88:, and was twice elected County Surveyor. In 1856, the Shasta Courier published a statement by Ross McCloud in which he advertised completion of his new project: "The new trail by way of the Sacramento river to Yreka is now completed and (mule) trains can now pass without crossing any mountains or having any deep snows to contend with. No molestation from Indians. The undersigned claims this trail to be the best mountain trail in Calif, and asks the public to test its merits and decide for themselves. There is no want of feed for animals on this route. Ross McCloud, Shasta, Cal. Feb, 2, 1856." McCloud's improvements were an upgrade to an earlier and rougher version of what became known as the
209:"The stage road follows to its source the devious course of the river, and you ride along sometimes nearly on a level with the stream, and again on a roadbed cut out of a steep mountain side, one thousand or fifteen hundred feet above the water, through fine forests of sugar pine and yellow pine, many of the trees almost coming up to the dimensions of the great sequoias. A notable stopping place is the (Upper) Soda Springs, where there is a comfortable little mountain inn. About ten miles south is Castle Rock...."
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had increased, and the McClouds (and their business partner Isaac Fry) built and operated a toll bridge over the
Sacramento River at Upper Soda Springs, as well as increasing the size of the inn. In particular, travelers came to enjoy the "soda water" at the Upper Soda Springs site. Ross also built
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in
Northern and Central California. A.R. McLeod's expedition of 1829-1830 spent several weeks during that winter trapped by heavy snow near the headwaters of the McCloud River. By the early 1860s, however, the spelling "McCloud River" was widely used in the region; while some regard this spelling
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Wells, Harry
Laurenz 1854-1940 History of Siskiyou County, California illustrated with views of residences, business buildings and natural scenery: And containing portraits and biographies of its leading citizens and pioneers. Originally published by D.J. Stewart & Co (1881). Reprinted by
127:, where Ross died in 1868. The Upper Soda Springs inn was later acquired and operated by the daughter of Ross and Mary, Elda McCloud Masson, under the name "Upper Soda Springs Resort" until 1920 (see image at right of Upper Soda Springs Resort about 1885).
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as being adopted partly to respect the pioneer Ross McCloud and his family, it appears that the use of the "McCloud" spelling developed primarily as it was the conventional
American spelling of the name. When the town of
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Wells, Harry
Laurenz 1854–1940. A Popular History of Oregon from the Discovery of America to the Admission of the State into the Union. Portland, Ore.: 1899. pp. 199–200
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and joined him in
Northern California in 1853. Together they operated an early inn in the (now-disappeared) mining settlement of
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when he was a young man, where at the young age of 20, he was elected to the position of County
Surveyor of newly organized
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The McClouds eventually sold their interest in the Upper Soda
Springs inn, and moved to a ranch near present-day
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73:. The McClouds purchased the rights of the Lockhart brothers to property at the site now known as
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B.F. Frank and H.W. Chappell The
History and Business Directory of Shasta County (1881)
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in the early 1850s, but had limited success in the gold fields. His wife took the
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The McCloud River was likely originally known as the "McLeod River," after
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By 1860, mule train and later stagecoach traffic between
California's
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was later organized, the town similarly took the spelling "McCloud."
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McCloud was instrumental in improving the roads and trails in
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Engraving of the Upper Soda Springs Resort, circa 1875-1880
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Siskiyou Historical Society, Yreka, California: 1971
180:Early trail and road-building in Siskiyou County
22:(April 16, 1819 – August 22, 1868) was a
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225:Attribution of name of McCloud, California
220:Attribution of name of McCloud, California
214:Attribution of name of McCloud, California
191:Portuguese Flat and early Upper Soda years
116:and operated a sawmill near present-day
287:People from Siskiyou County, California
186:McCloud's early trail to Central Valley
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292:19th-century American businesspeople
282:History of Shasta County, California
38:, please see historical note below.
257:People of the California Gold Rush
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131:Origin of the placename "McCloud"
267:Businesspeople from California
163:County Surveyor in Linn County
158:County Surveyor in Linn County
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26:pioneer and early settler in
16:American pioneer (1819–1868)
86:Siskiyou County, California
67:Portuguese Flat, California
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262:People from Iowa Territory
204:Upper Soda Springs history
137:Alexander Roderick McLeod
118:Mount Shasta, California
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168:Iowa marriage record
141:Hudson's Bay Company
79:Dunsmuir, California
55:California Gold Rush
146:McCloud, California
125:Gazelle, California
45:, McCloud moved to
41:Born and raised in
32:McCloud, California
28:Northern California
20:Ross Quartz McCloud
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196:2005-02-20 at the
173:2005-10-18 at the
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75:Upper Soda Springs
109:Yreka, California
51:Linn County, Iowa
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251:Categories
152:References
24:California
228:Archived
194:Archived
171:Archived
113:Oregon
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43:Ohio
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