Plumas County California
Plumas County. Organized in 1854. Bounded north
and east by Lassen, south by Sierra, and west by Butte and
Tehama. Area, 2,736 square miles. Assessed valuation of property
for 1874, $1,414,121.
County seat, Quincy. Principal towns, Greenville, La Porte,
Meadow Valley, and Taylorsville. The resources are chiefly
mineral, but its agricultural capacity is very large. The county
is of Alpine character, being entirely within the Sierra, and
its topographical features are singular. It is composed of high
mountains, deep canons, and romantic, grass covered valleys. The
sources of Feather River are in it, the Middle Fork rising in
Beckwourth Valley, on the east of the main crest of the Sierra,
and making its way westward through the mountain, cuts its
channel down half way from the summit to the level of the sea,
causing one of the grandest mountain chasms of the great chain.
Among the features of the county are the numerous large and
fertile valleys which the mountains enclose, as Big Meadows,
Mountain Meadows, Indian, American, Beckwourth and Meadow
Valleys. The largest of these is Big Meadow Valley, fifteen
miles long and four broad, connecting with Mountain Meadows,
nearly as large, and several smaller ones, generally with an
elevation of 4,500 feet, constituting a plateau on the summit of
the mountain. These are grassy meadows, filled with sparkling
streams, and most inviting to the grazer or dairyman.
The North Fork of Feather River rises in these valleys, and at
the lower end, already a large stream, plunges into one of those
terrible canons so characteristic of these mountains. Indian
Valley is eleven miles in length by two in width, and is very
productive. This, with several connecting valleys, is occupied
with farms and villages, and important gold and copper mines
exist in the surrounding hills. The American Valley, in which is
the town of Quincy, is eleven miles long by from one to two
wide, and has an elevation of 3,500 feet. These are all fertile,
well-watered and timbered, and contain an area of agricultural
and grazing lands sufficient tor the support of many thousands
of people.
Gold mines are found throughout the county, in both quartz and
placer, and are worked with great profit. The high ridges and
deep canons render travel difficult, and its inaccessibility has
greatly retarded development. Plumas is rich in resources of a
varied and attractive character, and with a climate exceedingly
healthy, a high prosperity awaits her future.
Officers: E. T. McHogan, County Judge; F. B.
Whiting, Clerk, Recorder and Auditor; R. H. F. Variel, District
Attorney; J. C. Boring, Sheriff and Tax Collector; J. C.
Chapman, Treasurer; Jacob Stiner, Assessor; A. W. Keddie,
Surveyor; J. H. Yeates. Coroner and Public Administrator,
Ex-officio; W. G. Church, Superintendent Public Schools.
California Gazetteer |
AHGP California
Source: Pacific Coast Business Directory for 1876-78, Compiled
by Henry G. Langley, San Francisco, 1875
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