California, Plumas County, Chester
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The oldest operating bakery in Plumas County. Built by Carl Giese in 1955. This being the 50th anniversary. Bakery first ran by Mr. Murphy, first name unknown. The bakery located on corner of Hwy 36 & Old Hwy 89, formerly called Carl’s Corner. Owned and operated by Ed and Marsha Groover since 1978.
(Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The oldest operating bakery in Plumas County. Built by Carl Giese in 1955. This being the 50th anniversary. Bakery first ran by Mr. Murphy, first name unknown. The bakery located on corner of Hwy 36 & Old Hwy 89, formerly called Carl’s Corner. Owned and operated by Ed and Marsha Groover since 1978.(Industry & Commerce) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Baccala Ranch located here in Soldier Meadows was homesteaded in 1858 by Baptiste Baccala. A dairy where butter and cheese were produced from 1882 – 1915, and the ranch, are still intact and owned by the Italian – Swiss Family Baccala.
You are in the historic homeland of the Mountain Maidu people, where their spirits still linger to guard sacred sites in this pristine valley... where they lived free for thousands of years... their paradise.
These soda springs were used by the Maidu Indians since time immemorial. Gold mines were discovered here in 1850. Andrew Miller first saw the valley in 1849 and returned in 1850 to homestead, raise a family, build a store and hotel. Many homes and businesses followed and a post office was established in 1860. Jones & Walleck built a water powered sawmill here in 1858. Allen Wood & W.B. Long built a hotel in 1858 which burned in 1859. A second hotel built in 1860 and burned in 1871. The Longville Hotel on the Dogtown – Honey Lake Road burned in 1917 with the loss of two children. The Miller mansion was built in 1909. The Lemm Ranch has remained in the same family since 1867. Nearby a cemetery holds valley pioneers.
Waters from this spring have been used for generations by the Mountain Maidu and local ranchers. The ground water here flows naturally through calcium carbonate rocks, creating a characteristic fizz or soda taste. Such waters have long been attributed with medicinal value. The rocking in the spring basin was constructed in 1903 by Frank L. Miller, whose parents were early immigrants to the valley. Pacific Gas and Electric Company has restored Soda Springs and constructed these facilities for public use.
This site was first settled in 1850.
On these 4 corners was the Old Town of Paradise, known in the 1860’s as Leonard’s Mill. Just north was the mill, hotel and stage stop. To the N.E. was a turpentine distillery. To the east was the school. The Paradise post office was established and a Sunday school organized in 1877. Church was held in the Good Templars Lodge Hall on S.W. corner in 1882 next to a grocery store and doctor’s office. First Church built to the S.E. in 1869. Here was a blacksmith and wagon shop and saloon. Old Town waned after it was bypassed by the railroad in 1909.
This highway was opened to auto traffic on August 14, 1937 as State Route 24. It was later changed to State Route 40A and finally to State Route 70. The initial cost of this 70 mile stretch was 8 million dollars, the cost of repair from the February 1986 flood was over 10 million. On October 2, 1987 a celebration was held at the Plumas County Courthouse in Quincy celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Feather River Highway. Stanley C. Young, Plumas County Superior Court Judge, was chairman of the celebration.
The Eby Stamp Mill is an example of the type of facility used in hard rock gold mining to crush ore. It is one of the few stamp mills left, and recalls the Feather River’s history as a rich gold mining area.
In the early 1930’s Clinton C. Clarke offered to the world his vision of a continuous trail stretching from Canada through 3 states to Mexico. “Along the summit divide of the mountain ranges traversing the best scenic areas and maintaining an absolute wilderness character.” The virtue of such a trail said Clarke, would be in helping to preserve wild areas and in encouraging people of “our too artificial civilization” to return to a simpler life and an appreciation of nature & the outdoors.
Mr. J.B. Nash, often referred to as “The Father of Recreation” was Superintendent of the Oakland Recreation Dept. from 1917-1926. He recognized the value of people working and playing together in a camp setting & loved the outdoors. In 1921, he leased land from the National Forest Service & launched the camping program in Oakland.
“Had a hard road, crooked & rocky. Had to cross (Greenhorn) creek 8 times in going 5 miles. Got down to the New England Ranch at noon, camped here for today.” - Chester Smith, Sep. 27, 1852.
Present-day La Joya is located near the site of an ancient Piro Indian Pueblo that the Spanish named Nueva Sevilla, or Sevilleta. During the eighteenth century, this was the southernmost settlement along the Camino Real before the travelers ended the despoblado, or uninhabited area, between here and El Paso del Norte. Every fall, caravans assembled here in preparation for this portion of the journey.
First home built here
Site of
One block to the south is the site of the discovery of hard rock phosphate in Florida by Albertus Vogt in 1889. It made Dunnellon a boom town and first center of the industry. The Tiger Rag, Early Bird and Eagle mines were among the most valuable. The Marion County Phosphate Co. was the first to operate extensively. Phosphates are still mined in the area, but since 1900 the center of production has shifted elsewhere.
The Gillett-Loyce Cemetery is named for David Gillett, the land owner, and the early nearby settlement, Loyce, in 1898. Mr. Gillett donated the one-acre site in memory of his dear wife, Rosa.
Among those buried here are veterans if the War Between the States, the Spanish-American war and subsequent wars. The cemetery is reserved for the descendants of David Gillett.
Near this site was located the first public supported school within the present limits of the City of Clearwater. Known as the Taylor Schoolhouse, erected in 1854. The surnames of the pupils included Taylor, Turner, McMullen, Henderson, Johnson, White, Stevenson, Brownlow and Whitehurst, all early settlers of this county.
Constructed 1909
