Valley Springs News Rack: Photo by Sal Manna

"Something From Nothing: The Early History Of West Calaveras County"

By Sal Manna

A column published the first Wednesday of each month exclusively in The Valley Springs/Calaveras County News.  The magazine compilation "Something From Nothing, Vol. I" includes #1 through #18 (and the two bonuses); "Something From Nothing, Vol. II" includes #19 through #38; "Something From Nothing, Vol. III" includes #39 through #58; "Something From Nothing, Vol. IV" includes #59 through #78; "Something From Nothing, Vol. V" includes #79 through #98.  Vol. I, III and V are sold out.  Along with limited copies remaining of the other volumes, digital PDFs of every original "Something From Nothing" article are also available through this website, as is the 328-page "Something From Nothing: The Early History of West Calaveras County" (Calaveras History Publishing, 2020) which brings together #1 through #100 plus the two bonus articles, and the 314-page "Something From Nothing II: More Early History of West Calaveras County" (Calaveras History Publishing, 2022), which comprises #101 through #200 plus a previously unpublished article. 

 

#1 (March 1, 2006) The First Family Of Valley Springs: The Lates And The White House

#2 (April 5, 2006) Shopkeepers: Burson’s Allison Store, Part I

#3 (May 3, 2006) Shopkeepers: Burson’s Allison Store, Part II

#4 (June 7, 2006) Fire & Water In Valley Springs: The 1895 Disaster

#5 (July 5, 2006) Full Steam Ahead: The Poetry Of The San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad

#6 (August 2, 2006) On The Road: The First Automobile (Mansfield Gregory)

#7 (September 6, 2006) The Man After Whom Wallace Was Named Finally Revealed (John Wallace) 

#8 (October 4, 2006) Murder! The Gruesome Demise Of Frank Hanhardt

#9 (November 1, 2006) What’s In A Name: Valley Springs Or Valley Spring? 

#10 (December 6, 2006) The Admiral Of Calaveras County (Theodore Vogelgesang)

Bonus Holiday Special (December 22, 2006): Historic Markers Rediscovered

#11 (January 3, 2007) Full Steam Ahead: Ettie The Passenger Car

#12 (February 7, 2007) T.C. Evans And The First And Only Hotel In Wallace

#13 (March 7, 2007) Tough Times, Tough Men: Joaquin Murietta And John Kellogg Pattee

#14 (April 4, 2007) Play Ball! Turn Of The Century Baseball

#15 (May 2, 2007) Murder! The Shooting Of Constable Holman

Memorial Day Special (May 25, 2007) A Poem By Civil War Hero Job Thomas

#16 (June 6, 2007) The Call To Arms: Civil War Sharpshooter Job Thomas Comes To Burson

#17 (July 4, 2007) Hail To The Chief: West Calaveras And The Oval Office

#18 (August 1, 2007) Sister Cities: Connecting Paloma To Folsom

#19 (September 5, 2007) Our Historic Homes: The Wildermuth House

#20 (October 3, 2007) Catts Camp: Samuel Catts Supplies The Gold Rush

#21 (November 7, 2007) All’s Fair In Love And War: The Lillie Family

#22 (December 5, 2007) More Than A Road: The Southworth Teachers

#23 (January 2, 2008) The Country Doctor: William Bright March

#24 (February 6, 2008) “Honey, Who’s That Man Buried In Our Field?” (Hiram Gillam)

#25 (March 5, 2008) Full Steam Ahead: The San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad

#26 (April 2, 2008) Full Steam Ahead: The Train Conductor Called Mac (Amos McClelland)

#27 (May 7, 2008) Our Historic Homes: Casa Blanca

#28 (June 4, 2008) Duty Served: Captain Messenger And The Civil War

#29 (July 2, 2008) “Old Ironsides” (Prince Athearn)

#30 (August 6, 2008) The Remarkable Story Of John Storey

#31 (September 3, 2008) The Brothers Wallace: Our Evolution Connection (Alfred Russel Wallace)

#32 (October 1, 2008) The Remembrance Book Of Katie Maley

#33 (November 5, 2008) For The Relief Of Insolvent Debtors

#34 (December 3, 2008) Camanche Tragedy: Lawson Hill Shot Dead

#35: (January 7, 2009) Camanche Triumph: Auntie Hill’s Insect Powder

#36 (February 4, 2009) Olive Oil & Our Liquid Gold Rush

#37 (March 4, 2009): The “Beautiful Rocks” Of Rocca Bella Olives (Louis Sammis)

#38 (April 1, 2009) The Calaveras Special Steams Into Valley Springs

#39 (May 6, 2009) “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” And A Calaveras Nephew (A.A. Van Sandt)

#40 (June 3, 2009) Getting Married In 1899: Jake And Pearl Walk Down The Aisle (Jacob Wimer and Pearl Wright)

#41 (July 1, 2009) Black & White & Blue & Gray…Sgt. John Dawson, U.S. Colored Troops

#42 (August 5, 2009) Message In A Bottle (Essence of Jamaica Ginger and Jake Walk)

#43 (September 2, 2009) Our Historic Homes: The Evergreen School

#44 (October 7, 2009) What’s In A Name? Milton (Milton S. Latham)

#45 (November 4, 2009) Our Forgotten Heroes (Union Civil War Soldiers From Calaveras)

#46 (December 2, 2009) Shopkeepers: Camanche’s Cavagnaro-Genochio Store

#47 (January 8, 2010, Friday) Crime Doesn't Pay: The Tale Of Troy Dye, Part I

#48 (February 3, 2010) Crime Doesn't Pay: The Tale Of Troy Dye, Part II

#49 (March 3, 2010) Pardee Dam: The East Bay Taps The Mokelumne River

#50 (April 7, 2010) Welcome To Bewleyland

#51 (May 5, 2010) Li'l Henry: A Model T's Trip Across America, Part I

#52 (June 2, 2010) Li'l Henry: A Model T's Trip Across America, Part II

#53 (July 7, 2010) Shopkeepers: Valley Springs' Pliler & Lillie

#54 (August 4, 2010) The Confederacy In Calaveras: William Gwin, The Duke Of Sonora

#55 (September 1, 2010) The Rock Art Of The First People

#56 (October 6, 2010) Ho For The Klondike!

#57 (November 3, 2010) World War I And The Calaveras Liberty Boys

#58 (December 1, 2010) Daniel+Martha+2: The Bursons Adopt Effie And Clara Belle

#59 (January 5, 2011) Ah Lin: The Last Chinese Gold Miner Of Jenny Lind

#60 (February 2, 2011) Saving Stockton: Hogan Dam

#61 (March 2, 2011) The Doctor Is A Woman!

#62 (April 6, 2011) Where's Waldo? Nah, Where's Norval?

#63 (May 4, 2011) Samuel Ryland, The Miner Who Built Bridges

#64 (June 1, 2011) The Lost City Of Calaveras

#65 (July 6, 2011) The Socialist Catechism In Calaveras

#66 (August 3, 2011) Pardee The Man Not The Dam

#67 (September 7, 2011) Murder! Joseph Hubert Claims Insanity, Part I

#68 (October 5, 2011) Murder! Joseph Hubert Claims Insanity, Part II

#69 (November 2, 2011) The Grand Army Of The Republic's Chickamauga Post 149

#70 (December 7, 2011) Our Historic Homes: Daphne Street

#71 (January 4, 2012) What's In A Name: Jenny Lind

#72 (February 1, 2012) Reason McConnell: The Man Who Shot Black Bart, Part I

#73 (March 7, 2012) Reason McConnell: The Man Who Shot Black Bart, Part II

#74 (April 4, 2012) Thomas Van Buren And Double Springs: The Man Behind Our First County Seat

#75 (May 2, 2012) The Soap Opera Life Of Elijah Swinford

#76 (June 6, 2012) The Slow, Tired & Easy: The Railroad That Never Reached Jenny Lind

#77 (July 4, 2012) The "Smoke Evil" Of The Penn Mine

#78 (August 1, 2012) Our Silent Film Star And The Notorious Lizzie Borden

#79 (September 5, 2012) The Hetch Hetchy Controversy

#80 (October 3, 2012) Monroe Sinclair: A Jenny Lind School Teacher

#81 (November 7, 2012) Our Historic Homes: The Cutler-Dennis House

#82 (December 5, 2012) Milton Masonic Hall Celebrates Lodge's 150th Anniversary

#83 (January 2, 2013) Necessity Is The Mother Of Inventions, Part I

#84 (February 6, 2013) Necessity Is The Mother Of Inventions, Part II

#85 (March 6, 2013) Our Historic Homes: Campo Seco's Maher House

#86 (April 3, 2013) The Love Affair Of Orilla And Robert

#87 (May 1, 2013) Gold! Dredging And Doodlebugs

#88 (June 4, 2013) The Original Town Halls Of Valley Springs

#89 (July 3, 2013) The Lime Kiln Ranch

#90 (August 7, 2013) Valley Springs Hotels: Location, Location, Location

#91 (September 4, 2013) Blood And Guts At The Valley Springs Hotel

#92 (October 2, 2013) The Mysterious Death Of Caroline Stage, Part I

#93 (November 6, 2013) The Mysterious Death Of Caroline Stage, Part II

#94 (December 4, 2013) The Bells Of St. Michael's

#95 (January 1, 2014) What's In A Name: Camanche

#96 (February 5, 2014) The Donners Of Milton And The Donner Party

#97 (March 5, 2014) Simon And Isaac Foorman: A Jewish Family

#98 (April 2, 2014) Froebel The Fighter

#99 (May 7, 2014) The Celebrated Painter Of Calaveras County

#100 (June 4, 2014) The Journal Of Oscar Late

#101 (July 2, 2014) Carlo Derivi And A Legacy Of Olives

#102 (August 6, 2014) What's In A Name: Paloma To Fosteria To Paloma Again

#103 (September 3, 2014) Our Historic Homes: The Demartini Ranch

#104 (October 1, 2014) The Post Office That Rode The Rails

#105 (November 5, 2014) The Patriot Family Of Wallace

#106 (December 3, 2014) "The Fatal Sleigh Ride" By Lulu Higginbotham

#107 (January 7, 2015) Ebenezer Winchester, Publisher

#108 (February 4, 2015) Frederick Birdsall, Founder Of Valley Springs

#109 (March 4, 2015) What's In A Name: Greasertown Becomes Petersburg

#110 (April 1, 2015) Las Juntas Patrioticas

#111 (May 6, 2015) Invisible Pioneers: The Mentally Disabled

#112 (June 3, 2015) Shopkeepers: Paulk Bros. & Johnson

#113 (July 1, 2015) A Saloon In The Street

#114 (August 5, 2015) The Chinese Scorned In Gold Mountain

#115 (September 2, 2015) The Issei: The Japanese Come To California

#116 (October 7, 2015) A Cook Family's Tour Of Burson

#117 (November 4, 2015) "A Splendid Little War"

#118 (December 2, 2015) The Sound Of Music

#119 (January 6, 2016) The Remembrance Book Of Mariel Sanden

#120 (February 3, 2016) The Free Love Cult Of Valley Springs

#121 (March 2, 2016) The Surprising Mrs. Rathbun, Part I

#122 (April 6, 2016) The Surprising Mrs. Rathbun, Part II

#123 (May 4, 2016) Postmasters Of Wallace

#124 (June 1, 2016) Bert The Barber: A Cutting Affair

#125 (July 6, 2016) Hooray For Hollywood!: "Come Next Spring"

#126 (August 3, 2016) Before La Contenta: The Reinking Ranch

#127 (September 7, 2016) What's In A Name: Burson Is A Person

#128 (September 30, 2016) Daniel Burson Fights For The Union

#129 (November 2, 2016) The Good Reverend Burchard

#130 (December 7, 2016) Brack's Landing

#131 (January 4, 2017) By The Same Token

#132 (February 1, 2017) The Matriarch Of Mountain Gate

#133 (March 1, 2017) Branding Time

#134 (April 5, 2017) Cattle Rustling

#135 (May 3, 2017) William Campbell, War Of 1812

#136 (June 7, 2017) Our Historic Homes: The Wheat House

#137 (July 5, 2017) Ascending Half Dome

#138 (August 2, 2017) Schoolteachers: The Single And The Spinster

#139 (September 6, 2017) On The Cherokee Trail, Part I

#140 (September 29, 2017) On The Cherokee Trail, Part II

#141 (November 1, 2017) The Eproson Family

#142 (December 6, 2017) A Bitter Separation: Robert and Fanny Eproson

#143 (January 3, 2018) Carnduff & Son, Milton Pioneers, Part I

#144 (February 7, 2018) Carnduff & Son, Milton Pioneers, Part II

#145 (March 7, 2018) Three Chairs From Lulu

#146 (April 4, 2018) Murder! Who Killed Jose Nandino?

#147 (May 2, 2018) More Forgotten Heroes

#148 (June 6, 2018) John Ospital's El Rancho Grande

#149 (July 4, 2018) A Breed Apart: The Australian Shepherd

#150 (August 1, 2018) "J. Baker"

#151 (September 5, 2018) What's In A Name: Toyon

#152 (October 3, 2018) A Cattle Drive

#153 (November 7, 2018) Shopkeepers: The Burson Market

#154 (December 5, 2018) F.F. Thomas Of The Gwin Mine

#155 (January 2, 2019) A Tornado Strikes Milton

#156 (February 6, 2019) Our Historic Homes: The March House

#157 (March 6, 2019) Murder! The Drunken Demise Of William Littlejohn

#158 (April 3, 2019) Etta Crewdson: Crusader For Temperance

#159 (May 1, 2019) The Curse Of Dead Man's Corner

#160 (June 5, 2019) Poverty Bar

#161 (July 3, 2019) Lillian Lamson, A Sister On Stage

#162 (August 7, 2019) The Incomparable Mr. Watt, Master Builder

#163 (September 4, 2019) The Campo Seco Post Office

#164 (October 2, 2019) The Journey Of Samuel Prindle, Part I

#165 (November 6, 2019) The Journey Of Samuel Prindle, Part II

#166 (December 4, 2019) Pottery Born Of Our Clay

#167 (January 1, 2020) A Campo Seco Connection To The American Revolution

#168 (February 5, 2020) Robbing The Valley Springs Stage

#169 (March 4, 2020) "A Desperado Of The Worst Character"

#170 (April 1, 2020) The Women Who Owned West Calaveras

#171 (May 6, 2020) An Ordinary Letter From Campo Seco

#172 (June 3, 2020) The Last Day Of The Camanche Post Office

#173 (July 1, 2020) Murder! The Tragic End Of Ah Jim

#174 (August 5, 2020) Thomas Hague Sells Valley Springs

#175 (September 2, 2020) Hooray For Hollywood!: "The Moonshine War"

#176 (October 7, 2020) What William John Fletcher Left Behind

#177 (November 4, 2020) The Calaveras Croix De Guerre

#178 (December 2, 2020) Rossetti's

#179 (January 6, 2021) What's In A Name: Helisma

#180 (February 3, 2021) A Slave No More (Kirk Family)

#181 (March 3, 2021) They Called Him Pete, Part I (Early Life)

#182 (April 7, 2021) They Called Him Pete, Part II (Pete's Cafe)

#183 (May 5, 2021) They Called Him Pete, Part III (Pete the Outlaw)

#184 (June 2, 2021) They Called Him Pete, Part IV (Pete's Murder)

#185 (July 7, 2021) A 1930s Dinner At Pete's

#186 (August 4, 2021) The School That Time Forgot (Bald Mountain)

#187 (September 1, 2021) The Curious Tale Of Princess White Cloud, Part I

#188 (October 6, 2021) The Curious Tale Of Princess White Cloud, Part II

#189 (November 3, 2021) The Curious Tale Of Princess White Cloud, Part III

#190 (December 8, 2021) Striking Our Matchbooks

#191 (January 5, 2022) The Mormon Trail Leads to Valley Springs

#192 (February 2, 2022) The Man WHo Taught Thomas Edison How to Shoot

#193 (March 2, 2022) He Ho'Omana' No Una (In Memory of Una)

#194 (April 6, 2022) Alex Brown the Tax Man

#195 (May 6, 2022) The Great Eight Signatures

#196 (June 1, 2022) The Short Life of Charley Peck

#197 (July 6, 2022) Rediscovering Our Japanese Colony

#198 (August 3, 2022) The Philandering Parson and the Milton Schoolmarm

#199 (September 7, 2022) F.H. Reed, Civil Engineer

#200 (October 5, 2022) The End of the Line

#201 (November 2, 2022) North American House

#202 (December 7, 2022) Lavinia's Father

#203 (January 4, 2023) Soldiers But Not Citizens

#204 (February 8, 2023) Connecting Campo Seco to Carmel-by-the-Sea

#205 (March 1, 2023) Arthur Powell Davis: America's Greatest Engineer Builds Pardee Dam

#206 (April 5, 2023) A Chilean Heritage (Villegas Family)

#207 (May 3, 2023) May You Live to 100

#208 (June 7, 2023) Sadie and Percy's Secret Love Code

#209 (July 5, 2023) The Wallace Creamery Association

#210 (August 2, 2023) Our Historic Homes: The Pettinger House

#211 (September 6, 2023) A '49er at Double Springs

#212 (October 4, 2023) James "Steady" Steedman: Of Water and War

#213 (November 1, 2023) The Surgeon of San Francisco

#214 (December 6, 2023) Ezra Ellingwood the Mariner

#215 (January 3, 2024) The Baumhoggers of Bloomfield

#216 (February 7, 2024) Valley Springs Mineral Water Company

#217 (March 6, 2024) Insanity Runs in the Family

#218 (April 3, 2024) Murder! One Fateful Day in Camanche

#219 (May 1, 2024) Monnie's Memoir

#220 (June 5, 2024) The Scoundrel That Was George

#221 (July 10, 2024) Murder! The Killing of Jenny Lind's Justice of the Peace

#222 (August 7, 2024) The Great San Quentin Prison Break