BURSON, CA (December 15, 2020) - More than 100 articles featuring dozens of rare photographs are included in the just published “Something From Nothing: The Early History of West Calaveras County.”  The first book to embrace Valley Springs, Burson, Wallace, Campo Seco, Camanche, Jenny Lind, Milton and Paloma, its 338 pages bring together 100 numbered “Something From Nothing” monthly columns plus two bonus features, each penned by author and historian Sal Manna and initially presented in The Valley Springs News from March 2006 to June 2014.  From Calaveras History Publishing, a division of the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, the book is available for purchase on westcalaverashistory.org, Amazon.com and ebay.com or by contacting the SPWCH at [email protected].

Among the book’s highlights are articles about the most controversial politician in California history, the first California-born admiral in the U.S. Navy, the widow who inspired a TV series, the men who helped create the olive industry in northern California, the inventor who became mayor of Oakland, an acclaimed landscape painter, and the only African American Civil War soldier buried in the Mother Lode.  Also chronicled are a famed bridge builder, a dam named for a governor, a murderer whose case set a precedent that continues to be cited today, the man who shot infamous outlaw Black Bart, the last Chinese miner, a silent film star who lived with the notorious Lizzie Borden, a soldier who served both the Union and Confederacy, the man responsible for Double Springs becoming our first county seat, renowned naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and his brother John (after whom Wallace was named), Governor and U.S. Senator Milton Latham (after whom Milton was named), and Daniel Smith Burson (whose town is the only one in the county named after a Civil War veteran).  Also revealed are local connections to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” the U.S.S. Constitution, and several U.S. Presidents, as well as stories about historic homes, hotels and railroads; pioneer doctors, teachers, shopkeepers, farmers, miners, athletes and artists; and numerous disasters and triumphs.

Offering the only authoritative history of the people, places and events of west Calaveras County available anywhere, this collection will appeal to readers whether they are new to local history or have followed the “Something From Nothing” column since its start.

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