The Second Decade Brings Lumber and Railroad Expansion

The second decade of the 20th century in Oroville introduced railroads that brought transcontinental passenger and freight service and the lumber industry into the town. Using this undated map, this chapter will examine the impact of the Western Pacific or WP, main operations in red box, the establishment of lumber milling, green box, rails to move lumber directly into town, blue arrows, and the fate of the Northern Electric or NE loop, purple line.

L147-05-Courtesy Butte County Public Works, F-0778, (Image 1 of 25)

This north-oriented oblique from Apr. 3, 1960 shows the WP main line along the left or west side of the image with its roundhouse, the latter no longer in existence today. Along the right or east side of the image is a branch line of the Southern Pacific or SP. How did these railroads alter the historical landscape of early 20th-century Oroville?

L147-10-George Wiley Photo, Business Air Photos, Courtesy Butte County Historical Society, 1615, (Image 2 of 25)

Shown is a north view of the SP’s new Oroville station in 1913. The SP branch line to Oroville was originally built by the California Northern Railroad in 1864, from Binney Junction near Marysville, 28 miles north to Oroville. Although this line brought passengers and switched freight in the area, the SP’s bigger impact on Oroville was its financing of the Butte and Plumas Railroad, a narrow gauge logging line. See the Sacramento Union, no. 80, Nov 10, 1910.

L147-15-SP Official Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 74147sp, (Image 3 of 25)

The WP completed its Feather River route in 1909, included with its Oroville station shown in an undated photo in a northwest view. The WP provided direct transcontinental service through Oroville, but one of its additional contributions was its creation of the Butte and Plumas right-of-way.

L147-20-JH Eastman Photo B-673, Courtesy Meriam Library, California State University, Chico, sc29917, (Image 4 of 25)

The details of the entry of logging into Oroville proper has been summarized in many places, and most comprehensive from the Oroville perspective in “The Swayne Lumber Company: Narrow Gauge Logging in the Merrimac Forest” by Paul Beckstrom and David W. Braun, Pacific Fast Mill, 1992. Using maps of central Oroville from that time period, this is where our story continues. Detail from map from July 3, 1906, pre-lumber era.

L147-25-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 26995, (Image 5 of 25)

The WP had purchased the rights to the creation of the Butte and Plumas Railway or BP that H.H. Yard had incorporated on Oct. 24, 1902 as a diversion tactic as to the real path of its projected main line along the Feather River. After depleting the Truckee-Tahoe area, Truckee Lumber Co. President William H. Kruger expanded to the Merrimac Forests in Butte and Plumas Counties northeast of Oroville as the Merrimac Land and Lumber Co. in 1909. His son-in-law, OC Haslett, had purchased rights to the no longer needed BP route on June 18, 1907 and incorporated it once again in June 1910. Detail from map from Oct. 1906, pre-lumber era.

L147-30-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 58356sn , (Image 6 of 25)

The logging concern acquired 70 acres in Oroville just south of the city line at the Oroville-Nelson Cut-off Rd., approximating today’s Oro Dam Blvd. East. As seen in this Mar. 1911 map, they built a saw mill that would employ 100 in Oroville. They also acquired forest land, and employed an additional 100 workers. The mill was in operation by Dec. of 1910. More details in David Myrick’s “Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California”, U. of Nevada Press, 2007. Map from Mar. 1911.

L147-35-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 37165sn , (Image 7 of 25)

Full operation was delayed until May 1911 over a dispute in costs with the WP to haul the logging cars. Loaded with timber 3 miles from the logging operation, the WP moved the lumber to the Oroville mill an additional 13 miles on well-graded rail from French Creek. As seen in this detail from Mar. 1911, the lumber company countered by producing their own dedicated rail line by convincing the SP to finance the BP narrow-gauge line to provide direct service. The incentive for the SP was its large holdings of timber in the Merrimac Forest adjacent to that of the lumber company, and the prospects to haul the milled lumber to its main line.

L147-40-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 37165sn, Detail, (Image 8 of 25)

The SP loaned the lumber company $400,000 for the Butte and Plumas, took out a note for a slightly larger sum, provided rolling stock and workers to aid railroad construction along Dry Creek. As pointed out by Beckstrom and Braun, “the 3 mile haul to the WP was replaced with 23 miles of winding steep right-of-way by directors who had limited railroad knowledge.” Although the SP had hoped to be the shipper of the finished wood, the NE had built a spur to the saw mill by the end of 1911, as seen in this Jan. 1912 map.

L147-45-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 36926sn, (Image 9 of 25)

All of this was moot to the SP and NE. The Truckee Lumber Co. closed the mill in Sept. 1911 due to a combination of a workers’ strike over the high frequency of accidents that occurred on the BP, and a lumber glut that made the economics impossible to continue. The property was taken over by the West Side Lumber Co., but not activated. The SP obtained the BP by default and it sat idle until the spring of 1917.

L147-50-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 36926sn, Detail, (Image 10 of 25)

Financial woes and debt continued to plaque the NE into the second decade of the 20th century. Although High St. remained the route of the NE operation until abandonment in 1957, the other three parts of its Oroville city loop did not fare as well. Starting here, a north look up Myers St. from Robinson St. in 2016.

L147-55-Stuart Swiedler Photo, (Image 11 of 25)

Now transported back to June 1913, the same north view of Myers St. at Robinson St., an image taken by the incomparable Denver and Rio Grande photographer George L. Beam. A NE two-car train is heading north to engage the left turn at Montgomery St. Next a detail.

L147-60-George L Beam Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 108582sn, (Image 12 of 25)

In this detail of 147-60, a north view up Myers St. from June 1913. Today’s Municipal Auditorium frames the backdrop, built in 1912 as the Exposition Building and occupied by the Feather River Recreation and Park District from the 1950s until 2010. To the left, in order, are Eugene Meyer, Jr.’s City of Paris department store, the Masonic Temple, the Sutherland Hotel, and the First National Bank at the Bird St. intersection.

L147-65-George L Beam Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 108582sn, (Image 13 of 25)

Next, a north view up Myers St. in the first decade of the 20th century before the Exposition Building was built. Having just crossed the Bird St. intersection on its way to Montgomery St., NE 101’s trolley pole position confirms the NE’s counterclockwise direction around its Oroville loop. The store at the northwest corner of Myers and Bird St. at 324 Myers is W.T. Henn’s Dry Goods Store. A better view next ...

L147-70-Moreau Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 108580sn, (Image 14 of 25)

For completeness, an undated early 20th century south view down Myers St. with an oncoming train. The sign for W.T. Henn’s Dry Goods Store is now obvious and the 1909 date atop the adjacent Marks Building would date the image from 1909 until 1915 as will be appreciated very shortly.

L147-75-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 19689sn, (Image 15 of 25)

Next, an east view down Montgomery St. at Huntoon St. from 2016

L147-80-Stuart Swiedler Photo, (Image 16 of 25)

This matching “before” photo, an east view down Montgomery at Huntoon St. from June 1913, is also from George L. Beam. 21st century east views as shown in L147-80 document the loss of the grand copula on the Hecker building, and the replacement of all buildings on the north side of the street with a parking lot.

L147-85-George L Beam Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 108582sn, (Image 17 of 25)

This detail from L147-85, east view down Montgomery at Huntoon St. from June 1913, shows the curve of the NE tracks and the overhead wire that followed the wide turn taken by trains coming from Myers St. The continued presence of the E.A. Kusel sign is blocked by trees from this vantage point today.

L147-90-George L Beam Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 108582sn, (Image 18 of 25)

Morris E Phares and his studio of Oroville took several images from the “WP Inaugural” in Aug, 1910. Four, four-car NE trains brought celebrants from up and down the Central Valley, this east view down Montgomery St. just east of Lincoln St. with lead car NE 253. The position of the trolley poles confirms that the trains are heading west.

L147-95-Morris E Phares Photo, Sappers Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 24399, (Image 19 of 25)

A similar east view down Montgomery St. taken west of the image in L147-95 from the “WP Inaugural” in Aug, 1910.

L147-100-Morris E Phares Photo, Sappers Col., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 24398, (Image 20 of 25)

One more from the Phares set of east views down Montgomery St. from the “WP Inaugural” in Aug, 1910 just to set the record straight as to the proper date and location of the image. Here the trolley poles indicate the trains would be moving east, against all other evidence of the directionality of the NE Oroville loop.

L147-105-Morris E Phares Photo, Sappers Col., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 24440, (Image 21 of 25)

This last image from from the “WP Inaugural” in Aug, 1910 is of significance since it is the only photo found of an NE train or NE track down the length of the Marysville Rd., today’s Feather River Blvd. Table Mountain provides the backdrop as the trains head south to the turn on the continuation of High St. This last set of photos begs the question as to the fate of three-quarters or non-High St. portion of the NE Oroville loop.

L147-110-Morris E Phares Photo, Sappers Col., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 24397, (Image 22 of 25)

The removal of track on Montgomery St. is confirmed in this document from Aug. 15, 1915 and the one that follows. The lack of any track in several images of a paved Myer’s St. from Jim Lenhoff’s “Oroville” correspond to this timeframe. The paving process occurred circa 1914. The track on the final part of the loop, the Marysville Rd., was not impacted at this time.

L147-115-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 41146, (Image 23 of 25)

The NE was losing money from the onset, and by Oct. 1914 it was placed in receivership to Pacific Gas and Electric attorney John P. Coghlan. The railroad was able to rebound somewhat financially, and was reorganized as the Sacramento Northern Railroad on July 1, 1918, part of a plan to shop the line to the WP. The eventual sale process, seemingly completed late in 1921, took an additional four more years to be finalized due to ICC regulatory demands.

L147-120-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 41146, (Image 24 of 25)

As the NE’s future was buoyed by the sale to the WP, the Oroville area received another boost by the entry of the Swayne Lumber Co. in 1917 to take over the operations of the failed Truckee Lumber Company. This circa 1930s map highlights the entry of the Swayne Lumber Co., continued merging of electric rails in northern California to form the Sacramento Northern Railway at the end of 1928, and the fate of the Marysville Rd. spur to be covered next time.

L147-125-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 58354, (Image 25 of 25)