Butte County
Biographies
COLUMBUS WARNER THRESHER
COLUMBUS WARNER THRESHER.--Widely known
as one of the men of really large affairs in Butte County, whose extraordinary
natural and developed ability has made him exceptionally prosperous, and whose
prosperity has made him important, not merely to his neighborhood, but to the
State as well, Columbus W. Thresher was born on his father's ranch near
Gridley, on November 6, 1853, the second son in order of birth in a family of
five. His father was Stephen B., and his mother was
Thresher, the former a native of
father was a carpenter and machinist by trade, and had been foreman of the J. I. Case Machine Works Company of Racine, Wis., he set to work to build flumes for the miners of Nelson Point, Plumas County.
At the end of six weeks, the father settled on land three miles southeast of Gridley, after buying out a squatter claim, a part of the Larkin Grant. He worked hard and steadily progressed, and kept adding to his holdings until he had seven hundred acres of desirable land. There he let his cattle run--for the most part as wild as was the land; and he also raised grain, although the ranch was in that uncultivated state that there were no fences and no roads. Then came the flood of 1862, followed by the dry year of 1864, and by famine and chill he lost so heavily that it ended his wild-cattle experiment. He then went into the raising of American cattle, and continued in the same until his death, in 1872--nine years before his faithful wife also passed away, the mother of the son already referred to and the following four who were born at the old home ranch in Butte County; Columbus W., George, Tyler C. and Albert L. Columbus and Albert are the only children still alive.
Stephen B. Thresher was a progressive citizen who always stood for all that went to advance the state of society, and as such served conscientiously as school trustee and as justice of the peace, and was called Judge Thresher.
On
the old Stephen B. Thresher place was an Indian rancheria,
which, at the time of their location on the place, had a population of about
three hundred, who lived in campoodies (dugouts). In
1856 the government took them to
Columbus
Thresher attended the Live Oak and the Manzanita schools. An incident occurred
when he was a boy of thirteen which showed his determination and mettle, even
at that early age. When haying time came that year, his father was ill. The
mowing was all done with a scythe in those days and someone had to set the pace
for the Indians. This the lad did, and he led the crew of Indians during the
six weeks it required to cut the hay. This established him as a leader in their
opinion and he had no difficulty after that in getting them to work. After
completing the grammar school, he attended the
a part of his interest in the ranch
to his brothers, George and Prescott, and bought his present place of four
hundred acres east of Gridley, for which he paid forty-five dollars an acre,
although land within a few miles could have been had for ten dollars an acre.
Future developments and the richness of the soil in his vicinity showed the
wisdom of his choice. It is interesting to note that, in 1865, when the Larkin
Grant was confirmed by the
United States Supreme Court, the settlers paid one dollar
and a half per acre for the upland and from twenty-five dollars to fifty
dollars an acre for the bottom lands, and now, by irrigation and intensive
farming, the land sells for from three hundred dollars
to one thousand dollars an acre. At
one time he owned two grain ranches, comprising one thousand acres in
In
the early days, too, Mr. Thresher rode the range, when the Spanish cattle ran
wild on the plains, and in that arduous undertaking he had many thrilling
experiences. At still another time he conducted a large dairy. The latter years
of his life, however, he has devoted to horticulture, and today is one of the
acknowledged leaders in this field, in which so much scientific forethought as
well as unremitting application are needed in order to succeed. Among his
notable possessions, he has one hundred twenty-five acres on his home place
devoted to fruit--peaches, prunes and pears; he also owns eighty acres on the
old home ranch, forty of which are planted for the same purpose, including
olives.
He also grows and maintains a fine nursery on this home
ranch. A greater part of his four hundred acres is rich bottom land on the
banks of the
accomplished all and more than was claimed, as irrigation has revolutionized farming in this section.
Mr. Thresher has, since the canal was built, engaged in intensive farming. The old saying, "That man is a benefactor to his country who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew formerly, by his care and thoroughness. He has brought his home place to a high state of cultivation, and it is today one of the finest farms in the county. He has a full-bearing olive orchard, set out in 1888, among the oldest olive groves in the Valley. One olive tree, set out in 1866 from a slip is now a mammoth tree of its kind. His large, beautiful and modern residence was built in 1910 from cement blocks made on the place, and it is one of the most pretentious in the county. In addition to the original value of these ranches, the property has been much improved through the wise management of a master mind which has known what might be expected from the soil, and how best and cheapest to attain the desired results.
On
August 9, 1885, at Live Oak, Mr. Thresher married Miss Amelia K. Pfoh, a native of
both are popular in local circles,
and Mr. Thresher none the less so in the halls of the Independent Order of
Foresters; while Mrs. Thresher is a member of the Companion Court of Foresters.
They have passed the chairs in their respective lodges.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 465-467, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Sande Beach.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies