"Transporting Tehama County"
Early Transportation
There were several transportation modes
available to early residents of Tehama County. These included
travel on foot, horse or mule-back, stagecoach, freight-wagon,
ferry, riverboat, and railroad. Each of these modes of
transportation had their advantages with the variables
being time, cost, and availability. During the California
Gold Rush most traffic went north to the gold fields of
Shasta and Trinity Counties. Following the Gold Rush,
much transport headed the opposite direction, carrying
Tehama County's rich agriculture bounty to the population
centers Sacramento and the Bay Area.
Sternwheelers on the Sacramento
River
Riverboats were an important
mode of transport for passengers and cargo in the mid-to-late
1800s. Peter Lassen was the first to bring a sternwheeler
into what would become Tehama County in 1849. In 1850
argonauts headed for the northern gold fields steamed
north from Sacramento stopping in the town of Tehama.
Shortly thereafter Red Bluff became head of navigation
on the Sacramento River and grew rapidly as a result.
Warehouses full of mining supplies sprang up and Red Bluff
became a regional hub for mining endeavors further north
in Shasta,, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties. With the coming
of the railroad in the 1870s this form of transport began
to fall into disfavor and the paddlewheelers disappeared
from the river altogether in the 1920s.
Sternwheeler "Red Bluff" with barge in tow.
By 1890 barges could carry 1,000 tons of cargo which helped
riverboats stay competitive with the railroad.
JELLY'S FERRY STEERING
WHEEL...This steering wheel
was salvaged from the last operating ferry in the county
of Tehama. Used to transport passengers, vehicles of all
types, and even animals from one side of the Sacramento
River to the other for a fee. This particular ferry was
used until the early 1900s. The steering wheel, mounted
sideways on the ferry, was used to keep the bow angled
slightly up-river against the current.
STAGECOACHES, FREIGHTERS AND FERRIES
People and various types
of cargo were transported in early Tehama County with
the use of stagecoaches and freight wagons. With the coming
of the paddlewheelers in the 1850s and the railroad in
the 1870s other options, existed but travel in rural areas
remained by animal-drawn vehicles until the coming of
motorized vehicles in the early 1900s. Stagecoaches, wagons
of all types, people on foot, and even herds of cattle
and sheep crossed the Sacramento River on ferries situated
at strategic spots. Notable among these toll facilities
were Jelly's Ferry, Ide's Ferry (both of which were named
after their operators), and the Squaw Hill Ferry.
The Newville Stage, 1880
Squaw Hill Ferry located
along the banks of the Sacramento River near the present
site of Woodson Bridge State Park
Mule team on Main Street
in Red Bluff about to transport machinery and supplies
to the gold mines in Shasta and Trinity counties.
Railroads
The coming of the railroad
in the early 1870s brought great change to the economy
and transportation picture in Tehama County. The railroad
was able to out-compete the stern-wheelers in terms of
both cost and time. With the completion of the Central
Pacific line to Redding in 1872 the stagecoaches and freighters
along the valley routes began to suffer economically as
well. The railroad remained the premier form of transportation
for nearly a century but has declined in recent decades
as a result of the popularity of the personal automobile
and truck transport.
1880s Baldwin locomotive used by Southern Pacific Railroad
that passed through Tehama County.
Pictured here is Red Bluff's second roundhouse which was
located at Hickory and Madison Streets. This facility
was abandoned in 1916 when operations were moved to Gerber.
