Heather’s Choice, book 5 in the MacLarens of
Boundary Mountain, is based on present day Marysville and Yuba City,
California…an area rich in history and beauty.
The origins of Marysville began when Theodore
Cordua leased some land from John A. Sutter in 1842, to raise livestock. Cordua
expanded by building a home and trading post. The ranch was also the spot where
riverboats from San Francisco and Sacramento, filled with miners on their way
to the gold fields, would later dock. Over the years, his holdings grew to a
sizable amount of land.
Cordua sold half of the land to a former
employee, Charles Covillaud, who struck gold. Cordua then sold the other half to
Michael C. Nye and William Foster.
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| Mary Murphy - Donner Party Survivor |
In 1850, the partners hired a surveyor, who
drew up a plan for a town, naming it Marysville after Covillaud's new wife,
Mary Murphy, a survivor of the Donner Party.
Marysville
Growth
In 1851, shortly after Marysville was
incorporated as one of the seven-original cities of California, the first mayor
was elected. During the gold rush, it grew into one of the largest cities in
California, becoming known as the Gateway to the Gold Fields.
By 1853 brick buildings, mills, iron works,
machine shops, and factories stood in place of the old miners’ tent city. Schools,
churches, and two daily newspapers brought civilization to Marysville with a
population nearing 10,000. In 1857 alone, over $10 million in gold was shipped
from Marysville's banks to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. In 1858, the California
State Fair was held in Marysville.
The
Cannery
In March 1888 the Marysville Cannery was open.
The pack for the first day’s run was 20,000 cans of apricots. The cannery
packed 18,000 more cases than their guarantee with the stockholders required.
The annual payroll rose to about $25,000. Later another fruit packing company
was formed—the Marysville Packing Company.
In 1894, W. T. Ellis Jr., was elected mayor
of Marysville and served in that capacity through 1898. His main concern
focused on the sediment from hydraulic mining on the Yuba River above
Marysville. It raised the riverbeds, making Marysville vulnerable to flooding
during winter storms and spring run-off. To remedy this, the city built a levee
system that still protects the town today. But, that same levee hampered the city’s
growth, and the population didn’t increase much after the Gold Rush days. Moreover,
the rising riverbeds made the Feather River increasingly arduous to navigate
until riverboats could no longer make the trip to Marysville.
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| Feather River |
Yuba City Origins
Several Spanish expeditions searching for
mission sites and rugged fur trappers tempted by the abundant wildlife, journeyed
through the region that would later be Yuba City. There is a legend that during
one of these trips, wild grapes were seen growing by a river, prompting the
area to be names Uba, a variant spelling of the Spanish word uva, which
means grape.
In 1841, having built Sutter’s Fort, John Augustus
Sutter set his home, Hock Farm, on the bank of Feather River. He located it at
the site that is now Yuba City. Hock Farm was the primary agricultural venture in
northern California at the time, where Sutter grew grain, orchards vineyards,
and raised cattle.
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| Another view of the Feather River |
Yuba City
Growth
Steamboats landed at Yuba City in 1849
onward, bringing floods of miners to the Gold Rush. By 1852, Yuba City had a population
of 150 with a hotel, a grocery store, and a post office. The city became the
Sutter County seat in 1856.
The
Thompson Seedless Grape
In 1863, William Thompson purchased land ten
miles west of Yuba City where he grew grain for a few years. Back then, only
three families settled in the flat country between Thompson's ranch and Yuba
City.
In 1872, he and his son, George Thompson, were
sent three grape cuttings from Almira & Barry of Rochester New York. They grafted
them onto the roots of one of their grapevines. But, the vineyard was flooded that
spring and only one of the three sprouts grew. All of the seedless grapes of
California were propagated from this first vine. The grape was given the name
Thompson Seedless Grape.
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| Marysville Hotel |
The Cannery
Agriculture continued to be the economic
mainstay of the area. In 1884, the Yuba City Cannery started operations. First
with currants, then on July 1, 1887, they canned apricots, packing over 5,000
cases in just two weeks. By 1887, 150 tons of apricots, 225 tons of peaches, 30
tons of pears, and 15 tons of tomatoes were canned there.
This prompted more farmers to plant orchards
and enter the fruit production industry. In 1891, fruit was shipped into Yuba
City by railroad cars. The following year, quality pack was in high demand in
the East. New markets were opening every year with over $75,000 distributed
between labor and the farmers from this little cannery in just one year.
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| Downtown Marysville |
Over time, the area surrounding Marysville
and Yuba City became an important hub of commerce in northern California.
Cattle, farming, and agriculture brought thousands of jobs to the region,
making it a shining jewel in the burgeoning western United States.
Feel free to comment
on this post below!
Marysville
and Yuba City are important landmarks in Heather’s Choice, book 5 in the
MacLarens of Boundary Mountain historical western romance series.
You may also buy direct from Shirleen before
the formal release date at:
What a great post, Shirleen! My favorite grapes are Thompson seedless but I had no idea how they came by their name. The entire article was interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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