Upper Soda Springs - During and After The Gold Rush

During and After The Gold Rush

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, brought the Forty-Niners to California in search of riches during the California Gold Rush. For the next ten years, these prospectors spread from the original Gold Country region of the Sierra Nevada throughout the state. Discovery of gold near Yreka, California in 1851 greatly increased the traffic between California's Central Valley and Yreka, and north into Oregon and Washington.

Packers with mule trains joined the prospectors heading north, following existing Native American foot trails through rugged mountains, including the Sacramento River canyon. A rustic wayside hostel for these travelers was the first permanent habitation on the site, established in the early 1850s. During this same time, a band of Wintu, fleeing the predation of the Forty-Niners on the Trinity River, crossed the mountains, and settled near the springs.

In about 1855, a toll bridge crossing the Sacramento River was built on the site by pioneers Ross McCloud and Mary Campbell McCloud. During the next 30 years, the first stagecoach road between the Central Valley and Oregon passed through the site and a more substantial inn was developed, with a covered "springhouse" to allow the public to enjoy the "soda water" from the mineral springs (on the far right in the image to right.) Notably, the name "Dolly Varden trout" was first given to a colorful local fish species by Elda McCloud, the daughter of Ross and Mary McCloud.

The arrival of the Central Pacific railroad in 1886 heralded still further expansion of the inn. Now known as the Upper Soda Springs Resort, it was a destination for well-to-do Victorian Era travelers who would come to "take the waters" at the mineral springs.

With the increasing popularity of the automobile in the 20th century, vacation tastes changed, and the Resort closed by 1920. The property was subdivided, and became private residences and businesses.