Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Angor 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 27, 2006, 3:02 am Book Title: History Of Butte County BANGOR. This little hamlet, though at one time of considerable importance as a mining-camp, cannot date its existence, as such, as far back as many other places in Butte county. The first permanent settlements were made there in 1855, by L. C. Hyland and J. R. Lumbert and brother, who opened two stores something over a quarter of a mile apart. Hyland laid out a town around his premises, and had a finely-executed plat with about two hundred blocks marked out upon it recorded at the county-seat. Hylandville looked quite imposing on paper. There were several squares reserved for the public use, and one immense park in the centre, as though the designer apprehended at some future period lack of play-room in his imaginary city. The utmost development that Hylandville ever reached was the single store built by the founder of the city. The Lumbert brothers, though they laid out no town, were fortunate enough to originate a flourishing mining-camp, which took the name of the pine-tree city whence they hailed from—Bangor. It was located about two miles from the south Honcut on the east, being in the southeast part of Wyandotte township as now defined. Considerable prospecting was carried on for a year or two without much results, but in the spring of 1857, the miners struck pay-dirt in the blue lead, at depths varying from sixty to one hundred and twenty feet. Immediately the gold-seekers flocked thither, swelling the population of the camps to eight, hundred in a very short time. The principal companies that sank shafts there were the Oroville Company, the Floyd, the Tucker and the Boyle. Beneath the town there is a well-defined river channel which dips rapidly to the northwest. Most of the holes were worked profitably for some time. At this period Bangor could boast of three hotels and two restaurants. The Bangor Exchange was kept by Samuel Delaney, who took the palm in all that region for his unbounded loquacity, which earned for him the characteristic soubriquet of "Blow-hard." A. Swain, one of the very first settlers of Wyandotte township, presided as landlord and proprietor of the Bangor House, which was the pioneer caravansary of the place. Bangor also had four stores. Besides the Lumbert establishment and the Hyland bazaar, was a store kept by Joseph C. Potter, and another by a man to us unknown. In addition to Wells, Fargo & Co.'s bank and express office, were four lively saloons and three blacksmith-shops, all of which comprised the business of the place. Bangor in her palmy days was favored liberally with stage connections. Two daily stages came from Oroville, and one from Marysville. All were loaded with passengers coming and going. Bangor now has only one stage, a tri-weekly, being on the line of the Marysville and LaPorte stage-route. The first school established in Bangor was a private affair. In 1858, a man named Cole was hired by the citizens to teach the young ideas of Bangor in a small shanty with a dirt floor. He was followed by the pedagogue Selby, and in turn superceded by W. A. Jones, who had the honor also of teaching the first public school of Bangor. The present school-building was erected in 1876. An immense amount of prospecting has been done in and around Bangor. The Fraser river excitement caused a great many to abandon their shafts before striking pay dirt, and a permanent check was given to the further growth of the town. Some time in the year 1858, a desperately hard case came into town with his "pal," who was an effeminate youth of jaunty appearance. They appeared to be "flush," and for several days held high carnival among the alcoholic spirits of the place. Finally a man called Fox ferreted them out and instructed a constable to arrest them, charging them with having stopped a Catholic priest on the road between Kentucky ranch and Honcut city, and relieved him of a $300-watch and $200 in coin that the holy man had collected from the charitably-disposed, for an orphan asylum, a few days previous. He also announced that the man was Jim Webster, an escaped convict from San Quentin, and that his affectionate "pal" was none other than a blooming young damsel who had attached herself to his precarious fortunes. The officer was a discreet man. He proceeded to take into custody the young woman as she crossed the street alone, but while conversing with her in the official dialect of his profession, Jim emerged from a saloon, saw at a glance the position affairs had taken, and acted with a promptness born only of a desperate resolve. As the constable turned to see who approached him, he looked into the inviting chambers of a Colt's navy, six inches away. Being requested in strong terms to let the young man go, he complied with alacrity, and the pair, hand in hand, went rapidly up the street towards the country. Cries of "shoot them" were followed by several harmless shots from those who had witnessed the bold performance. One man had them covered with his rifle, when the hoarse voice of Drake, saying, "Let 'em go; they've only robbed a d____d old priest," stayed the miner's arm, and he allowed them to escape. This was the notorious Jim Webster, who caused so much trouble in Nevada county. In 1860, a large portion of the town was burned. The fire started in a livery-stable, and after consuming several valuable animals, spread out promiscuously, taking in its track a hotel, three saloons, and a number of dwelling-houses. Some were of the opinion that the conflagration was caused by the spite of a desperate female character known as Madame Franklin. A year or so before she had been on trial for arson, charged with burning property of Mr. Swain and others. Among the exploits related of this remarkable woman was a slight domestic broil between herself and her husband. He was seen to emerge hastily from their domicile, pursued closely by his loving wife, who sought to caress him with a bowie-knife whose blade was ten inches in length. She wanted his heart, she said, but he was obstinate enough not to give it without the rest of his person. He sidled into a hotel and took refuge in a boarder's room while the occupant was present. The poet has said in effect that "Stone walls do not a prison make;" how puerile, then, must be the barrier offered by a panelled door to the insinuating arts of woman! The madame effected an entrance only to find the object of her pursuit flown through a window and discounting the hurricane's speed down the busy thououghfare. Strange to say, this little affair caused a coolness between man and wife, and they broke up house-keeping—all that had not been broken before—each going a separate way. On the tenth of October, 1864, the Bangor Guards, of the fifth brigade California militia, were mustered into the service of the state. The first equipment, consisting of forty muskets, bayonets, etc., and officers' pharaphernalia, were received on the twenty-eighth inst. Six months after the company had increased sufficiently to warrant another equipment of war apparatus. In March, 1865, there were sixty-one names enrolled with the guards. The first officers were as follows: captain, James A. Watson; lieutenant, George E. Soul; sergeants, Samuel Frew, James Varnum, Robert McCouslin, Gardner Osgood and Henry Haffendon; corporals, Jethro Swain, Archibald Andrews, John Espy and Andrew Kitchen. During their existence as a military body, the Bangor Guards did a noble work in raising means for the sanitary fund. Several sanitary balls were given, at one of which there were raised $272. For some time the town contributed, through the efforts of the guards, an average of sixty dollars a month. The Bangor Guards were also good at target practice, for want of anything else to shoot at. They won the second prize at a tournament in Marysville, the first going to the Oroville Guards. At another match, in Oroville, they took the prize away from all competitors. In the spring of 1866 they disbanded. Though Bangor never produced gold quartz, it was found that the blue cement or gravel could be crushed by the same process and the gold extracted. In 1869, the North American company, of San Juan, put up an eight-stamp mill in Bangor, which ran two years. It was then purchased by George C. Perkins, and the machinery taken to Oregon gulch. At the same time, the Oroville company put up a four-stamp mill, which was finally sold to a company in Yuba county. The mining in that section is now carried on by Chinamen. Bangor, at present, has a population of about a hundred. The trade is carried on by Dr. John E. Allen and T. F. Shattuck. The Bangor hotel is run by Mrs. Payne, and the blacksmithing performed by A. A. Andrews. Bangor has two churches, the United Brethren and the Methodist. The former was built three years ago, J. W. Burtner being the present pastor. The latter dates its existence in the place from 1861, and the minister is Rev. S. Kinsey. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, IN TWO VOLUMES. I. HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA FROM 1513 TO 1850. BY FRANK T. GILBERT. The Great Fur Companies and their Trapping Expeditions to California. Settlement of the Sacramento Valley. The Discovery of Gold in California. BY HARRY L. WELLS. II. HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. BY HARRY L. WELLS AND W. L. CHAMBERS. BOTH VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS AND PORTRAITS. HARRY L. WELLS, 517 CLAY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 1882. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by HARRY L. WELLS, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. FRANCIS, VALENTINE & Co., Engravers & Printers 517 Clay St., San Francisco File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/butte/history/1882/historyo/angor183nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 10.3 Kb