Butte County
Biographies
COL. PARK HENSHAW
COL.
PARK HENSHAW.--One of the most prominent men of his time, not only in his
profession but also in several other fields of activity in Northern California,
was Col. Park Henshaw, who was an enterprising and
leading citizen of Chico, pleasantly related to one of the oldest citizens of
Butte County. He was born near Kahoka, Clark County, Mo., in 1846, the son of
Charles Henshaw. In 1863 or 1864 he crossed the
plains to California, and made his home with an uncle on the old Henshaw place, below Oroville. Later, he returned to
Missouri for the study of law; and on receiving his degree, he came to Chico in
1867, and from that time on practiced law here, early becoming one of the
sturdy men who figured in the development of the enterprising town. At one time
Colonel Henshaw
served as assistant district attorney of Butte County. He was a charter member
of Engine Company No. 1. Fraternally, he was a member of Chico Lodge, B. P. O.
Elks, and was prominent in Masonry as a Knight Templar, a Shriner,
and a thirty-third degree Mason. He was advanced to this high degree on
February 14, 1884, and was the first Mason in this section to attain to it.
As a boy Colonel Henshaw
served in the Confederate army. During the Spanish-American War he was colonel
of the Eighth Infantry, National Guard of California; and when the war broke
out, he and his entire regiment volunteered, and served for a year. The
regiment was honorably discharged at Benicia. At that time the Colonel was in
command, and received gratifying recognition of the performance of his troops.
After his discharge from service, he returned to this practice and his large
clientele; and at the time of his death, in June, 1914, he was a Nestor at the bar of Butte County.
The Colonel was married at Chico to Miss Hariett
Bay, a daughter of Harmon Bay, well-known in this section of the state. He had
a fine and commodious home at the corner of Chestnut and Fourth Streets in
Chico; and this home was always a center of hospitality. Mrs. Henshaw is a charter member of Josephine Chapter, O. E. S.,
of which she is also Past Matron; and she is a valued member of the
Presbyterian Church. Since the Colonel's death, Mrs. Henshaw
continues to reside at the Henshaw home, where she
dispenses the old-time hospitality for which the place is noted. Here she looks
after the large interests left her by her husband, taking much satisfaction and
enjoyment in superintending her orchards of prunes, peaches and almonds, and in
carrying out the plans left by her husband for their development.
As a man of great physical strength and vigor, Colonel Henshaw was a conspicuous figure in Northern California, where he was widely and favorably known. He had indeed a splendid record for public-spiritedness and successful enterprise. He made a success of his private affairs, and was a master of every detail connected therewith; and he comprehended the relation of the individual to the state, and the importance of the citizen's doing well by himself if he would do well by the commonwealth. He owned one hundred ninety acres of orchard, just north of Sandy Gulch, and this he superintended himself. All in all, he was a superb character, and his name will long be remembered and revered in the community where he lived and labored.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 480-481, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Sande Beach.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies