little further up the road is the Fraternal Cemetery, laid out by the Masons, Odd Fellows, and Good Templars, in 1875. Until a few years ago the remains of Catholics were taken to Marysville to be interred in the Catholic cemetery there; but a fine burial ground has since been laid out, just across the ravine and south of the town.

Smartsville now contains two churches, one school house, one Masonic hall, one post-office, one Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express office, one Western Union telegraph office, two hotels, two livery stables, four saloons, two general stores, two drug stores, one lumber yard, one meat market, one barber shop, two shoemaker shops, one tin shop, one blacksmith shop, one private school, three physicians, one notary public and insurance agent, four carpenters, and about sixty dwelling houses. The population at present is about four hundred. The first public school was built across the road from the present one in 1856, and was taught by a Mr. Savage. A private school was taught by Miss Slayter and Miss Stevens. The site of their school has been mined away, and the building has been moved to its present locality, and is now used as a private school-room by Mrs. J.V. Berry. Mrs. Berry taught the public school from 1857 to 1872, and since then has taught private school. She has had seventy-two scholars at one time in the latter. In 1873, the school building was removed from Timbuctoo, and joined to the one at this place. The Rose Bar school district now embraces Smartsville, Timbuctoo, and Sucker Flat.

There was a brick kiln here in 1857, or 1858, near the school house, where a few bricks were made of sediment. The material did not make a good quality brick, and the business was given up.

from Thompson & West's "History of Yuba County" - 1879.

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TIMBUCTOO

The first mining was done in the ravines about Timbuctoo in 1850; William Monigan, who had a store at Rose Bar in 1850, was one of the first to work here. A negro was working in one of the ravines, and from this fact the ravine near town was christened Timbuctoo by William Monigan and L.B. Clark. A number of cabins were early built in the vicinity, but the first house was erected by William Gregory, early in 1855. It still stands just east of the post-office. A hotel was built in February, 1855, by Jacob Dufford. It stood across the road from the post-office, and was burned in the fire of June, 1878. Timbuctoo was the largest and most thriving locality in the township in 1859. At that time there were two hotels, six boarding houses, eight saloons in addition to the bars in the hotels and boarding houses, one bank, one drug store, two general stores, three clothing and dry good stores, three shoe shops, one blacksmith shop, two carpenter shops, one lumber yard, one livery stable, one barber shop, three bakeries, two tobacco and cigar stores, one church, and one theater. Another hotel was built in 1861, and a school house in 1862. The vote of this precinct was at its highest about eight hundred, and the total population about twelve hundred. In 1859, a union church was built by subscriptions of the citizens and a saloon was remodeled for this purpose. The Methodist Episcopal denomination was the only one that had a regular organization.

In 1878, the church was sold, torn down, and the materials used in the construction of a barn. In 1859, a fine wooden theater with a brick basement was erected. It had a seating capacity of eight hundred, and was frequently occupied by traveling companies. The old ruin still stands on the north side of the road, and is now occupied by Chinamen. The first school at Timbuctoo was kept by a Mr. Potter in 1856. The public school house was built in 1862. In 1873, it was moved to Smartsville, and joined to the one at that place. The cemetery, lying just west of the place, was started in 1855. The first burial was that of the three men shot by Jim Webster in 1855. It was fenced in two years later. In Jun 1878, a fire destroyed the post office, a meat market, saloon, the first hotel, and several dwellings. The population is at present about two hundred whites and one hundred and fifty Chinese. A.W. Thorp is post-master, and keeps a saloon and small stock of varieties. Besides this, there are one small general store, four Chinese stores, one Chinese wash house, and about thirty dwelling houses.

from Thompson & West's "History of Yuba County" - 1879.

 

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