history/geography

Item Description

A classic (vintage 1984) limited edition of "Out of the River Mist" by C. Raymond Clar. A priceless guide to the early settlement of the Guerneville area.

Review:

Before the Bohemian Club, before the wineries and vineyards, there was a crop that touched the sky and drew settlers to the misty reaches of the Russian River.

The Pomo Indians appear to have called the river Shabaikai. In 1812, or thereabouts, Russian fur trappers came up the river from the coast, and they called it Slavianka, "pretty little Russian girl."

In 1823, the northernmost Spanish missions were established in Sonoma and San Rafael—but it was not until a decade later that Spanish scouts explored into the Santa Rosa valley, checking up on the Russians. They named the river San Ysidro, or possibly San Sebastian.

At this time, there were still major stands of redwoods in the area, undisturbed. The Russians were only interested in the animals who lived in the redwood forests, and in the fish who teamed in the river. The Spanish were primarily interested in converting the indigenes to Catholicism.

By 1844, however, land grants were being made along the river, and it was now noted on maps as El Rio Ruso, the Russian River. Early settlers' names are still to be found on the maps of the area: John Heald (Healdsburg), George Guerne (Guerneville), William Henry Willits (Willits), Elijah K. Jenner (Jenner). These settlers who came into the area viewed the huge trees as a substantial asset, but only where they could be moved downstream to the lumbermills.

The red-letter day for lumbering on the Russian River occurred when the first milling equipment was laboriously carted from Forestville over the low divide into Pocket Canyon, to be installed in a new lumbermill at the location of present-day Guerneville. According to Clar, the partners in this mill were John Heald, William Willits, John W. Bagley, and George Guerne. They set to with a will, and were so busy that the growing community around the mill (which included Clar's grandfather) was initially known as "Stumptown."

Clar writes a capsule description of the end of the mill's life in a brief passage:

It is doubtful if anyone working in the great virgin forest that fed the "big mill" of Guerneville ever gave any serious consideration to the possibility of harvesting a second crop of lumber from this land... My father, the expert chopper and shingle sawyer, could not comprehend why or what I was doing when I enrolled as a college forestry student... At any rate, came the day when the last practically available log was transported to the sawmill. The boilers were allowed to cool... A bustling era had come to an end.

The best history to read is the one that connects the past with our lives today, and for me, Clar's history of the area where I now reside meets that requirement.

from the cover:

In Out of the River Mist, C. Raymond Clar masterfully blends historical data from his extensive research with his own autobiographical account of growing up in Guerneville. The result is an authentic history of a Russian River lumber town from Indian days to about 1930. Not only does Clar document the early land claims, business ventures, and lumber industry, but eloquently reveals what it was really like to be part of life in the early days of Guerneville as only a native son could."

by C. Raymond Clar

1973

paperback

122 pages

6" x 9"

this book is listed at $60 and up on Amazon

good condition (It looks like the book got bent, but the damage is very minor and doesn't impact the readability.)

Item Special Note

Special Notes: For the cheapest and quickest access to your books, plan to pick them up in Guerneville shortly after the sale.  (Times and location will be sent to book buyers.)

For those living in Sonoma County, CA, we offer personal contact-free delivery right to your door for only $10 (all going to Stewards). Instructions for delivery will be provided in the purchase confirmation email.

If arrangements for pick-up or delivery are not set up, books will be mailed to the address provided, and shipping costs will be charged.  If no address has been provided, the sale will be void in 30 days, the winner may treat their purchase as a tax-deductible donation to Stewards, and the book will be resold at a future event.