Artifact of the Month: Shasta County Court Documents

1981.58.38a-d — Gift of Marion Ross

At first glance, these four pages may not seem too compelling, but there is more here than meets the eye! What appears to be a stack of personal notes, jotted down in old-fashioned cursive, are actually records from court cases related to miners and land claims. The cases were conducted in French Gulch in the late 1800’s. Legal documents like these offer a glimpse into 19th Century life while also providing insight into the local affairs of 1890.

French Gulch, founded in 1849 by French immigrants looking to prosper, quickly became one of California’s biggest gold producing areas. In addition, the Washington Mine was established nearby as California’s first quartz producing mine. The region flourished as a hotbed of activity and French Gulch became the end point for the western branch of the California Trail. Gold production skyrocketed, drawing in potential prospectors from all over the world during the height of the Gold Rush around 1852. Westward ho!

Unfortunately, more miners and less gold resulted in lawlessness and disorder. Desperate to ‘strike it rich’, some resorted to villainous swindling. Shopkeepers hiked the prices of necessities (food, clothing, tools), con men “salted” small bits of gold on plots of land to inflate values, and claim jumpers simply took over the mining claims of others, sometimes forcibly, resorting to personal violence. This led to some landowners shooting trespassers on sight in anticipation of their claims being taken away from them.

These court documents were originally recorded by Justice of the Peace, Thomas Lowdon, who has an interesting story of his own. British by birth, he immigrated to the west coast by way of Pennsylvania. Like many others, he sought to find his fortune through prospecting, though he eventually became a lawyer for Shasta County. Justices like Lowdon played an important role in communities during this time. They were the moderators keeping people in line with the law – which wasn’t always easy in the Wild West!

Visit the museum to learn more about the shenanigans the late, great Thomas Lowdon dealt with in our very own Shasta County!