WM. BULL MEEK – WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10
(Wm. Bull Meek Chapter No. 10, chartered 1936. Wm. Morris Stewart Chapter 8591, chartered 1958. Chapter consolidation, 1962) (Nevada, Yuba and Sutter Counties.)
#1 Name: First Fire Department.
Location: On the firehouse in North San Juan, Nevada County.
Wording:
FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS FIRE STATION IN 1864 – GEORGE S. MURPHY, FIRST FIRE CHIEF.
PRESENTED BY WILLIAM BULL MEEK CHAPTER NO. 10,
E CLAMPUS VITUS, MAY 13, 1939
Notes: This plaque has been lost (wording above is from invoice of M. Greenberg’s Sons Foundry in San Francisco, dated May 10, 1939. Total cost of plaque - $23.18) and a new plaque was re-dedicated on October 4, 1975.
#2 Name: William Bull Meek.
Location: In the town square in Camptonville, Yuba County.
Wording:
WILLIAM BULL MEEK
TO CLAMPATRIARCH WILLIAM BULL MEEK, STAGE DRIVER - WELLS FARGO AGENT - MULE SKINNER - TEAMSTER - MERCHANT.
ERECTED BY WM. BULL MEEK CHAPTER NO. 10,
E CLAMPUS VITUS,
MAY 6, 1956
#2 William Bull Meek plaque in Camptonville.
#3 Name: Donner Camp Site.
Location: Alder Creek, Hwy. 89, north of Truckee, Nevada County.
Wording:
DONNER CAMP SITE
ON OCTOBER 20, 1846, THE SIX COVERED WAGONS BROUGHT WEST BY GEORGE AND JACOB DONNER AND THEIR FAMILIES HALTED HERE FOR REPAIRS. BY MARCH OF 1847, ONE HALF OF THE PARTY OF 22 ADULTS AND CHILDREN HAD DIED OF STARVATION AND COLD. THEY CAME WEST SEEKING A NEW LIFE. THEY FOUND MISERY AND DEATH.
THIS MONUMENT DEDICATED BY
WM. M. STEWART CHAPTER ECV
NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST USFS
TRUCKEE – DONNER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
IMOGENE CHAPTER 134,
SIERRAVILLE
OCTOBER 16, 1960
#3
Donner Campsite. TRASH Trek, July 1975
Notes: Wm. Morris Stewart Chapter 8591 was established in 1958, and also went into the plaque business, in this case in collaboration with other historically minded groups.
They only placed a couple of plaques in their four-year existence, but their members provided much impetus for the later plaques of Meek-Stewart Chap. 10.
#4 Name: General Edward F. Beale.
Location: Near administration building, Beale Air Force Base, Yuba County.
Wording:
GENERAL EDWARD F. BEALE
HONORING GENERAL EDWARD F. BEALE, EXPLORER OF THE WEST, FOUNDER OF CALIFORNIA, FIRST TO CARRY CALIFORNIA'S GOLD EAST. PURCHASED CAMELS FOR THE
U.S. ARMY, HERO OF THE MEXICAN WAR. BEALE AIR FORCE BASE NAMED IN HIS HONOR.
ERECTED BY WILLIAM BULL MEEK CHAPTER 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS, INC.,
ROUGH AND READY, CALIFORNIA
#4 Gen. Beale plaque Dedication. Left to Right: Col. Miles Price, Lt. Col. Joe Brown and Edgar Dutton. Photo by J.D. Woodworth.
The Gen. Beale plaque was placed in 1959, and was the last to be placed by the Meek Chapter before its merger with the Stewart Chapter in 1962.
#5 Name: Webber Lake Hotel.
Location: On the hotel at Webber Lake, Nevada County.
Wording:
WEBBER LAKE HOTEL
WEBBER LAKE HOTEL. BUILT IN 1860 BY DR. DAVID GOULD WEBBER, THE LAST OF 30 HOSTELRIES ALONG THE HISTORIC HENNESS PASS ROAD.
MARKER PLACED BY WM. M. STEWART CH. OF
E CLAMPUS VITUS.
Notes: The Webber Lake plaque is a wooden plaque with routed letters, placed on Sept. 10, 1961.
#6 Name: National Exchange Hotel, 1854.
Location: On the hotel at 211 Broad St., Nevada City, Nevada County.
Wording:
NATIONAL EXCHANGE HOTEL, 1854
ORIGINALLY THE BICKNELL BLOCK. STAGECOACH, MAIL, EXPRESS AND TELEGRAPH CENTER IN MINING DAYS. COMPANIES WHICH BECAME PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC CO. FORMED HERE. SITE OF FIRST WHIPPING POST IN STATE. FACADE UNCHANGED SINCE 1854.
PLACED BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS, MAY 5, 1963.
#6 National Hotel in Nevada City
#7 Name: North San Juan - 1853
Location: On the building on Hwy. 49 in North San Juan, Yuba County, California.
Wording:
NORTH SAN JUAN
1853
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN KEINZ AND TO ALL THE PIONEER ARGONAUTS OF SAN JUAN RIDGE, WHO BY THEIR LABOR AND FORTITUDE CONTRIBUTED SO GREATLY TO THE WEALTH AND ECONOMY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND THE NATION.
PLACED BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
OCTOBER 12, 1963
#8 Name: William Morris Stewart Mansion.
Location: On 2 1/2 ton granite rock in front of house at 416 Zion Street, Nevada City, Nevada County.
Wording:
WILLIAM MORRIS STEWART MANSION
BUILT 1855-56.
EXACT REPLICA OF WIFE’S ANTE-BELLUM COLONIAL BIRTHPLACE. ONLY EDIFICE OF THIS TYPE IN CALIFORNIA. STEWART, AN EARLY NEVADA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, JOINED 1859 COMSTOCK SILVER RUSH, LED BATTLE FOR STATEHOOD AND BECAME NEVADA’S FIRST U.S. SENATOR, SERVED 29 YEARS. KNOWN AS THE SILVER SENATOR AND FATHER OF AMERICAN MINING LAW. AUTHORED 15TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
DEDICATED MARCH 7, 1964
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART NO. 10,
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, NEVADA CO. CALIFORNIA-NEVADA CENTENNIAL COMMISSION ON OBSERVANCE OF NEVADA STATE CENTENNIAL
1864 -1964
#8 Wm. Morris Stewart Mansion.
#9 Name: North Bloomfield Drain Tunnel.
Location: Along the road in North Bloomfield, Nevada County.
Wording:
NORTH BLOOMFIELD DRAIN TUNNEL
ONE OF THE GREAT ENGINEERING FEATS IN NEVADA COUNTY HYDRAULIC MINING HISTORY WAS THE DRILLING OF THE 7784 FOOT DRAIN TUNNEL.
THE PROJECT WAS ENGINEERED BY HAMILTON SMITH IN THE MALAKOFF MINE AREA.
EIGHT VERTICAL SHAFTS - OF MORE THAN 200 FEET DEPTH EACH INTERSECTED IN THE LONG DRAIN TUNNEL.
THE PROGRAM WAS STARTED IN APRIL, 1872 AND TOOK 30 MONTHS TO COMPLETE.
TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST
#9 Dedication of North Bloomfield Drain Tunnel. Left to right: Riley W. (Wad) Young, Bill Byars (obscured) Herb Gerrish and Pudgy Altman.
This was a large wooden plaque. The plaque did not last long and was replaced by a bronze plaque on October 3, 1981. The new plaque, however, was erroneously titled: Hiller Tunnel. A new wooden plaque, very much like the original, is now stationed at the entrance to the path leading to the tunnel.
#10 Name: Bridgeport (Nye's Crossing) Covered Bridge
CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK 390.
Location: Nevada County at crossing of Pleasant Valley Road over the South Yuba River.
Wording:
BRIDGEPORT (NYE'S CROSSING) COVERED BRIDGE
BUILT IN 1862 BY DAVID ISAAC JOHNWOOD* WITH LUMBER FROM HIS MILL IN SIERRA COUNTY, THIS BRIDGE WAS PART OF THE VIRGINIA TURNPIKE COMPANY TOLL ROAD WHICH SERVED THE NORTHERN MINES AND THE BUSY NEVADA COMSTOCK LODE. UTILIZING A COMBINATION TRUSS AND ARCH CONSTRUCTION, IT IS ONE OF THE OLDEST HOUSED SPANS IN THE WEST AND THE LONGEST SINGLE SPAN, WOOD COVERED BRIDGE IN THE UNITED STATES.
CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL
LANDMARK NO. 390
PLAQUE PLACED BY THE CALIFORNIA STATE PARK COMMISSION IN COOPERATION WITH THE NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE WM. B. MEEK - WM. M. STEWART CHAPTER NO. 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS, MAY 23, 1964
#10 Bridgeport Covered Bridge.
Notes: Questions have risen as to the true name of builder. Mike Smittle, Park Ranger at Bridgeport says builder was David Ingerfield John Wood, and that Nyes Crossing could have been at another location. See newspaper article in Regional Section of The Union, Grass Valley - Nevada City, July 2, 1992. The newspaper article is in error about the ranger’s name! (Just how much confusion about history can be traced to errors such as these?)
#11 Name: 1864 - The Union - 1964 Grass Valley - Nevada City
Location: Inside the lobby, 11464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, Nevada County, California.
Wording:
1864 - THE UNION - 1964
GRASS VALLEY - NEVADA CITY
OF THE MANY HISTORIC NEWSPAPERS STARTED IN THE NORTHERN MINES OF THE GREAT MOTHER LODE DURING THE FAMOUS GOLD RUSH ERA, ONLY THE UNION OF GRASS VALLEY AND NEVADA CITY EMERGED A SUCCESSFUL DAILY PUBLISHED FOR 100 YEARS. BORN IN CRITICAL TIMES - CIVIL WAR AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - THE UNION HAS EVER STRIVED FOR UNITY AND HAS EVOLVED AN INDEPENDENT VOICE SUPPORTING MAN AND MEASURE OVER PARTISANSHIP. THE UNION IS ONLY THE SEVENTH DAILY NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA TO CELEBRATE ITS CENTENNIAL UNDER THE ORIGINAL NAME.
CENTENNIAL DATE - OCTOBER 28, 1964
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Notes: Plaque was originally placed on the building in Grass Valley housing The Union’s offices. A few years after our dedication, The Union moved to their new office on Sutton Way, and the plaque was relocated there.
#12 Name: Nevada Hose Co. No. 1
Location: North side of Main St. near corner of Union St, Nevada City, Nevada County.
Wording:
NEVADA HOSE CO. NO. 1
OCCUPIED THIS FIREHOUSE FROM MAY 30, 1861 TO 1938. HAND PULLED HOSE CARTS, HORSE DRAWN ENGINES AND MOTORIZED PUMPERS ALL ROLLED OUT OF THIS BUILDING TO SAVE LIFE AND PROPERTY.
WM. BULL MEEK
WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
MAY 8, 1965
#12 Nevada Hose Co. No. 1 in the 1960s.
#13 Name: Brimskill Building
Location: Town of Washington, Nevada County, across street from Washington Hotel.
Wording:
BRIMSKILL BUILDING
BUILT BY EDWARD BRIMSKILL, 1849-1851. REAR SECTION BUILT 1849. IRON SHUTTERS, A PROTECTION FROM FIRE AND ROBBERS, IMPORTED FROM SCOTLAND. USED IN EARLY DAYS (AS A) GENERAL STORE AND MINER’S SUPPLIES. WELLS FARGO MAINTAINED DESK ROOM HERE FOR MANY YEARS AND SHIPPED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF GOLD FROM HERE. ONE OF THE BEST-PRESERVED BUILDINGS IN CALIFORNIA OF THE GOLD RUSH ERA. SAID TO BE THE OLDEST BUILDING IN NEVADA COUNTY.
SEPT. 25, 1965.
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS, NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA.
#14 Name: Holbrooke Hotel
Location: On the hotel at 212 W. Main Street, Grass Valley, Nevada County.
Wording:
HOLBROOKE HOTEL
FOUNDED 1851
CALIFORNIA’S OLDEST HOTEL IN CONTINUOUS OPERATION. AMONG ITS CENTURY - OLD ARCHIVES ARE NAMES OF SUCH NOTABLES AS PRESIDENTS GRANT, HARRISON, CLEVELAND: BOXERS CORBETT, FITZSIMMONS, ACTOR GILBERT BARRY AND HIGHWAYMAN BLACK BART. PRESENT STRUCTURE BUILT IN 1862 FOLLOWING INFAMOUS FIRE.
GRASS VALLEY - SEPT. 25, 1965
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER
10 E CLAMPUS VITUS, NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA
#14 The Holbrooke Hotel in 1965.
#15 Name: Miner's Foundry (Allan's Machine Shop) Founded 1856
Location: On Spring St., between Bridge St. and South Pine St., Nevada City, Nevada County.
Wording:
MINER'S FOUNDRY (ALLAN'S MACHINE SHOP)
FOUNDED 1856
THIS ORIGINAL BRICK BUILDING IN CONTINUOUS USAGE AS A FOUNDRY FOR OVER 110 YEARS. FAMOUS PELTON WATERWHEEL DEVELOPED AND MANUFACTURED HERE IN 1878. INGENIOUS DOUBLE-CUPPED BUCKET DESIGNED BY LESTER A. PELTON OF CAMPTONVILLE AND NEVADA CITY. IT BECAME THE BASIS FOR HYDRO ELECTRIC TURBIN(E) GENERATORS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
MAY 14, 1966
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
#16 Name: Malakoff Diggins Clampicnic Area
Location: Next to Blacksmith shop, main street of North Bloomfield, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County.
Wording:
MALAKOFF DIGGINS CLAMPICNIC AREA
THIS PICNIC AREA, SPONSORED BY WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER NUMBER 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS, IS FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF ALL. THE REDWOOD LUMBER FOR THE TABLES CAME FROM NEVADA CITY’S CHRISTMAS TREE, A SEQUOIADENDRON GIGANTEUM AND CONTINUES TO SERVE THE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF NEVADA COUNTY.
DEDICATED OCTOBER 1, 1966
#17 Name: Kohler Building
Location: On building next to Washington Hotel, Washington, Nevada County.
Wording:
KOHLER BUILDING
BUILT BY HENRY KOHLER, PIONEER MERCHANT AND MINER BORN IN GERMANY IN 1825, HE CAME TO WASHINGTON FROM INDIANA IN 1854. HE MINED UNTIL 1861 WHEN HE OPENED A GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORE TO SUPPLY GROCERIES, HARDWARE AND MINERS SUPPLIES TO THE AREA.
DEDICATED MAY 6, 1967
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA
#18 Name: Giant
Location: Across from the town square on the main street of North Bloomfield, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County
Wording:
GIANT
THIS MONITOR WAS USED AT THE NOW CLOSED LA GRANGE MINE NEAR WEAVERVILLE IN TRINITY COUNTY AND IS SIMILAR IN SIZE TO THOSE USED AT THE MALAKOFF TO WASH DOWN THE GRAVEL HILLSIDES.
IT WAS OBTAINED THROUGH A JOINT EFFORT OF E CLAMPUS VITUS, TRINITARIANUS CHAPTER, WEAVERVILLE AND WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER, NEVADA CITY.
DEDICATED OCTOBER 7, 1967
#18 The Giant Monitor at Malakoff Diggins.
Notes: This is a large carved wooden plaque.
#19 Name: N.C.N.G.R.R.
Location: Northbound Hwy 49 freeway at Sacramento St., Nevada City, Nevada County. (This area is known as Clamper Square.)
Wording:
N.C.N.G.R.R.
NEVADA COUNTY NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD WAS DEDICATED MAY 20, 1876, 100 FEET EAST OF THIS SPOT. BUILT BY JOHN FLINT KIDDER BETWEEN 1874 - 76, IT RAN 22 MILES FROM NEVADA CITY TO COLFAX VIA GRASS VALLEY. RAILS TAKEN UP IN 1942. SARA KIDDER, WIDOW OF BUILDER, WORLD’S FIRST WOMAN RAILROAD PRESIDENT, 1901 - 13.
PLAQUE DEDICATED MAY 4, 1968 BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS, NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
#20 Name: Nevada Theatre - 1865
Location: On sidewalk in front of theater at 401 Broad Street, Nevada City, Nevada County.
Wording:
NEVADA THEATRE - 1865
OPENED SEPT. 11, 1865 WITH COMIC DAN SETCHELL AND DANCERS WORRELL SISTERS. BUILT BY GEO. S. PIERCE. MARK TWAIN, EMMA NEVADA, JACK LONDON, GILBERT BARRY AND RICHARD JOSE PERFORMED HERE. MOVIES SHOWN FROM 1908-1950. ACQUIRED 1967 BY LIBERAL ARTS COMMISSION FOR RESTORATION.
PLAQUE DEDICATED OCT. 5, 1968 BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART, NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS, NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
#20 Nevada Theater in the 1960s.
#21 Name: Chinatown, Grass Valley, 1850 - 1938
Location: On a boulder in parking lot at Bank and Stewart Streets, Grass Valley, Nevada County.
Wording:
CHINATOWN, GRASS VALLEY
1850 - 1938
OF THE MANY GOLD RUSH IMMIGRANTS, THE CHINESE WERE NOTED FOR THEIR HONEST, SOBER AND INDUSTRIOUS CHARACTERISTICS. EACH MINING CAMP HAD ITS CHINATOWN AND GRASS VALLEY WAS SECOND ONLY TO SAN FRANCISCO’S. FORMER RESIDENTS DUCK EGG, GEORGIE BOW, AH LOUIE, AND THE PIONEER YUEN, GON AND TINLOY FAMILIES ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF NEVADA COUNTY’S HISTORY.
OCTOBER 4, 1969
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS, NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA
#22 Name: Republic of Rough and Ready.
Location: On monument on N. side of old Hwy. 20, in downtown Rough and Ready, Nevada County, Calif.
Wording:
REPUBLIC OF ROUGH AND READY
APRIL 1850 - JULY 1850
THIS COMMUNITY OF 3000 PEOPLE SECEEDED FROM THE UNION TO DECLARE A FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATE. COLONEL E.F. BRUNDAGE WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT. CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON CALIFORNIA STATEHOOD WAS PENDING AT THE TIME.
MAY 2, 1970
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NAVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA
Note misspelling of word “Nevada” on last line.
#23 Name: Washington
Location: On the Washington Hotel in Washington, Nevada County, Calif.
Wording:
WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, ORIGINALY INDIANA BOYS CAMP, IS A TOWN THAT REFUSED TO GHOST. IT WAS SETTLED IN 1849. BY 1880 MINERS HAD RECOVERED OVER $10,500,000 IN GOLD HERE.
OCTOBER 3, 1970
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10
E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
#24 Name: Nevada County Traction Company.
Location: N. W. Corner Broad and Pine Streets, Nevada City, Nevada County, California
Wording:
NEVADA COUNTY
TRACTION COMPANY
1901-1924
FOUR 28 TON STANDARD GAUGE STREET CARS RAN FROM THIS SPOT FIVE MILES TO BOSTON RAVINE SOUTH OF GRASS VALLEY. CAR BARNS AND POWER PLANT LOCATED AT GLENBROOK MID-WAY. LINE WAS VICTIM OF MOTOR CARS AND BUSSES.
MAY 1, 1971
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10 E CLAMPUS VITUS,
NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA
#25 Name: Al Trivelpiece.
Location: At end of Shoot Hill group campsite road, overlooking the diggins, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, North Bloomfield, Nevada County, Calif.
Wording:
ALVIN STEVENS TRIVELPIECE
1903-1967
CALIFORNIAN, CLAMPER, NEVADA COUNTY HISTORIAN, NEWSPAPERMAN, FRIEND AND A FOUNDING FATHER OF THE MALAKOFF STATE PARK, IN WHOSE MEMORY THESE BENCHES WERE PLACED.
RE-DEDICATED JUNE 13, 1971 BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10 E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
#25 View from Trivelpiece overlook at Diggins.
#26 Name: Robert Campton.
Location: On main street of Camptonville, Yuba County, California
Wording:
ROBERT CAMPTON
1820 1884
THE POPULAR AND STURDY BLACKSMITH
FOR WHOM THE TOWN OF
CAMPTONVILLE
WAS NAMED. THROUGH DEEP APPRECIATION OF THE PIONEER SPIRIT THIS MEMORIAL HAS LOVINGLY BEEN ERECTED BY HIS FAMILY.
DEDICATED MAY 6, 1972 BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART NO. 10,
ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ORDER OF
E CLAMPUS VITUS
The Robert Campton plaque is an engraved stone plaque, most likely the only one of its type placed by Chapter Ten.
#27 Name: North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company.
CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK 852
Location: Off the road several hundred feet overlooking the Diggins at the extreme west end of the main street of North Bloomfield, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County, California
Wording:
NORTH BLOOMFIELD MINING AND GRAVEL COMPANY
THIS WAS A MAJOR HYDRAULIC OPERATION IN CALIFORNIA. ITS VAST SYSTEM OF CANALS AND FLUMES USING A DRAINAGE TUNNEL 7800 FEET LONG WAS TERMED A FEAT OF ENGINEERING SKILL. IT WAS THE PRINCIPAL DEFENDANT IN AN ANTI-DEBRIS LAWSUIT SETTLED BY THE SAWYER DECISION IN 1864. JUDGE LORENZO SAWYER’S FAMOUS DECISION CREATED CONTROL THAT VIRTUALLY ENDED HYDRAULIC MINING IN CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA REGISTERED
HISTORICAL LANDMARK 852
PLAQUE PLACED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE MALAKOFF CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND
E CLAMPUS VITUS NO. 10. JUNE 11, 1972
#27 Malakoff Diggins from near plaque site.
#28 Name: Malakoff Diggins Clampicnic Area.
Location: Next to Blacksmith shop, main street of North Bloomfield, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County, California
Wording:
MALAKOFF DIGGINS CLAMPICNIC AREA
THIS PICNIC AREA, SPONSORED BY WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART CHAPTER NUMBER 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS, IS FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF ALL. THE REDWOOD LUMBER FOR THE TABLES CAME FROM NEVADA CITY’S CHRISTMAS TREE, A SEQUOIADENDRON GIGANTEUM AND CONTINUES TO SERVE THE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF NEVADA COUNTY.
DEDICATED OCTOBER 1, 1966
#28 Clampicnic Area. L. to R.: Barney Forsythe, Bob Wyckoff, Clyde Newlin, Charles Gaus, and Wes Simard in foreground.
Note: This Bronze plaque, dedicated on June 11, 1972, replaces a wooden plaque originally dedicated on October 1, 1966, upon the original completion of the picnic area.
#29 Name: Ladies of the Evening.
Location: In parking lot (overlooking the freeway) of National Hotel, 211 Broad Street, Nevada City, Nevada County, California
Wording:
THE LADIES OF THE EVENING
TO COMMEMORATE THAT UBIQUITOUS SEGMENT OF SOCIETY WHO HAVE BEEN UNACKNOWLEDGED: WHO, THOUGH OBSCURE, MADE AN ESSENTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST.
DEDICATED OCTOBER 7, 1972 BY
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
CHAPTER NO. 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA.
#30 Name: Washington Brewery.
Location: 114 Main Street, Grass Valley, Nevada County, California
Wording:
WASHINGTON BREWERY
FOUNDED 1858 BY JOHN FRANK, THE BREWERY OPERATED UNTIL PROHIBITION. THE OWNERSHIP REMAINS IN THE FRANK FAMILY TO THE PRESENT TIME.
DEDICATED OCTOBER 7, 1972
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10 E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY, CALIF.
#31 Name: Hard Rock Mining.
Location: Memorial Park, in Grass Valley, Nevada County, close to the creek on the left bank, in north east area of the park (between changing room for pool and group picnic area.)
Wording:
HARD ROCK GOLD MINING
1850-1957
WITHIN A ONE-MILE RADIUS OF THIS SPOT MORE THAN 500 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF GOLD WAS PRODUCED BY DEEP MINES, INCLUDING THE EMPIRE, NORTH STAR AND THE IDAHO-MARYLAND. DURING THAT TIME THIS WAS THE WORLD’S MOST CONCENTRATED, EFFICIENT AND INNOVATIVE GOLD MINING REGION.
DEDICATED MAY 12, 1973
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS
#32 Name: North Bloomfield School.
Location: On the schoolhouse, western end of North Bloomfield, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County, California
Wording:
NORTH BLOOMFIELD SCHOOL
1872 - 73
BUILT AT A COST OF SOME 3,000 DOLLARS. MODELED AFTER SCHOOLHOUSES AT NEARBY SEBASTOPOL AND SWEETLAND, IT SERVED THE COMMUNITY UNTIL CLOSED IN 1941. ACQUIRED FROM WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT, NEVADA COUNTY, FOR PUBLIC USE AND DISPLAY. RESTORATION COMMENCED IN 1973 BY POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION.
DEDICATED - JUNE 10, 1973
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10, E CLAMPUS VITUS
#32 North Bloomfield School.
#33 Name: Pelton Wheel.
Location: Camptonville Town Square, Camptonville, Yuba County.
Wording:
ON THIS SPOT IN 1878
LESTER ALLEN PELTON
INVENTED THE PELTON WATER WHEEL
ERECTED 1929 BY
GRAVEL RANGE LODGE NO. 59
FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS.
Note: On the side of the pylon are two other plaques. One says:
“National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Pelton Impulse Water Wheel.”
“American Society of Civil Engineers.
Founded 1852.”
Just below that plaque is one stating:
“Dedicated May 4, 1974 by
William Bull Meek - William Morris Stewart
Chapter Number 10, E Clampus Vitus.”
#2, 26, 33, 47 Monument Square in Camptonville.
The only part of this monument to Lester Pelton concerning Chapter Ten is the rededicating plaque placed by Chapter Ten for the erection of the pylon-shaped monument with little Pelton Wheels imbedded in the front and top. Gravel Range Lodge #59 of the Masons was led for many years by William Bull Meek, and then later by his grandson, Judge Acton Cleveland, also of Camptonville, and an active Chapter Ten Clamper for many years.
#34 Name: North San Juan Fire Dept.
Location: On the fire station, North San Juan, Nevada County, California
Wording:
N. S. J. F. D.
TO THE MEMORY OF THE FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT - ORGANIZED IN 1862, GEORGE MURPHY, FIRST FIRE CHIEF. PRESENTED BY WM. BULL MEEK CHAPTER, ECV MAY 13, 1939 NORTH SAN JUAN
REDEDICATED OCTOBER 4, 1975
WM. BULL MEEK - WM. MORRIS STEWART
NO. 10 E CLAMPUS VITUS
NEVADA CITY
Note: Re-dedication of plaque originally placed May 13, 1939, by the old William Bull Meek Chapter. Original plaque has been lost for many years.
#35 Name: Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Location: Under caboose displayed on main street of Colfax, Placer County, Calif. (Joint plaque with Lord Sholto Douglas, Chapter Three.)
Wording:
NEVADA CO. NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD
1876 - 1942
PLACER COUNTY TERMINUS