Sutter County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter 2 Sutter County 1924
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Book Title: History Of Yuba And Sutter Counties

CHAPTER II 
SUTTER COUNTY 

    Sutter County was one of the original counties into which the State was
divided in 1850. At that time it included the southwestern portion of the later
created Placer County and a piece of territory along the west that now belongs
to Colusa County. Territorial changes — subtractions or additions — were made in
1851, 1852, 1854, 1856 and 1866, before the boundaries were finally fixed in
their present location. 

COUNTY SEAT AND COUNTY BUILDINGS 

    The law creating the county located the county seat at Oro, but that place
had no suitable building, so the Court of Sessions at its first meeting decreed
that the seat of government should be at Nicolaus until proper buildings were
available at Oro. Early in 1851 the county seat was moved to Auburn, but in that
year Auburn became the county seat of the newly created county of Placer. Vernon
then became the seat of government for Sutter County, and so continued for about
a year, when Nicolaus again attained the coveted prize and retained it for two
years. In the fall of 1854 a contested election seems — the records are very
obscure — to have given the county seat to Yuba City for a few months, but
later, on a final decision, to have returned it to Nicolaus. In 1856, however,
an election was held, under authorization of the legislature, in which Yuba City
was selected by a large majority as the seat of government for the county; and
it has so continued to the present day. 

Judge Keyser's Review 

    Perhaps in no way can a better description of the difficulties attending the
selection of the first county seat of Sutter County be given than by quoting
from a sketch written and delivered by Judge Phil W. Keyser, on the occasion of
the centennial celebration of the country's independence in 1876: 

    "The first county seat was Oro, which was a noble city of broad streets,
imposing buildings, and splendid public squares — on paper — but in fact a tract
of land fronting on the south bank of Bear Creek, and distant about two miles
from the then and present site of the good old town of Nicolaus. The tract had
been purchased from General Sutter by Thomas Jefferson Green, who, with others
who had become interested with him in the enterprise, had had the land surveyed
and laid off into streets, and squares, and lots; and who, as State Senator from
the Senatorial district of which Sutter County formed a part, caused this paper
city to be declared by the legislature the county seat of Sutter County. Green
was a shrewd, energetic man, of a fine, imposing presence, jolly, good-natured,
frank, bluff-mannered, with pleasant countenance and persuasive tongue. It was
necessary for him to bring all these advantages into play, in order to carry his
point. Auburn, Nicolaus, Vernon and Yuba City were all aspirants for the honor,
and expected benefits of the county-seatship, while each was not only better
fitted for it than Oro — which was utterly unfitted — but was well entitled, by
situation, improvements, and its apparent future, to claim the distinction.
Each, therefore, made the best fight it could in the legislature against Oro and
for itself; but the active, talkative, and merry-mannered Senator for the
district won the day, and Oro became the first county seat. 

    "A pleasant story, illustrative of the Senator's modus operandi, is told in
connection with the history of that contest. Bear Creek — or River, as it was
sometimes called — was in those days a small but pretty stream, quietly and
lazily wandering through the foothills down to the plains, where it meandered
between well-defined and well-wooded banks, its calm flow disturbed and impeded
by trees and underbrush growing thickly in the midst of its clear waters, to
Feather River, with which it formed a junction at a point a mile or two above
Nicolaus. Of course it was unnavigable to all but small oar-boats, while the
large river steamers, of which the largest and finest at that time was named the
'Senator,' could even at the highest waters scarcely enter its mouth. Green,
however, in describing, during the discussion of the county-seat question, the
advantages of his town of Oro, spoke of the splendid river on which it was
situated, the waters of which (he asserted), when at the lowest stage of a long
and dry summer, could be easily navigated. A brother Senator, who knew Green's
weakness for hyperbole, interrupted by asking him if he meant to say that the
river steamers could navigate Bear River at its lowest stage of water. 'I mean
to say,' replied Green, 'that the Senator can navigate it at any time of the
year.' After adjournment one accused him of having — to put it mildly —
stretched the truth in saying that a steamer like the 'Senator' could navigate
Bear River. I never said,' answered Green, 'that the steamer "Senator" could; I
said the Senator could, but I meant the Senator who had asked the impertinent
question.' 

    "Oro, however, enjoyed the honor — if it enjoyed it at all — but a short
time. There was not a house or a building in the town for any purpose, much less
for holding court, the transaction of county business, and the preservation of
public records. Some preparation must be made by the owners of the town to
enable the first term, at least, of court to be held at the county seat; and to
this end they erected, or rather placed upon the ground, a zinc building, about
twenty by twenty feet in size, with a floor of rough boards, a roof of zinc — if
I remember correctly — and holes cut for the Court, the litigants, the
witnesses, the jurors, and the air, but without glass or shutters for the
windows, or doors for the entrances. Not a tree, or bush, or shrub, grew near
enough to give its shade to the building. A May sun poured its rays upon that
zinc building, until outside and inside it became almost as hot as the furnace
of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego. Law and equity, lawyers and litigants,
jurors and witnesses, with a spontaneity of action that would astonish nothing
but a salamander, rushed out of and fled that building, never again to return." 

County Courthouse 

    The first permanent courthouse in Yuba City was erected in 1858 and
continued in use until 1871, when it was destroyed by fire. A new and better
building was completed in 1872. This also was almost completely destroyed 
by fire in 1899. It was rebuilt, however, and is still in use, with alterations
made to it in 1922-1923, when a room was added for jurors on the upper floor at
the rear of the court room, the county treasurer's quarters were enlarged, and
the jail made more secure. 

    The building has brick walls, but the floors and much of the interior finish
are of wood, and it cannot be considered fireproof. All of the county offices,
except those of the clerk, auditor-recorder, and district attorney, are in this
building. The offices of the first-named two are in the Hall of Records, on the
north side of the Courthouse, while the district attorney, in April, 1923, was
given more spacious quarters in the then newly constructed Von Geldern Building
on Second Street, south of the Courthouse. 

Hall of Records 

    The Hall of Records, completed in 1892, is constructed of brick and stone,
with a concrete floor and iron doors. It consists of a main office, where the
records are kept, and two smaller offices on either side of the entrance. The
fixtures are of metal, and of the type usually found in such buildings. 

    The Courthouse and Hall of Records are well isolated from other buildings,
occupying half of a large block, and being surrounded upon all sides by
extensive lawns. 

Nicolaus, Auburn and Vernon as County Seat 

    Reverting to the days when Nicolaus, Auburn and Vernon were playing the "on
again, off again" game on the county-seat question, it should be explained that
when court was first held in Nicolaus a private residence was used. At Auburn a
place was provided by citizens. 

    June 2, 1851, when the county seat was settled at Vernon, the following
appears on the record of the Court of Sessions: "William B. Olds appeared in
behalf of E. O. Crosby, and made a tender of two buildings in the town of Vernon
for the use of the county, free of charge." Court was, however, held in the
hotel owned by Captain Savage. Only one prisoner was confined there, and he was
made secure by putting him in one of the rooms with a chain around his leg, the
other end of the chain being passed through a hole in the wall and made fast by
a clog. 

    After the return of the county seat to Nicolaus, the American Hotel served
as a place for holding court, and for the offices of the county officers, until
1855. From that time until the county seat was removed to Yuba City, Frederick
Vahle's house was used for these county purposes. Sutter County had as yet no
jail, and prisoners had to be conveyed to Marysville, and confined in the Yuba
County jail, entailing considerable additional expense. 

The Courthouse Fire of 1871 

    We have referred to the destruction of the Courthouse at Yuba City by fire
in 1871. An account of this fire is given in the Sutter County Banner, under the
date of December 23, 1871, as follows: 

    "Between three and four o'clock, Wednesday morning, December 20, the
Courthouse was discovered to be on fire, and was soon entirely consumed. Some of
the officers succeeded in saving the valuable contents of their offices. The
safes in the various offices and the vault preserved their contents, though in
some cases somewhat injured. The treasurer's safe contained $38,000, which was
recovered. All the documents that had been filed for record since October were
burned, and many old books of the county and some court records were destroyed.
The district attorney lost nearly everything in his office while the contents of
the sheriff's office were saved. The building was insured for $5000. By some;
the fire was supposed to have been an incendiary one, while others believed it
to be accidental. It originated in the county clerk's office, where work had
been suspended at eight o'clock the evening before, and the generally accepted
version is that the fire was caused by mice gnawing the heads of matches that
had been left in the office." 

Details of the Fire of 1899 

    An insane prisoner detained for commitment in a padded cell on the lower
floor of the Courthouse started the fire that destroyed that building in April,
1899. The Sutter County Farmer of April 28, 1899, records the following details
of the conflagration: 

    "By the acts of an insane man the Sutter County Courthouse was destroyed by
fire last Friday night, leaving nothing but brick walls and blackened ruins
representing the $25,000 building which has been the headquarters for county
business for the past twenty-seven years. About two o'clock in the morning,
Deputy Sheriff C. B. Fields, who slept in the room adjoining the sheriff's
office, was awakened by stifling smoke. Running into the main corridor, Fields
saw flames shooting out of a small grated window of the insane ward, in which
was confined Richard Wills, a Cornishman, who was in custody awaiting commitment
to the Stockton asylum. Fields gave the alarm and dashed a number of buckets of
water through the window. The night watchman and J. L. Wilcoxon soon arrived on
the scene, also W. H. Campbell, H. P. Fulton, Thomas Giblin and others. An
effort was made to get the Cornishman out. The outer door of his cell was
unlocked and the door to the padded cell broken down. For a moment nothing, but
flames and stifling smoke could be seen; but by throwing a lot of water into the
interior, the unfortunate man's body was found lying in the corner of the cell
on its back, burned and charred in a horrible manner. It was impossible at that
stage to recover the remains. 

    "The fire by this time was creeping to the second story. Hose from the water
works was secured, and the pumps started; but the fire could not be reached by
the inadequate stream. All the county officers were soon on the scene. All bent
their efforts to get out the records from their offices, assisted by citizens in
large number. The offices of the district attorney, sheriff, assessor,
treasurer, and surveyor, being on the first floor, were easy of access, and with
few exceptions the books, papers, records, etc., were carried out. On the second
floor, it was not so easy. A ladder was raised to a window of the school
superintendent's office, and Superintendent Kline succeeded in saving his
ledger, account books, minute book and other papers. He, however, lost his maps
and a number of reports. From the Superior Court room nothing was saved. The
furnishings of the supervisors' room and the desk and papers of the board of
directors of Levee District No. 1, including old vouchers and record books, were
also burned. During the fire the big safe in the office of Assessor McRae went
through the floor into the basement. Not, however, before McRae had emptied it
of its contents. A stream of water poured on the safe in the treasurer's office
saved the papers and records that were not taken out of it earlier. The sheriff
also recovered his papers intact. The jail on the west side of the building was
not destroyed,- but the bedding was partially burned. Coroner P. W. Rowe,
assisted by Coroner Hopkins of Yuba County, recovered the remains of Wills when
the ruins of the building had cooled off. Acting on the coroner's jury were W.
E. Tucker, foreman, H. C. Clark, C. J. White, S. D. Jones, Edwin White, and R.
C. Kells." 

    The county officers were forced to take temporary quarters in the Hall of
Records. The necessity of fire-plugs for Yuba City, and reels of hose on both
floors of the Courthouse, from then on became apparent. 

SUTTER COUNTY BUTTES 

    The Buttes that form such a prominent feature in the landscape of Sutter
have been known by various names since they came to the knowledge of white men.
They were spoken of by Fremont in 1843 as "The Three Buttes." In the grants made
to Captain Sutter, they are called "los tres picos." Later they were called
"Sutter's Buttes" and "Marysville Buttes," but are now generally spoken of as
the "Sutter County Buttes." 

    The County of Butte, which adjoins Sutter County on the north, received its
name from these noted peaks, although at that time they were in Sutter County.
In 1852, the boundary between these two counties was changed so as to include
the Buttes in Butte County; but two years later they were restored, and have
ever since been a part of Sutter County. 

    They are undoubtedly of volcanic origin, and form but one link in a chain of
volcanic peaks, being distinguished, however, from the others by rising abruptly
from the plain, apparently disconnected from the others, and standing like ever
wakeful sentinels to guard the slumbering valley. That they are of no recent
formation is evident; they bear the same marks, fossils, etc., as are found on
Mt. Diablo and the Coast Range. A scientist who recently surveyed them, in
connection with borings being made for oil, declared that the Buttes are older
by a million years than the Coast Range. In his opinion they at one time were
part of an island projecting from the surface of the ocean. 

    The Buttes consist of three principal peaks, called North Butte, South
Butte, and East Butte — the highest with an altitude of about 1800 feet — and a
great number of lesser peaks lying between and around them. From different
points of observation they present various forms — three peaks, however, always
appearing as the characteristic feature — the alteration in their aspect being
caused by the difference in the contour of their several sides, and the
appearance of the smaller hills. 

    A narrow valley running through the Buttes from east to west is known as the
South Pass. This is a portion of the old stage road running from Marysville to
Colusa. In another chapter is described a monument dedicated on April 15, 1923,
to the memory of John C. Fremont, the "Pathfinder," and placed in the pass on
the spot where Fremont camped in 1846. 

    We find the following remarks in Volume 3, page 486, of Hutchings'
California Magazine: "This mountain towers boldly out like a large island above
the plain upon which it stands, to the height of 1800 feet, and is almost as
grand a landmark to the residents of this latitude as Mt. Diablo is to those of
San Francisco." 

Mineral Deposits 

    The Marysville Herald, in its issue of July 24, 1851, said that "Butte
Hill," near the big butte, was yielding to miners from $6 to $20 per day, that
the number of miners was increasing daily, and that a company of three took out
a pound and a quarter of gold in one day. 

    In 1867 three small veins of coal were found on the west side of the Buttes,
and later more was discovered on the east side on the farm of S. Moody. Only
small quantities were taken out, and the idea of finding coal there in
commercial quantities has long ago been abandoned. 

CLIMATE AND WATER SUPPLY 

    While the high yield of every crop grown in Sutter County can be very
largely attributed to the superior soil and abundant water supply that are among
the county's prominent advantages, the superior quality of its present-day
agricultural products is in large measure due to still another factor,
California's sun-kissed climate, the magical wonder-worker that is responsible
for the marvelous advancement in the State's agricultural and horticultural
interests. To the dry, warm, rainless and fogless days, are due the flavor, and
the blush upon the cheek, of Sutter County's deciduous and citrus fruits. During
the winter the thermometer seldom goes below thirty degrees above zero, and a
trace of snow once in twelve or fifteen years is about the average. The rainy
season is expected to last from October to April, with an average rainfall of
about twenty-three inches. A storm with a precipitation of from one to three
inches is usually followed by a few days of warm, sunshiny weather, even in
midwinter. 

Irrigation 

    While practically every crop can be grown without irrigation in Sutter
County, experience of years has demonstrated beyond all question that irrigation
pays handsomely. The tendency is constantly in the direction of more irrigation;
and the artificial application of water to field crops, as well as to orchards
and vineyards, is increasing rapidly, because there is no doubt that yields have
been considerably increased and the quality of products materially improved
through irrigation. 

    In speaking of this section of California in 1922, Prof. Elwood Meade,
recognized as the foremost authority on irrigation in this State, said: "The
available water supply of this valley ought to make it the Egypt of the Western
Hemisphere." 

    At comparatively small expense, an abundance of water for irrigation
purposes seems ahead for Sutter County. Both the Sacramento and Feather Rivers
furnish an inexhaustible supply to those living along their banks; and a pumping
plant easily and cheaply lifts the water into the distributing ditches. Hundreds
of landowners already have sunk wells and are irrigating with pumps driven by
electricity, as power lines reach to about every nook and corner of Sutter County. 

RECLAMATION AND LEVEE DISTRICTS 

    Reclamation projects, past and present, have worked wonders for Sutter
County. Of reclamation districts the county, at the present time, has nine,
besides being subject to assessments under the great flood-control plan of the
State known as the Sacramento and San Joaquin Assessment No. 1, and Sutter-Butte
By-pass Assessment No. 6. 

Names and Locations of Districts 

    The names and locations of the reclamation districts are as follows:
District No. 70, near Meridian; District No. 777 , in the Live Oak section;
District No. 803, on the old Rideout ranch and between Marcuse and the tules;
District No. 1000, partly in Sutter County and partly in Sacramento County;
District No. 1001, located partly in Placer County, and along Bear River south
to Vernon; District No. 1500, being the Sutter Basin Project; District No. 1660,
located north of District No. 1500; District No. 2054, located in the northern
portion of the county in the old Snake River and Morrison Slough section, being
partly in Butte County; and District No. 2056, which adjoins District No. 2054. 

    Besides the reclamation districts, there are two levee districts, No. 1 and
No. 9. District No. 1 extends from Yuba City south to the Marcuse levee, and
westward. District No. 9 lies to the north of Yuba City and extends westerly.
Its levee joins that of District No. 1 near Franklin Corners. 

The Sutter Basin Project 

    Of the reclamation districts in Sutter County, District No. 1500 is the
largest, covering 66,200 acres, of which the Sutter Basin Company owns
approximately 45,000 acres, giving it the generally accepted name of "Sutter
Basin Project." 

    Prior to its purchase by the present owners, Sutter Basin was an over-flow
basin of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, covered by a sea of tules. It was
like several other large areas of bottom land of the Sacramento Valley, which
have since been reclaimed and are now reckoned among the richest soils in the
State. 

    The Sutter Basin Company had a careful survey of this area made by experts,
and decided that the natural richness of the soil would well repay for its
reclamation. Accordingly, development work was started. Today the district
(created by the California legislature of 1913) is entirely surrounded by
substantial levees, averaging 250 feet at the base. Provision for the carrying
away of flood water that formerly filled the Basin was made by the construction
of the Sutter By-pass in conformity to the general flood control plan adopted by
the Federal government and the State of California. All reclamation works were
carried out on plans approved by the California State Reclamation Board. 

    To carry off water that fell within the district, and seepage water, a
complete drainage system was built. It includes a main canal of 18 miles, 54 1/2
miles of lateral canals, and 190 miles of sub-lateral canals, with a gigantic
pumping plant consisting of six 50-inch pumps, each operated by a
800-horse-power motor, at the lower end of the district, with a capacity of
480,000 gallons per minute, so that every acre of land within the district is
amply drained at all seasons of the year. 

    It was the policy of the company to crop the land from the beginning for the
twofold purpose of helping to pay development expenses and to prove the soil. In
fact, the first year the pumping plant was completed, even before the levees had
been finished, the company's lands were cropped. That year the Basin filled up
as usual, but the pumping plant was able to empty it in twenty-one days. Pumps
were started on the 25th day of May, and by the 15th of June planting of beans
was begun. That year the Basin produced a large crop of beans, and each year
thereafter. 

    In addition to carrying through a safe reclamation plan, the Sutter Basin
Company pioneered in providing a thorough system of irrigation for its
river-bottom lands. The owners became convinced from investigation and
observation, that while river-bottom lands will give good returns without
surface irrigation, the application of water would pay. Accordingly, an
irrigation as complete as the drainage system was built. It was used for the
first time in the season of 1919. This system includes a pumping plant at the
upper end of the district, consisting of three 42-inch pumps, each operated by a
250-horse-power motor, capable of delivering 48,000 gallons of water per minute,
and three 42-inch pumps, each operated by a 300-horse-power motor, capable of
delivering 56,000 gallons of water per minute, the total capacity of the plant
being 312,000 gallons per minute. 

    In addition to the main pumping plant, there is an auxiliary plant at State
Ranch Bend with one 24-inch pump operated by a 200-horse-power motor, with a
capacity of 20,000 gallons per minute; also a pumping plant at Portuguese Bend
with two 24-inch pumps, each operated by a 200-horse- power motor and having a
total capacity of 40,000 gallons per minute. 

    All irrigation water is pumped from the Sacramento River. The main
irrigation canal is sufficiently large, and carries enough water, to float a
river steamer. Laterals and sub-laterals carry gravity water to every acre of
land owned by the company. The entire west edge of the district lies along the
Sacramento River, which provides transportation by boat and barge. In addition,
however, the Southern Pacific Railway has built a line through the heart of the
district, eighteen miles north and south, and there are several grain warehouses
and vegetable packing houses built along this line. Roads from all parts of the
district afford ample connection between the farming lands and the railroad. 

    The soil is an alluvial deposit, commonly known as river bottom, the result
of ages of silt-wash from the Sacramento and Feather Rivers. The crops that have
been grown there are indicated in the preceding paragraph. The climate is the
good growing climate, with a long growing season, which characterizes the
Sacramento Valley. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES 

    A list of Sutter County's crops would read like an index to a nursery
catalogue, with a few extras thrown in for good measure. Experience seems to
show that peaches, prunes, cherries, almonds, grapes (seedless for drying and
for the table), plums, figs, beans, grain, and rice hold the most important
places in public favor. 

    Other products, of lesser prominence, are pears, oranges, lemons,
pomegranates, apples, walnuts, olives, corn, and vegetables of all kinds. 

    Dairying and poultry-raising are conducted on an extensive scale and yield
large returns. Dairy cows, poultry and hogs run on green feed the entire year,
the mild and snowless winters being ideal for stock of all kinds. When the
ground is too wet, during the rainy season, to permit stock to be pastured on
alfalfa, they are fed from open racks in the corrals. 

    Creameries are within easy reach of the dairymen. Auto trucks are sent out
to the principal dairy sections to pick up the cream and milk right at the
dairyman's door. Large quantities of cream are also shipped by fast electric
trains and steam trains to creameries at Marysville, Sacramento, and other
near-by cities. Sutter County offers unusual opportunities to dairymen, and
because of this opportunity this industry has increased several-fold during the
last few years. 

TRANSPORTATION 

    Frequent, rapid and convenient transportation is a live issue in any
progressive and hustling community. Here, again — and literally speaking —
Sutter County "delivers the goods." Exceptional land and water transportation
facilities keep every corner of the county in intimate touch with the world and
its markets. Two steam railroads, the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific, pass
through the county; one electric railway, the Sacramento Northern, connects with
boats and another electric line at Sacramento for San Francisco; and the
Sacramento River, which bounds Sutter County on one side for some fifty miles,
while having practically no passenger business, yet conveys millions of dollars'
worth of farm products to Sacramento and San Francisco. Street-car service
between Yuba City, the county seat of Sutter County, and Marysville, the county
seat of Yuba County, a mile away, across the Feather River, is maintained by the
Sacramento Northern Railroad. In order to convey an idea of the present splendid
transportation facilities of the county, it is only necessary to say that there
are about forty steam and electric trains passing through the county daily. 

    In addition to its present road system, the county has been engaged, since
1922, in building a complete system of concrete highways, such as will give to
every part of the county the best roads that money and engineering skill are
able to produce. 

Early Ferries and Toll Bridges 

    As a contrast to modern-day methods of transit, an account of across-river
transportation in the early days may be of interest here. The first ferry in
Sutter County was established in 1843 by Captain Sutter and Nicolaus Allgeier,
at the crossing of the Feather River, near the town of Nicolaus. This ferry was
on the route from Sutter Fort to Hock Farm. In 1849 Allgeier had a man named
Lintner to operate the ferry, during which year a new and large boat was
constructed. 

    The first ferry license was granted by the Court of Sessions, on June 11,
1850. It was a license granting Samuel S. Bayless and Sarshel Woods the
privilege for one year of keeping a ferry across Feather River, immediately
above the mouth of the Yuba, and establishing the following rates of toll: For
one wagon, empty, $2; freight, per cwt., 12^4 cents; mules, cattle and horses,
per head, 50 cents; foot passengers, 25 cents; man and horse, 75 cents. 

    The same day, a license was granted to F. Hereford and J. P. Jones to
operate a ferry for one year across Sacramento River between the towns of Vernon
and Freemont, with the same rates. 

    On November 19, 1850, the license to S. S. Bayless and S. Woods for a ferry
at Yuba City was cancelled, and a new one was issued to Elias Bayless and James
Irving. 

    On June 18, 1851, the licenses for ferries at Nicolaus, Vernon and Yuba City
were renewed, with a change in the rates of toll. There appears to have been no
settled rate for all places, as these three, all granted the same day, varied
considerably, with the difference chiefly in favor of Vernon. 

    On April 12, 1852, James G. Morehead was granted a license to operate a
ferry across Sacramento River opposite Knight's Landing; and on June 7, C. D.
Semple was given a license for one across Sacramento River from the town of
Colusa to a point in Sutter County. 

    On December 6, 1852, J. L. Burtis and Claude Chana were granted a license
for the construction and operation of a ferry across Bear River at the place
known as Burtis, or Chana's Ranch. 

    Stephen H. Winter received a license, August 1, 1853, for a ferry across
Sacramento River, at a point two miles below Butte Creek. He had run it without
a license since the previous October, for which he was fined $30. 

    Before the county was able to go into the bridge-building business, a dozen
other ferries were established by private parties, including one to accommodate
the Marysville-Colusa stage line. 

    Toll bridges were the next means used for crossing the streams. These took
the place of the ferry boats, except where they would be an obstruction to
navigation, until they in turn gave way to free bridges built at the expense of
the county. The first license for a toll bridge was granted on August 1, 1851,
to John Barham at Barham's Crossing. The rates of toll were fixed as follows:
Six-horse, -ox or -mule team, $1.50; ditto, empty, $1.00; four-horse, -ox or
-mule team, $1.00; ditto, empty, 75 cents; two-horse, -ox or -mule team, 75
cents; same, empty, 50 cents; horse and buggy, 50 cents; pack animal, 25 cents;
foot passenger, 12 1/2 cents; loose stock, per head, 12 1/2 cents; hogs, sheep
and goats, per head, 6 1/4 cents. 

    On October 6, 1851, J. L. Burtis and W. B. Campbell received a license to
keep a bridge across Bear River at the town of Kearney, or Johnson's Crossing. 

    On December 9, 1854, Samuel Crawford was granted a license to keep a toll
bridge across Bear River at Kempton's Crossing. The bridge was built the year
before. 

    The only chartered toll bridge across Feather River was erected by George M.
Hanson from Yuba City to Marysville in 1853, being completed in September. It
was a cheap truss bridge, about 350 feet in length, and cost $20,000. In 1854,
one span broke down under the weight of a drove of cattle, but was soon
repaired. At this time John C. Fall became one of the proprietors. The next year
W. S. Webb, proprietor of an opposition ferry line, became a part-owner of the
bridge. It was reconstructed in 1859. During the flood of 1861, the bridge was
carried away while two teams were crossing, injuring one man slightly. 

    For many years thereafter, Marysville and Yuba City people were accommodated
by a strongly built covered bridge across Feather River, which structure was
removed in the year 1905 to make way for the combination wagon and railroad
bridge erected by the Northern Electric Company in conjunction with the counties
of Yuba and Sutter. 

OTHER ADVANTAGES 

    Sutter County has the honor of having been the first "no-saloon" county in
the State of California; and its communities are correspondingly law-abiding. It
has fewer criminal cases than any other county in the State. It is the home and
nursery of the famous Thompson Seedless Grape industry. It is likewise the home
and nursery of the famous Phillips Cling Peach, and the largest
cling-peach-growing section in the State. It is the county where oranges and
lemons ripen six weeks earlier than hundreds of miles farther south; the county
where from four to six crops of alfalfa are produced annually; and the county
where the soil responds more readily to your efforts, and returns larger profits
for the money expended. 

Fish, and Wild Game 

    Aside from the purely commercial side of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers,
these two great waterways give ample opportunity for hunting, fishing and
boating. Salmon, catfish and carp are plentiful in these streams, and furnish
sport, in season, for those who are devoted to the rod and reel. The sloughs,
running off from the main rivers, are famed for their excellent bass-fishing;
and not far away are the mountain streams and lakes, which are among the finest
trout-fishing spots in all the world. These same mountains abound in all manner
of wild game, ranging from doves, quail and rabbits in the lower foothills, to
deer in the higher altitudes. 

    Wild ducks and geese make the rivers and sloughs their winter feeding
grounds. In the fall great flocks of these migratory birds sail down from the
North and feed upon the abundant growth in the waterways. As the time approaches
when the law will permit the shooting of these birds, hunters come from hundreds
of miles, and take part in one of the greatest sporting events of the year. Many
hunting clubs own their own grounds at West Butte and other points in the county. 


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF YUBA and SUTTER COUNTIES 
CALIFORNIA 
WITH 
Biographical Sketches OF 
The Leading Men and Women of the Counties Who Have Been Identified with Their
Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present 

HISTORY BY 
PETER J. DELAY 

ILLUSTRATED 
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1924



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