“Caught sight of the mountain house
with a beautiful green garden around.
The valley is about three miles wide here. The cattle that are
running around here are very fat...”*
This diary entry from the
summer of 1853 records the relief of a young pioneer, Welborn Beeson,
as his wagon train completed the hard passage through the Siskiyou Mountains and
reached this outpost of civilization.
During these early years a stream of travelers
passed by the
Mountain House on foot, on horseback, and in wagons, driving cattle or leading
trains of pack mules. The inn offered a place they could feed and rest their
animals, buy meals for themselves, and sleep in a bed with sheets.
In 1853 the three partners bought a license to sell “spirituous liquors,”
thus establishing the only tavern within 150 miles.
Location, location, location. The Mountain House grew into a thriving business,
with abundant gardens, storehouses full of staples, and niceties like
decanters and mirrors. Free enterprise was already starting to smooth the rough edges
off the frontier.
*Quoted in Mill
Creek Journal by Kay Atwood, 1987.
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