Trinity River Corridor
History

The Trinity River Frontier's Prehistoric period may have begun 12,000 or more years ago. The local tribe, the Chimariko, were the elder tribe of the region. Currently used sacred sites of the nearby Hoopa tribe have been carbon dated to be 8,000 years old.

The first whites in the area were trappers. Jedediah Smith recorded his travels along the Trinity River in 1828. There is an account that gold was discovered by fugitive sailors at the confluence of Sailor Bar Creek and the Trinity River (1 1/2 miles east of Big Flat) in 1842, although no gold rush was started from this early discovery. Major Reading successfully mined gold further upstream on the Trinity River near Douglas City in 1848, shortly after Marshall's historic find near Coloma in that same year. In 1850 an expedition began at Rich Bar, 3 miles north of the present day ghost town of Helena, to develop a trail between the Trinity Mines and Humboldt Bay. Though frought with difficulties, this expedition was successful and resulted in the towns of Eureka and Uniontown (now Arcata).

Many early mining camps were small and often ethnic or family or ethnic in character. In the 1850's many waterwheels were built along the Trinity to bring water to the mining operations.These were operated by these small camps. In the winter of 1861-62 there was a large flood which washed these waterwheels away. Many miners became discouraged and abandoned their mining activities.

The next era of mining was dominated by larger, sometimes internationally financed, companies. Large hydraulic operations were set up. The LaGrange Mine, financed by Baron de LaGrange, was the largest in the world for some years until a hydraulic mine in the Sierras superceded it in size. This mine was located just east of Junction City on Oregon Mountain. Factory-sized bucket-line dredges were operated along the river. The large, orderly piles of rock seen along the river between Junction City and Helena were left by one of these dredges.

Small, modern suction dredges are still seen operating on the Trinity River, and it is common to see a small claim marker along the river. Panning, or sluicing can be done by visitors in "free" claims in the area, or with permission by a miner with an existing claim.

Hot Spots to Visit

• LaGrange Mine, 3 miles east of Junction City on Hwy 299.
  Miners in the late 1800's and early 1900's washed away entire mountains with continuous spray through monitors or giant hydraulic nozzles like the one displayed here. This section of highway is the only one in California where the state highway department, CALTRANS, contracted with a mining company to cut out a road bed. Driving along Hwy 299 one sees many areas of exposed red dirt. These are the results of hydraulic mining activities. Many smaller sites are now overgrown with vegetation.
• Junction City
  Another monitor is displayed next to the Junction City Store and Post Office. Junction City, population 200, was the junction of trails connecting Weaverville, Hayfork, "Downriver," and the Canyon Creek Mines.
• Bagdad/Helena
  Bagdad is believed to be the name, probably chosen for it's exotic, far-away connotations. It may have been chosen by Craven Lee, a practical jokester and one of the founders of Helena,(then called North Fork). It refered to town dwellings on the east side of the North Fork where "Jungfrau, Madmoiselles, and Senoritas" resided along with a Chinese population. Helena still stands as a ghost town. Brick buildings are from the 1850's,and made from local clay. Helena is on private land. Do not trespass without permission by caretakers who live in a mobile home at the site of Helena Meckel's hotel.Helena is 1/8 mile from Hwy 299.
• Rich Bar
  Keep driving on East Fork Rd. past Helena 3 1/2 miles and Rich Bar will be on your right. A historical marker is scheduled to be placed here at the Sesquintenial Rich Bar Festival on Septermber 25, 1999. In 1850 Josiah Gregg, a government surveyer, led an expedition to the coast in search of a less expensive route to supply Trinity Miners with provisions. The expedition resulted in the discovery of Humboldt Bay, and in the founding of Eureka, and Uniontown (now Arcata). The Mad River was named when tired crewmembers refused to take Gregg's surveying equipment across the swollen river in borrowed Indian canoes resulting in choice words spoken by Gregg.
• Big Flat/Big Bar
  Frequent use of the word "bar" in place names does not refer to a tavern, but to a gravel or cobble flat above the usual channel of the river. These bars contained gold, and provided flat areas to build on. Big Bar, now 3 miles west, was originally right across the river from Big Flat. The creek, just around the bend to the west is still called Big Bar Creek.
  Though not the first settler in the area, John Weaver came in 1850 and, according to Isaac Cox, in his 1858 book called "The Annals of Trinity County," Weaver, together with 5 partners, put $10,000 into building a flume on Big Bar Creek and in that same year pulled out $100,000 worth of gold.
  Elizabeth Walton, according to Cox, was the first woman in Trinity County. She baked the first Johnny Cake, and was a frontier woman who, when seeing her husband accosted by indians in near their house, got out her rifle and, as Cox put it, "dispatched several indians to their happy hunting grounds."
  If you look across to the old site of Big Bar you will notice that it is lower than the Big Flat side. During the flood of 1861-62 the town washed away, and relocated several miles downstream.
• Cedar Flat
  At Cedar Flat Picnic Area the Creation Story of the Chimariko Indians and other information is given on an interpretive plaque. Cedar Flat was the site of a Cedar Grove and of a Chimariko Indian Village. The Chimariko were a small tribe when the whites arrived, living in the steep Trinity River Canyon. They called the Trinity River the Chiti, or great river. The Chimariko spoke a language of an entirely different language group, Hokan, than either the Wintu to the east (Penutian), or the Hupa to the west (Athabaskan). This is like the difference between English, Chinese, and Swahili.
  The staple foods of the Chimariko were Salmon, Acorn flour, and wild game. Many other plants were eaten.
  The art of basket making was highly developed, as it was with other nearby tribes. They had no ceramic pottery, but baskets were woven so tighly that they could be used to cook in and eat out of. They were also formed into hats and other clothing as well as many other uses.
  Looking along the river one can see many of the materials used in basket making. Next to the water are willows and alders. Strands from young willow chutes, or alternately Hazel were used for the fibers going lengthwise in the basket. Pine roots, Gray Pine, Ponderosa, and others, were used as fibers wrapping around the basket. These root fibers were not only strong, but also expanded when wet to make a waterproof seal. A decorative overlay of geometric designs was often used. The inner bark of the Alder formed a reddish dye applied to strands from large Woodwardia Ferns. Delicate Maidenhair Ferns supplied black fibers. Bear Grass gave a light, buffy color. Sometimes Porcupine quills were also incorporated.
• Salyer Rest Stop
  This stop tells about pack trains. Travel was difficult in the Trinity River Canyon. There was no road west of the North Fork until 1923. Everything was carried in on foot or on pack animals. During the winter rains, side streams became swollen making travel dangerous. Mail carriers were required to go out in all conditions. One mail carrier named McDonald had to borrow a boat during flood stage to cross the Trinity, and frightened by a close call, raised money to build four swing bridges over the Trinity River.