Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Organization Of Plumas County 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 2, 2006, 9:46 pm Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties ORGANIZATION OF PLUMAS COUNTY. We have seen how the tireless feet of the prospector explored this region from end to end; how the rich gold deposits drew thousands of men into the mountains to delve for the precious metal; how the fertile valleys invited the emigrant to abide among these mountain peaks, and build there a home for himself and his children; how happy and prosperous communities sprang up, with all the needs and requiring all the advantages of their sisters beyond the mountains. For four years this section performed the function of tail to the Butte county kite, and then the tail became too heavy. The kite was not properly balanced, and would not fly as gracefully as before. No law existed here but that to be found in the self-constituted courts of the miners. A few justices of the peace and constables were elected for the townships of Quartz and Mineral, which had been established by the court of sessions of Butte county; but there was little for them to do, and the county officers, save when electioneering for votes and the tax-collector striving for his commissions, never visited this section of the county. Not only were the people remote from the county seat, but for several months in the winter season they were cut off from it entirely by snow. Nature had so managed affairs that they were compelled to rely solely upon themselves for months at a time; and to go to the valley for the transaction of official business was a hardship always, and often an impossibility. So large a population had gathered here in 1853, that both of the great political parties, the whigs and the democrats, held their county conventions in this region, where at least half of the voting population resided. They realized then that they were strong enough to support a county government. They wanted protection of the law; they wanted schools' for their children; they wanted roads from valley to valley and from town to town, instead of the narrow and dangerous pack trail; they wanted all the blessings and advantages that flow from a well-administered county government. The subject was much discussed in 1853 and the following winter. The people in the western part of the county were willing to let them go. They were strong enough, and their county large enough, without keeping the mountain section tied to them against their will. At that time the Butte Record, the only paper then published in the county, spoke thus of the project of the formation of a new county: "We can begin to realize some of the dangers and difficulties attending communication with remote parts of the county during several months of the year, when we consider, that, beyond the most dangerous and difficult of these passes, and beyond the range of hills where is usually experienced the heaviest rains and the greatest depth of snow, there are large and fertile valleys with comparatively temperate winters, where hundreds of families are now settling, and preparing beautiful farms and comfortable, happy homes; that all of them have been reared in a land blessed with civil and religious institutions; that, scattered at frequent intervals throughout that vast country are immense stores of goods, of from four to six months' supply of the necessaries and comforts, and even many of the luxuries, of life; and tint an immense amount of exchange is thus daily carried on among the inhabitants. Constituted as man is, disputes must necessarily arise which must be settled by some tribunal, and the almost absolute impossibility of reaching the tribunals organized under the laws of the State is felt.....The people in such sections very naturally complain of such boundary lines of counties as debar them for a large portion of the year from access to any seat of justice; and even when the roads are in their best state, they feel that they are oppressed with a grievous burden when required to leave their work and travel from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles to attend court, as witness, juryman, or in any other capacity. The effect of such ^ state of things is disastrous and unfortunate in the extreme, and in more ways than one. The result is that crime either in a great measure goes unpunished, or is punished by mob law." At that time one of the members of the assembly, representing Butte county, was John B. McGee, who lived within the limits of the proposed new county. He introduced a bill on the 14th of February creating the county of Plumas, and so ably supported the measure that it passed the assembly, and was sent to the senate. That body took favorable action upon it on the 7th of March, and on the 18th of the month the signature of Governor John Bigler made it a law. The name given to the county by this Act was derived from the river that runs through it in three branches. It was eminently fitting that the name of the river should be given to the county in which were found its fountain-heads. The complete organic act of Plumas county is as follows: AN ACT TO ORGANIZE THE COUNTY OF PLUMAS OUT OF A PORTION OF THE TERRITORY OF BUTTE COUNTY. (Passed March 18, 1854.) The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The county of Butte shall be divided so as to form a new county out of the north-eastern portion, which shall be called Plumas. SEC. 2. The said county of Plumas shall be bounded as follows, to wit: Commencing at the Buckeye house, on the line between Yuba and Butte, and running in a right line across the southern portion of Walker's plains and Feather river to the summit of the dividing ridge dividing the waters of the west branch and the main Feather river; thence following the said divide to the summit of the main divide, separating the waters of the Sacramento and the main north Feather; thence following said divide to the line of Shasta county, dividing Shasta and Butte. (This line was defined March 19, 1853, as "beginning at a point in the middle of Sacramento river, opposite the mouth of Red Bank creek, below the Red Bluffs, and thence running due east to the dividing ridge which separates the waters flowing into the Sacramento river below the Red Bluffs, and into Feather river, from those flowing into Sacramento river above the Red Bluffs; thence following the top of said dividing ridge to Sierra Nevada; thence due east to the boundary of the State.") Thence along said line to the boundary of the State; thence along the eastern boundary of the State to the north-east corner of Sierra county; thence following the northwestern boundary of Sierra and Yuba to the place of beginning. (This line was from a point on the State line "opposite the dividing ridge between the Feather and Yuba rivers; thence westerly to the said dividing ridge, and following the same to the source of the Honcut.") SEC. 3. There shall be an election for county officers in the county of Plumas on the second Saturday in April, 1854, at which election the qualified voters of said county shall choose one county judge, one district attorney, one county clerk, who shall be ex-officio county recorder, one sheriff, one county surveyor, one county assessor, one coroner, and one county treasurer. SEC. 4. H. J. Bradley, W. Dean, and John Thompson are hereby appointed commissioners to designate the necessary election precincts, in the county of Plumas for said election, and to appoint the judges and inspectors of election at the several precincts designated; to receive the returns, and issue certificates of election to the parties receiving the highest number of legal votes' and in all other respects said election shall be conducted according to the provisions of the act to regulate elections, passed March 23,1850. SEC. 5. For the purpose of designating the several precincts in said county, said commissioners shall meet at least ten days previous to the day of election, and after having been duly sworn by a competent officer to well and truly discharge their duties, shall designate the judges and inspectors for such precincts; the commissioners shall appoint one of their number as president, and one as clerk, who shall keep a record of their proceedings, which record shall be deposited in the clerk's office after the commissioners shall have closed their labors. A majority of said commissioners shall at all times constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. SEC. 6. The commissioners shall immediately after said meeting give notice of such election, and the names of the officers appointed to conduct the same, by notices to be posted at each of the precincts at least ten days before the election. SEC. 7. Sealed returns from the officers of election shall be delivered to the president of said board. The commissioners shall meet at the house of H. J. Bradley, in American valley, on the tenth day subsequent to the day of election, and the returns shall then be opened and canvassed by said commissioners, and' the persons having the highest number of legal votes for the several offices to be filled shall be declared elected, and the president shall immediately make out and deliver to each person chosen a certificate of election, signed by him as president of the commission, and attested by the clerk. SEC. 8. Each person shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of the duties of his office within ten days after the receipt of his certificate of election. The county judge shall qualify before. the president of the commissioners. Persons elected to the other offices may qualify before the county judge, or before said president. SEC. 9. The president of the commissioners shall transmit, without delay, an abstract of said election returns to the Secretary of State, and retain the original returns until the clerk shall qualify, when he shall file the same in the clerk's office. SEC. 10. The officers elected under this Act shall hold office until the next general election, and until their successors are qualified according to law. The.county judge and two associate justices, to be chosen as provided by law, shall form the Court of Sessions for the transaction of all county business. SEC. 11. The county judge of Plumas county shall receive for his services as judge of said county one thousand dollars per annum. SEC. 12. The County of Plumas shall be and remain a portion of the Ninth Judicial District. The district judge of the said district shall hold at least three terms of his court annually in Plumas county, and shall, as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect, notify the people of the said county of the time of holding said terms. SEC. 13. The county auditor of the county of Butte shall ascertain the county indebtedness of Butte at the time this Act shall take effect, and also the assessed value of the property of the respective counties of Butte and Plumas, as exhibited by the assessment roll of eighteen hundred and fifty-three; and upon presentation of the same, duly authenticated, to the auditor of Plumas county, the said auditor of Plumas county shall draw his warrant on the treasurer of his county, and in favor of the treasurer of Butte county, for a sum which shall be ascertained upon the following bask: Each county shall be liable for the present indebtedness of Butte, in ratio of the taxable property of the respective counties, determined as above set forth. SEC. 14 The counties of Butte and Plumas shall compose one Senatorial District. Butte county shall elect two assemblymen, and Plumas one, in the year 1854; and in the year 1855, Butte shall elect one assemblyman, and Plumas two; and alternate thereafter until there shall have been another apportionment of the State by the Legislature. SEC. 15. The county of Plumas shall set aside twenty per cent, of her annual county revenue, which shall be and remain an inviolable fund for the payment of the interest and principal of debt due to Butte county; and the same shall be paid annually to the treasurer of Butte county, and when paid shall be placed to the credit of the general fund for the liquidation of the indebtedness of Butte county. SEC. 16. The people of Plumas county shall determine, by their vote at the next general election, at what place the county seat shall be permanently located; until such time, the temporary county seat of Plumas county shall be located in the American valley, at such place as the Court of Sessions shall direct This Act shall take effect from and after the first day of April, 1854. The three commissioners, H. J. Bradley, Wilson S. Dean, and John W. Thompson, met at the American ranch, in American valley, at the hotel of H. J. Bradley, and proceeded to discharge the duties assigned to them. The only townships that had been created in this section of Butte county had been set off by the court of sessions August 6, 1851, and embraced nearly all of Plumas county. They were townships of a generous size, as the following descriptions indicate: "MINERAL TOWNSHIP.—Bounded as follows, to wit: Commencing at a point on the north fork of Feather river, at the mouth of the east branch on said fork; thence up the said north fork to its source; thence south-east to the head-waters of the main branch of the middle fork; thence down the said middle fork to a point three miles below the mouth of Onion creek, it being on the north line of Oro township; thence north along said line to the place of beginning. "QUARTZ TOWNSHIP.—Bounded as follows, to wit: Commencing at a point on the middle fork of Feather river, three miles below the mouth of Onion creek; thence up said middle fork to its source; thence due east to the line of the county; thence along said line to Missouri ranch; thence north along the upper line of Oro township to the place of beginning." It will be seen that these two townships comprised nearly all of Plumas county as it stands to-day, the Lassen county portion being at that time unsettled and almost unknown. Mineral embraced Indian and Plumas, and portions of Mineral, Seneca, Quartz, and Beckwourth townships; while Quartz embraced Goodwin (formerly "Washington), and part of Quartz and Beckwourth. Although the Act required the board of commissioners to keep a record of their proceedings and deposit it in the office of the county clerk, such record cannot be found among the files of that office, nor can an abstract of the election be found in the office of the secretary of state at Sacramento. It is therefore impossible to present the returns of the first county election, or the proceedings of the commissioners. In the absence of official documents we are compelled to rely upon oral testimony, and from that source learn that the election was duly held on the second Saturday in April, and resulted in selecting the following gentlemen for the first officers of Plumas county: 160 COUNTY JUDGE William T. Ward. TREASURER Daniel R. Gate. DISTRICT ATTORNEY Thomas Cox. ASSESSOR John R. Buckbee. COUNTY CLERK John Harbison. SURVEYOR Jobe T. Taylor. SHERIFF George W. Sharpe. CORONER These gentlemen qualified before the county judge, to whom the president of the board of commissioners had administered the oath of office, and commenced the discharge of their official duties. Temporary accommodations were made for them at the American ranch. [See County Seat and County Buildings.] The opponent of Mr. Sharpe for the office of sheriff was William V. Kingsbury, and the election was very close. William Lint of Marysville went to the Plumas Eureka mines in the interest of Mr. Sharpe, and lived with the Mexicans there, sleeping and eating with them, and keeping them well supplied with tobacco and whisky. When election day came, he marched them up to the polls and cast one hundred and twelve votes for Mr. Sharpe. This decided the election in that gentleman's favor. When Mr. Kingsbury learned the cause of his defeat, he threatened to contest the election, on the ground that these were unnaturalized foreigners, and not entitled to vote. His friends, however, suggested that, by the treaty of peace between Mexico and the United States, all citizens of Mexico residing in California at the time of the conquest, who should elect to remain, were declared citizens of the United States, and that it could not be proved that these Mexican votes were not of this class. He decided not to waste his time and money in a hopeless contest. Another incident connected with this initial election is very amusing, and illustrates the nonchalant spirit of the times. John R. Buckbee and Christopher Porter contested for the office of assessor, and were both surprised to find that the vote was a tie, and neither of them elected. In this exigency, the law provided that the county judge should make an appointment to fill the vacancy. Buckbee, the whig candidate, was a warm personal friend of Judge Ward, and was considered certain to receive the appointment. In this emergency the democratic friends of Porter, as the only hope left, prompted that gentleman to challenge Buckbee to play a game of seven-up for the office. The challenge was accepted, and the two aspirants sat down to a table at Bradley's hotel, surrounded by a crowd of interested spectators. The fates were against Porter to the last, and Buckbee arose from the table winner of the game and the office of assessor of Plumas county; for it is needless to say that Judge Ward recognized this honorable and equitable settlement of the question, and appointed Buckbee accordingly. The thirsty crowd that witnessed the game must have reduced the net earnings of Buckbee's office considerably by their liberal potations at his expense; for that, too, was as much a point of honor as the action of Judge Ward. Still one more incident of the election is related. Living on the east branch of Feather river at that time was John Harbison, an extremely popular gentleman who had been a county clerk in Missouri before coming to the Golden West. He was a whig, but the delegates from that region to the democratic nominating convention were instructed to pledge the united support of both parties to John Harbison. They were successful, and he was nominated by the democrats and elected, though a whig in politics. [Reference is made to the Courts and Judiciary, and the County Seat and Court-house, for further information in regard to the organization of the county.] Additional Comments: Extracted from: Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties San Francisco: Fariss & Smith (1882) File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/plumas/history/1882/illustra/organiza107gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 19.3 Kb