Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Stringtown And Enterprise 1882
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 27, 2006, 1:56 am

Book Title: History Of Butte County

STRINGTOWN AND ENTERPRISE.

    Among the early mining-camps which can hardly be said to have an existence
now, are Stringtown and Enterprise, in Mountain Spring township, on the south
fork of the Feather river. People had settled at Stringtown as early as 1849,
and in the winter of that year numbers of miners were scattered around through
the adjoining hills and ravines. The cabins of the camp extended some distance
up and down the river, and it is believed the name of Stringtown was given the
place because it strung out so long. In 1850, half a mile up the stream, a large
store was opened by Dr. Powell and B. F. Forbes, the founder of Forbestown. At
this point the river was being flurried. Stringtown became very populous this
year, and there were several general trading establishments, butcher-shops,
saloons and gambling-houses. Dr. Willoughby tended to the physical ailments of
the camp. We give a few names of those who were living there in 1850: M. Scott,
G. B. Young, S. C. Caldwell, Thomas Wells, R. Horton, John Patton, Peter Mullen,
Noah Welch, Henry Powell, John C. Stout, J. J. Coles, S. H. Winters, J. W. King
and James I. Carpenter.

    In 1852, the Union Enterprise Company flumed the river a mile above
Stringtown, and took out considerable wealth. Connected with the company were N.
D. Plum, James Forbes, Cannon brothers, Webster, Varney, W. B. Safford and
others. The fluming operations were quite extensive and a goodly number of men
were employed, who formed a camp that took the name of Enterprise, from the
title of the company. A big canvas boarding-house and store was the first
mercantile venture, which was soon followed by others. In 1853, both the towns
were flourishing greatly and the mining was excellent. G. G. Marquis, now of
Concow valley, was for a year or two one of Stringtown's enterprising merchants.
In 1855, the Feather River and Ophir Water Company started to build its ditch
from Enterprise to Oroville. For several years both these towns were very lively
in the winters, when the miners were driven out of the mountains by storms, but
they both gradually decayed. Extensive quartz-mining has been carried on near
them in the past ten years. Three and one-half miles north of Enterprise is the
old Trojan ledge, where the Oro Mining Company is at work. Several other mines
of lesser importance are near the towns.


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


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