The Ide Celebration at Monroeville Cemetery— An Impressive Event

Volume 34, Number 1
Red Bluff , California
September/October 2014
that prove that Ide was definitely a
Mormon, which makes Ide the first Mormon
in California, in 1845. The musket and
cannon salute was by the Sierra Nevada
Mormon Pioneers, and there were many
Mormon Church members in the audience.
Ide apparently lived near Red Bluff (but
NOT in the “Ide Adobe”) for less than a
year before becoming involved in the Bear
Flag Revolt and the subsequent campaign
against the Mexicans in Southern
California in 1846. He then apparently
lived in Sonoma for a couple years, in the
gold mines for several months, and then
back on his property just south of Red
Bluff.
Ide moved to Monroeville about
1851 to essentially run Colusi County, not
only as county judge, but as county clerk,
auditor, recorder, and other posts, because
no one else was available. He died in
Monroeville in 1852 (56 years old) and was
buried in the small cemetery near the
Monroehouse Hotel, which also served as
the county courthouse. The cemetery is
the only thing left of Monroeville.
The Ide Celebration
at Monroeville Cemetery—
An Impressive Event
The celebration of William B. Ide at
the Monroeville Cemetery on June 7, 2014,
was a well planned and impressive event.
Reenactors treated the audience to period
drum and fife music and musket and cannon
salutes. Part of the audience was also in
period clothing as encouraged in earlier
publicity. Roger Ekins, retired Butte College
dean and a Mormon (LDS) official, served as
master of ceremonies. Several dignitaries
said a few words, including U.S Rep. Doug
LaMalfa and State Sen Jim Nielsen.
Dave Freeman, historian and
amateur archeologist, told about his
research at the cemetery. He was largely
responsible for the new large marble
headstone for Ide and other new or
renovated headstones in the cemetery. He
reminded the audience that Ide was not only
a leader in the Bear Flag Revolt and briefly
“President” (the correct title is controversial)
of the Republic of California, but went on to
make numerous contributions to then Colusi
County, later broken up into Colusa, Glenn,
and part of Tehama County.
Ide is
undoubtedly the most famous person buried
in Glenn County.
Monroeville Cemetery is 4.7 miles
south of Hamilton City, off Highway 45. A
tall stone monument on the highway
honors Ide. The cemetery is approached
on a gravel road that passes through a
private ranch.
Gene Serr
Roger Ekins presented his findings
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“Lassen’s Canals, Blacksmith
Shop, Grist Mill, and the 1854
Plumas Shipwreck”
1950s in Kopta Slough just north of Woodson
Bridge. Dave went to Google Earth. He found a
“hole” in that area, and it’s been his experience
(having previously located the site of the
California riverboat south of Hamilton City) that
boats leave depressions when they sink in a river:
they sink, get covered in dirt and debris, rot, and
a “hole” forms basically the size and shape of the
boat, which is exposed when the river meanders
elsewhere.
This location is no longer in the river because the
river has changed course over the years so Dave
needed to determine if this was a natural
formation or the actual resting place of the
Plumas. He took a copy of the 1860 von Schmidt
map (that shows the Lassen’s Rancho and
surrounding area) and overlaid it on Google
Earth. The old map showed where the river
channel was in 1850 and the “hole” is in that old
channel—a strong indication of a wreck.
This is a summary of the presentation Dave
Freeman gave to the members and guests of
TCG&HS about what he has found so far in his
attempts to document Lassen’s canals, adobe
complex at Vina, and the wreck of the Plumas
riverboat in the Sacramento River. Our thanks to
the new editor of Memories, Josie Smith for
taking these notes.
Dave is a member of the American Amateur
Archaeological Society (ASAA). As he puts it, “I
am not an archaeologist. I am more than a
researcher. I don’t like to dig. I have to be right.
I’m too lazy to keep searching. It’s a lot easier to
work at a desk than it is to crawl around in the
trees and ticks. It’s easier to do the research and
then go out and find it.”
For over 100 years, its smokestack stood in the
riparian jungle, and two eyewitnesses mentioned
it had scrollwork on it (this was also the case of
the California—its scrolled smokestack was
visible until it finally disappeared in 1970).
And that’s what Dave does. He takes copies of
historical maps and overlays them onto modern
satellite imagery. Using GIS (Geographic
Information System) technology and historical
map regression analysis (process of working
backwards from later maps to earlier maps), Dave
is able to pinpoint a historic site to within 60 feet.
Plugging the information into a GPS unit allows
him to go into the field and find the spot he’s
interested in.
Dave and a few of his friends went to the Plumas
location in winter when the threat of ticks was
less and some of the undergrowth was gone.
Using a 12-foot probe, they hit metal at nine feet
and broke the probe. While he hasn’t done any
excavation, Dave is pretty sure it’s the Plumas
because they hit metal, the historical map shows
the wreck in the river even though the area is not
in the present river channel, and it’s in the area
indicated by past eyewitness sightings.
————
To give an example of how Dave uses these
techniques, he showed how he located the wreck
of the riverboat Plumas.
A couple of years back, a friend told him there
was a wreck of a riverboat near Woodson
Bridge—the Plumas. It was a small 51-ton
sternwheeler put into service in 1853. Coming
downriver from Tehama one day in 1854 it hit a
snag and sunk. Its homeport was Old Sacramento
by the modern day Railroad Museum. It normally
ran to Marysville. Why it headed to Tehama is a
mystery.
His friend mentioned that his father saw it in the
The location of Lassen’s adobe complex south of
Deer Creek isn’t known—there are plenty of
ideas, but no one knows where it originally stood.
By using these techniques and a copy of a map
sketched by William B. Ide (UC Berkeley,
Bancroft Library), Dave is able to make a
(Continued on pg. 3)
2
(Freeman cont. from pg. 2)
When you drive into the Abby complex today,
you pass over a concrete ditch. This ditch is in
what originally was a canal approximately 40 feet
wide and 10 feet deep—you can just see its
outline on either side of that ditch. There were
four canals on Lassen’s ranch stretching from
east to west; 120 yards separate them from one
another. Dave has located three of them. There
are 10 miles of main canals and many secondary
canals.
compelling argument for a location he believes is
the site of the Lassen adobe complex (as shown
by Joseph Goldsborough Bruff’s 1850 sketch) on
the grounds of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in
Vina, CA.
Ide’s map shows the Sacramento River, the
Woodson Bridge area, Deer Creek, canals on
Lassen’s Rancho Bosquejo (in Spanish, it means
“wooded area”; the term “Bosquejo” means a bit
more in Castilian, it means small, orderly forest,
or orchard/vineyard) watered fields, and even a
mill by the river. Canals require water. At first,
Dave thought Lassen may have gotten his water
from China Slough, to the south, but the flow
isn’t right. So he looked north. Along Highway
99 is a sign that says “Deer Creek Overflow.”
This is Lassen’s diversion canal from between
1845-1847 (we don’t know the year that canal
was put in, but Lassen was there by 1844, had
livestock and crops planted by 1845, and Ide’s
map was drawn in 1846). Dimensions for this
diversion canal are 25 yards wide, 8 feet deep at
present, but it was larger back then. Lassen’s
original diversion dam is to the east of present
day Highway 99.
Lassen’s land grant encompassed 22,206.26 acres
or five square leagues (1 league = 3.45 miles—
Ide surveyed it at four square leagues.) The
diversion dam is exactly one league from the
historical course of Sacramento River at Deer
Creek. Lassen put his dam there so he could get
the maximum amount of irrigation out of his
system. Sutter did the exact same thing with his
canal system in Sacramento but on a much larger
scale.
————
Getting back to Lassen’s adobe complex—last
March, Dave made three trips to the monastery
grounds. He found several sites in an orchard east
of the present day wine tasting room. At the first
site, he found small cut nails, small red brick
fragments, and a brass scruple. A scruple is a coin
of various sizes and weights with a number on
them. The one found was a 3 pennyweight. They
are used to measure medicine and also gold. They
are a known weight coin.
Metal detecting indicated a high concentration of
artifacts in an area fitting the footprint of Bruff’s
1850 sketch (e.g., one section had many hits that
turned up handmade nuts and bolts—Lassen was
a blacksmith by trade so this could be the location
of his blacksmith shop). Unfortunately, this
ground has been worked/plowed heavily over
time, so it’s not pristine—even a railroad spur
line (possibly two) ran across it at one time
because Stanford traveled by rail. Dave said that
by studying Bruff’s sketch, you can determine an
approximation of the area’s size by studying the
buildings. Even the shadows in the sketch can
help determine their orientation. Based on the
shadows, the complex faced west, so when you
look at the sketch, you’re looking east with Bruff
as he drew his picture. Dave believes Bruff’s tent
was pitched where the current solar panels are by
the present day wine tasting room.
Dave found indications of more canals from a
flyer announcing the sale of the Gerke property
(Gerke acquired Lassen’s Ranch in 1852 and sold
it in 1881). Lassen’s canals etc. were built using
Indian labor—Lassen was on good terms with the
local Indians, and he paid them to help him with
his ranch.
Continued on pg. 4)
3
(Freeman-cont. from pg. 3)
GENEALOGICAL DIGGINGS
Susie Zimmer, the cultural and historical
officer for the Abby, collected all the
artifacts she and Dave found for
safekeeping. Based on the historical maps,
concentration and type of artifacts, Dave is
confident he has located Lassen’s adobe
complex.
APRIL-JULY
If you know any additional information on
these people please contact me or send an
email to [email protected]
————
Information wanted on Beegum Resort,
George Ross Home,Motorcycle registrations
in 1914, property of John Ellison Trewblood
According to Bruff, the Lassen’s gristmill
and a cabin adjoined each other near the
Sacramento River by the mouth of Deer
Creek. Dave and a few others went to this
area to try to find this cabin but Lassen
protects his secrets very well. It’s very
dense riparian habitat, but they did notice a
diversion canal and manmade berm
protecting this area. This is at the
southernmost canal, which they measured
at 40 feet across, 10 feet deep, and
approximately 3 miles long (from the
diversion dam located a league away to the
east down to Kopta Slough). The other two
canals that have been found also have
these measurements.
Obits found for Virgil Hodson, Lillian and
Francis Osborne, William Miles, Annie E.
Miles, Samuel Hermanson, Elizabeth
Stacher Schumaker, Nancy Cochran Staser
Burch Trewblood, Ida Mae Hayes, Lloyd
Lyman Hedges
No obits found for George W. Hodson, Irene
L. Gish Kingery, Franklin G. Powers,
Norman Clair Masterson
No information found for Charles Wesley
Quimby, John Staser, Helen Marie Bartlett
33rd ANNUAL TEHAMA
COUNTY MUSEUM JUBILEE
————
Ruby Johnson Swartzlow’s books (1940
and 1964) contain a direct quote from
Frémont stating they camped (spring of
1846) one-half mile above the mouth of
Deer Creek. Plugging the information
provided by Frémont into his GPS, Dave
and his friends easily found the campsite
on high ground by one of the canals.
Mark your calendars for Saturday,
September 6th, for the 33rd Annual
Tehama County Museum Jubilee.
The festivities begin at 8 am with a
pancake breakfast, and runs until. 3 pm.
There will be music, food, art exhibits,
book signings, and a country store as well a
craft booths.
For a full schedule check out the
Museum website at:
http://tehamacountymuseum.blogspot.com.
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GENEALOGICAL &
LIFE MEMBERS
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS
Welcome new life members: Richard
Crooker-Kutztown PA, Carleton C. Havener &
Millicent Waits-Red Bluff & Carol SartoriAnderson CA
Arthur Abbott, Anna Bahme, Chris Bauer,
Chris Bedell, Jerry Bedell, B. Lee Black, Lorna
Bonham, Linton A. Brown, Charlene Burch, Charles
C. Burch, Marguerite Carpenter, Douglas Dale,
Leonora Robbins Davidson, Elizabeth Dillabo-Mills,
Alonzo H. Eaton, Jim Edwards, Glenn Felder, Shirley
Felder, Leslie Floyd, Ann Forward, Richard Forward,
Maylon Susan Friday, Janey Gibson, Marilynn
Gittings, R. Judd Hanna, Jean Hanson, Neva
Hardgrave, Melanie Headrick, William Hedden,
Hilda Kay Willard Hendricks, Dennis Holliday,
Donald Houghton, Alma Hunerlach, Eletta Jacobson,
Hub Johnson, Dave Kinner, Christine Klukkert, Jarith
(Jary) Kraft, Ken Lindauer, Teresa Stroing
Lindeman, Targe Lindsay, Dee Linton, Marilyn
Long, Gloria Maples, Jon W. Mathis, J. Rock
McClellan, Maylene McCoach, Nancy McCullough,
Everett G. McDonough, Jr., Opal Mendenhall, Betty
Joe Morales, Margot O’Dell, Venita Philbrick, Ann
C. Read, Hank Sandbach, Butch Sartori, Gene Serr,
Frank Spanfelner, JoAn Spanfelner, Dixie L.
Stevenson, Carol Hall Sutherland, Kathryn
Thompson, Ray Wahl, Ren Wakefield, Dennis
Whitehead, and Helen Young
President—————-——--Carol Mieske
[email protected]
1st Vice-President—————-—-Doug Dale
2nd Vice-President——--—————-Vacant
Secretary——————-—-—Clarisse Cottier
Treasurer————————Teresa Lindeman
Genealogy Chairman————-Carol Mieske
Membership Chairman——--—-Sandy Tuttle
Newsletter Chairman————---Sandy Tuttle
Memories Editor——————— Josie Smith
Historian——-——-———-Opal Mendenhall
Events————-—-———————Art Abbott
DIRECTORS-at-LARGE
Carolyn Barber
Janey Gibson
Gale Gilbert
Alice Jackson
Anne Krause
Gene Serr
IN MEMORIUM
DR. MARVIN LOCKE
REGULAR/BUSINESS
MEETINGS
Directors-Emeritus
John Bedford
Dr. Marvin Locke
Mildred Williams
The next Regular/Business meetings
of the society are Tuesday Sept. 9, and
Tuesday Oct. 14, 6:30 at the Tehama
County Library in Red Bluff. All
interested members are encouraged to
attend.
Website: www.tcghsoc.org
PHOEBE LARNE-Webmaster
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
RED DOT?
Individual—————————-—-$15
Family————————————$20
Supporting——————————-$30
Sustaining——————————--$50
Life (per individual)——————$200
If there is a RED DOT on your mailing
label it indicates that you have not
renewed your membership for 2014-2015
and this will be your last newsletter. If you
wish to renew send your dues PLUS $2 to
cover special mailing of your Memories
Fiscal Year May 1 to April 30
5
AUTHOR KEN JOHNSTON
SEPTEMBER PROGRAM
Mark your calendars for Thursday,
September 25. Ken Johnston author of
“Legendary Truths, Peter Lassen & Gold
Rush Trail in Fact & Fable” will be our
speaker at the Red Bluff Community
Center at 7 PM.
Mr. Johnston was a park ranger
naturalist/interpreter at Lassen National Park
in the 1970s.
You may remember that Gene Serr
reviewed the book in the September/
October issue of this newsletter. If you don’t
have a copy check out our website for a
copy.
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