Ghosts of Merced Falls

This being gold country in the 1800's, not far from me up in the foothills lies the little town of Merced Falls.  It was originally named California Ranche Crossing, then Belts Ferry since this was one of the few places to cross the Merced River coming from the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Today it's a great fishing location.  There is a small dam that controls the water levels since this is what irrigates many of the properties below IF they had water rights when the property was originally purchased.  Believe it or not, it's also salmon spawning territory.

A huge flour mill was built here in 1856, using the power of the water.  That was followed in 1857 by a post office and in 1867 by a woolen mill.  Strategically placed water wheels ran the whole shebang. There might have been a saloon or two, but nothing that was rowdy enough to be written about.

Sadly in August of 1895 the entire town burned to the ground.  This is all that is left of the mills with a few concrete foundations hidden in the grass.

Also at this location the Yosemite and Sugar Pine Lumber Company built two sawmills to cut up logs brought down from the Yosemite National Park area (before it was a park).  The logs were cut up and shipped out by the Yosemite Vally Railroad.   These ran from 1912 into the 1940's, increasing the town's population to around 1500, mostly lumbermen.

Evidence of the railroad still remains up in the foothills, following the river all the way down to Merced Falls.  If the tracks were really steep, they set up steam donkeys (steam machines with cable systems) to hook on to cars and keep them from running away down the hill.  

Once at the bottom, the logs were rolled into the river and floated to the pond, as in the above picture.  The men rode the logs as they maneuvered them into the chain that pulled them into the mill.  This car has three logs ... most only had ONE they were so huge.

Much of the concrete sawmill remains at the edge of the river, but it's all on private property.  Believe me, you will get shot by the grumpy old man that lives nearby.  The mill lasted until about 1943 when it shut down.  When the Central Pacific Railroad was built along the North-South corridor of the Central Valley, the town became basically abandoned.  There are only a few residents left, along with one very old bar, now closed.  They are always the last to go.

This is one of the haunts of ..... wait for it ..... Joaquin Murietta and Three-Fingered Jack, or so the stories go.  I can certainly imagine them riding out across this gorgeous country on the exact same road I'm driving on ... without the pavement that is.

Next up ... JAIL and it's sometimes partner, the CEMETERY.