Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Thompson's Flat 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, 1:50 am Book Title: History Of Butte County THOMPSON'S FLAT. This town is one of the ancient settlements of the county that has risen to prominence, and settled back again to obscurity and quiet. The first miner who settled in the vicinity was a man by the name of Davis, and he began to hunt for auriferous deposits as far back as 1848. He was soon joined by others, and a little mining camp was formed. The mining at that time was done along the river bank, raid the place was known by the title of Rich gulch. It did not receive its present name until several years after. Among the early residents of the place were George Marquis, John Thompson, George Thompson, R. D. Hosely, M. B. West, E. A. Halstead, L. French, Levi Smith, Davidson and Lawrence. Rich gulch, in 1852, began to attract considerable attention, and was known far and wide. Because of the scarcity of water at the surface-diggings, gold could not be taken out in sufficient quantities to pay the large returns expected from the rocker and the long torn, so, in the fall of 1852, two companies were formed for the purpose of bringing water to the diggings by ditches. George Thompson was the principal in one company, and the other was under the management of Sam Lawrence. The works projected were not on a very large scale, and in these days would hardly receive a passing notice. One drew its water supply from George Snape's spring, not over three miles away, while the other tapped the Myers spring, equally distant. These were important enterprises for the place, and added greatly to its prosperity. The flat itself is three miles in length and two in width, and over its entire surface it then offered some inducements for working the soil. In 1854, it became evident that there was not room on the side of the hill for the population that would occupy the town. Setting the example to his neighbors, Levi French moved up to the flat, where there was abundance of elbow-room, and started a store. George Thompson soon followed with his immense cloth tent, that furnished hotel accommodations for the million, and merchandise of all kinds for those who possessed the collateral. Thompson, from whom the flat takes its name, is described as an exceedingly clever and likewise whole-souled man. In the spring of 1854, still another company was formed to bring water to Thompson's flat from Sharmer's ravine and Cottonwood. Harris Soule superintended the building of the ditch, which was completed the following winter, and was nine miles in length. About this time a water-right was taken up and recorded by Walker & Wilson, merchants of Marysville. During 1854, they surveyed and completed their ditch from Little Butte creek to Sinclair flat, near Pence's ranch, and there let it remain until the spring of 1856, when they had a route surveyed around Table mountain to Thompson's flat, and completed the entire work in February, 1858. The length of this ditch is thirty-six miles. Another ditch was made from Thompson's flat down the Feather river three miles, in 1859, to a place known as Ranch Ord, on Pacificus Ord's land. The long ditch of Walker & Wilson was purchased in February, 1867, by M. B. West and J. Y. P. Van Mathis, and was owned by them four years. In 1871, Mr. West bought out Mathis, repaired the ditch, and sold it to Powers in 1876. In 1854, the population of Thompson's flat was at least five hundred. There were two express offices, one owned by McWilliams, of Oroville. The buildings extended nearly to the flume. Thompson and Watt Perdue built a two-story frame-house that was the pride of the town. A large warehouse was owned by San Francisco parties. There were three saloons, several stores, a hotel, blacksmith-shops, and numerous establishments necessary to the existence of a thriving mining camp. The first schoolhouse was built on the top of the hill in 1855, in which Professor Coxhead wielded the birch and rule. A public school was started in 1856, and the professor presided there also. Of course, Thompson's flat must experience the set-back of a large fire, which inevitable occurrence happened on the twenty-third of April, 1856. The principal sufferers were Thompson, Davidson and Austin. At that time Thompson, and Davidson occupied the two-story building, the former with a store and the. latter a hotel. Thompson's flat had some pretty girls in those days. Several of them were in an upper room of the hotel on the evening of the twenty-third, and while engaged in a harmless romp, the candle caught on the curtains and communicated the blaze to the dry woodwork. It was impossible to save the building, and the conflagration spread far and wide. The loss was over $15,000. From this time the place began to decline, and never recovered its former prestige. After the fire some buildings were re-built, but the surface mines having been worked out, the place deteriorated in spite of the efforts of a few to keep it up. For many years it has been a place of little importance. In the early spring of 1881, the Miocene mining company succeeded to E. J. Davis & Co., acquiring a title to the Davis ditch, and the claims on the eastern part of the flat between Oroville and the town. The company, under the superintendency of N. A. Harris, opened out the Miocene mine, which gave promise of being one of the biggest hydraulic mines in the county, when the debris injunctions forced them to shut down. The influence of the mine at its very door, had a perceptible effect on Thompson's flat, and had they continued to work, the growth of the place would have been assured. Notwithstanding, the town has good prospects ahead of it, and will ere long be flourishing again. At present Mrs. Bottyer keeps a store and boarding-house, and George Duensing is engaged in the saloon business. A large amount of fruit is raised at and near Thompson's flat. Among those having fine orchards and vineyards are Eli Burchard. R. D. Hosely, George Chamberlain, Richard Frerichs, Mrs. Bottyer and the Miocene company. 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/thompson178nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 7.3 Kb