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Willey Cruikshank Jilted Twice
Willey Cruikshank bought the ring twice. He never married.
Stories
True stories of the Plasketts and their neighbors — bears and gold, shipwrecks and weddings — drawn from letters, newspapers, and family memory.
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Willey Cruikshank Recovered Body from Deep Mine Shaft
When a young miner fell to his death in the deep shaft, only Willey Cruikshank would go down after him.
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Willey Cruikshank Skeleton Found After Six Years
Willey Cruikshank walked out of the New York Mine in 1937. His bones were found six years later.
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Little Harry Mansfield Drowned in Prewitt Creek
Twelve Mansfield children were born in the valley without a doctor. Eleven grew up. Prewitt Creek took Harry.
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Asa Jim Mansfield Killed by Runaway Team
A runaway team in Pine Canyon killed Jim Mansfield; his widow Carmen never left the homestead.
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Curnell Mansfield Built 4,000 Acre Cattle Empire
West by wagon at nine, Curnell Mansfield built a cattle empire of four thousand acres.
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Chinese Placer Miners Were First Prospectors
Before any settler thought of gold, Chinese placer miners were already working Salmon Creek.
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Edward Sans - The Coyote Man of Nevada
E.R. Sans of Mill Creek became Nevada's 'Coyote Man,' the government's legendary predator hunter.
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Gabriel Dani Lost His Arm in Threshing Machine
A threshing machine took Gabriel Dani's right arm. It did not slow him down.
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Henry Melville Threw Robbers Out of His Cabin
Henry Melville came home to find two men robbing his cabin. It went very badly — for them.
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Melville Lifted Loaded Wagon While Son Greased Wheel
No jack handy, so Henry Melville lifted the loaded wagon while his son greased the wheel.
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Joe Moro - Last of the Jolon Indians
Joe Moro, born at Morro Bay in 1881, carried the blood of the San Antonio Mission people to the end.