Butte County
Biographies
WILLIAM LANGE
WILLIAM LANGE.—In improving the
Western opportunities that have come his way, William Lange, one of the
substantial citizens of the Wyandotte section of Butte County, has displayed
characteristic enterprise, and particularly is this true of the development of
his forty-acre ranch. He was born in Buffalo, N. Y., on
October 31, 1863, an only son, and the youngest of seven children
born to his parents, William and Mary Lange. In 1848 the family settled in
Buffalo, N. Y., where Mr. Lange established a shoe shop, which he
conducted for many years.
William Lange, of this review, received
his education in the grammar schools in Buffalo, and at an early age became a
clerk in a retail shoe store. The business did not appeal to him, however, and
at the age of nineteen he decided to join the army, and enlisted in
Company C, Eighteenth United States Infantry. The first three years of his
service were spent with the mounted infantry in Montana and the Northwest. The
buffaloes were thick at that time, and he shot many of them; and once he killed
two to prevent a stampede. The last two years of his service were passed doing
duty in the Indian Territory. He had many skirmishes with the Indians, and was
actively engaged in the Ruhl Indian rebellion. After
five years of faithful service, he was honorably discharged, but at once reënlisted in the medical department, and studied pharmacy
under the army surgeon. He rose rapidly, by promotion, to hospital steward, and
for sixteen years served in that capacity in Arizona, New Mexico and California.
It was while he was stationed at the
presidio, in San Francisco, that Mr. Lange took a trip to Butte County, in
1892; and he was so impressed with the promising prospects here, that he
purchased some land with the idea of developing it. He continued for a time in
the hospital service, going to the Hoopa Indian Reservation in Humboldt County.
After leaving the army, he came to Butte County and settled on his property,
and began its development. At the time of purchasing the land, it contained
fourteen acres of a mixed variety of oranges, principally seedlings. These he
worked over by grafting to navels; and he now has twenty acres of oranges,
twelve acres of olives, and two acres of mixed nuts. His residence is
commodious, and is located on a part of his ranch where ornamental trees and
shrubs have been planted. The house is surrounded by a fine lawn, and the place
is one to be admired. Mr. Lange is very optimistic as to the future of the
county, and especially as to the outlook for the citrus industry at Wyandotte.
He is one of the boosters for Butte County, where he has made many friends.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
04 November 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1292-1293, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies