Butte County
Biographies
JOHN HUPP
JOHN HUPP. – A man who was
far-seeing and desirous of building up a new country, and, having the courage
of his convictions, was not afraid to invest his money in a new enterprise, and
having done so, carried it on to a successful issue, – such a man was the late
John Hupp. He was born in Licking County, Ohio,
June 8, 1829, and died in Chico, July 27, 1898, during which time he
accomplished much good and aided materially in building up a new country and
left his work indelibly in the annals of Butte County. His parents were natives
of Old Virginia, who settled in Ohio. John Hupp was
one of thirteen children; three besides himself came to California, namely:
Mrs. Sam McClelland, who died in Oroville; Mrs. Trovinger,
who lives in Santa Cruz; Uriah, who died in Chico.
John Hupp was
born in Ohio, where he grew to maturity on the farm, receiving a good education
in the public schools. Soon after his school days were over, he entered into a
contract to cut wood, making a success and some money. When he heard the news
of the gold discovery in California, his youthful ardor was fired and he
determined to make his way to the new Eldorado at the
first opportunity, but it was not until 1851 or 1852 that he was able to carry
out his plan, when he came around Cape Horn to San Francisco. He made his way
to Butte County, and we find him placer-mining on Oregon Gulch; later he formed
a partnership with Mr. Pentz and they engaged in
stock-raising and hotel-keeping on the present Pentz
Ranch. While there he saw the opportunity for manufacturing native lumber, so
decided he would engage in that line of business. Returning to Ohio, he
purchased saw-mill machinery, shipped it on a sailer
around Cape Horn, while he returned via Panama. In partnership with Mr. Trovinger, he built a saw-mill first on Mosquito Creek –
this was about 1860 – and there they manufactured
lumber. Mr. Hupp meantime located a homestead of one
hundred sixty acres, on the present site of Hupp’s
Mill. About 1863 they moved the mill here and rebuilt it on his place, as it
had a splendid mill-site. Soon afterwards Mr. Hupp
bought Trovinger’s interest in the mill and continued
operating alone, adding to his holdings until he had four hundred eighty acres.
He had a retail lumber yard, not only supplying the immediate locality with
lumber, but it was hauled to different places in the valley. He made
substantial improvements on the place, building a comfortable residence and
other buildings, fencing the place, and engaging in farming. He opened mines on
the place, and also owned the Cole Claim and the Red Gravel Mine on Butte
Creek, where he engaged in hydraulicking. The old
Indian Springs Mine adjoins, and the old underground gravel channel runs
through, the Hupp place. Mr. Hupp’s
demise occurred in Chico, and in his death Butte County lost one of the most
enterprising men of his day.
Mr. Hupp was
married, in 1865, at Magalia, then called Dogtown, to Miss Rosanna Wooliver,
who was born at Port Stanley, Canada, in 1846, the daughter of Peter and Harriette (Burk) Wooliver,
natives of the Dominion. The father came to California in 1852, his family
joining him some years later. Mr. Wooliver followed
mining and staging. He owned the stage line from Marysville via Oroville and
Magalia to Susanville. He died in Magalia, while his wife passed away at
Mineral Slide. Of their union there were two children: Mrs. Hupp,
and Mrs. Louisa McDonald, of Oakland. Mr. and Mrs. Hupp
where the parents of six children: John, who died at eighteen years of age;
Mary, now Mrs. Martin, lives near Marysville; Rosalie, the wife of W. T.
Baldwin, of Oroville; George, who lives in Chico; Jane, who is Mrs. Harding, of
Hupps; and Ralph, of Crockett.
After Mr. Hupp’s
death, his son George moved the mill to the Middle Butte Creek, also on their
ranch, and manufactured lumber for two years, after which they sold the mill.
Mrs. Hupp has continued on the farm, where they
raise gardens and orchards. They have opened a summer resort, which is in
charge of her daughter, Mrs. Jane Harding, who, with her native business acumen
and affable and pleasing personality, is well qualified to preside over the
place. Hupp’s resort is located twenty-two miles
northeast of Chico and thirty miles from Oroville, and is well patronized by
people who know the beauty and comfort of the place. For some years Hupps post office was located there and Mrs. Harding was
postmaster until she resigned, when the office was changed to De Sabla.
Mrs. Hupp came
with her mother via Panama to San Francisco, in 1859, landing from the Orizaba, and since then has been a resident of Butte
County, taking an active part, and aiding her husband in his ambition, and
doing her share toward the bettering of conditions. And now, in the evening of
her life, she is enjoying the association and comradeship of her old friends,
content in knowing she has done what she could to make Butte County a better
and safer place of residence.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
23 April 2008.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 889-890, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies