1872 Cross Creek Train station

[Old California]

At first, I was going to combine the 1872 Cross Creek Train station and the 1898 Cross Creek Train robbery. After today's eye ball finds from Cross creek train station I feel the station deserves a post of it's own.

Although both appear to be from the same area and actually both are from two different eras and about a mile apart from each other, Both are named after Cross Creek due to a creek (Cross creek).

Beginning with Cross Creek station the train depot was build around 1872 and in addition to being used as a Train depot it was also used as a Post office and a very valuable location for farmers needing to transport or receive goods.

Cross Creek station came and left almost as quicky a tumble weed would take to tumble across the San Joaquin valley, Short lived maybe 9-10 years tops and with a nearby town (Traver) starting in early eighties and booming from the get-go the station was moved over to Traver around 1881-82 and used as it's first General Store.

Later, Not quite after Cross creek station disappeared a small community picked up were Cross creek station left off and supported a small population of pioneers and cowboys, Later on and like Cross creek station this little community withered away with most of it's people relocating to Traver, Goshen, Visalia or other nearby communities.

About four years ago, Using an old map of the general area of Cross Creek station and taking careful measurements found the area that once supported the Cross creek station and community. I have detected the area for signs of square nails and found them and the only finds I have removed are eye ball finds from the surface, Allot of eye candy finds that support this was the actual location.

Today, Found a piece of china that matches another piece I picked up four years ago and included with todays finds displayed inside the coil cover are several from four years ago, And picked up one of those (The Owl Drug Co.) bottles.....Now, The Owl Drug Co. bottle supports it came from the later community and is no earlier than 1892. The Owl Drug Co. was created in 1892 and the first store was at 1128 Market Street, San Francisco.

If any of the locals would like to go here drop me an email, Locals only

Paul (Ca)

 

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[aa battery]

Im in the truck ready to go

 

[Old California]

Sounds good Battery, I'd like to come back here with a couple of shovels and dig off the dirt canal banks beside the tracks.

I've already received permission from the farm owner for us to enter from the east side avoiding freeway traffic on lookers, Who knows may find more bottles and such.

Let's make it soon, Maybe within two weeks.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Paul-ensteen: I couldn't help but notice your description of the RR depot as being for "farmers needing to receive or transport goods". I too have seen (read about I should say) these type of "flag stops" on the RRs through my area. They might have been nothing but a loading platform, just to serve the "farm to market" economy in the days before auto/truck travel. They certainly were not, in any sense of the picture, passengers standing around, as you'd see depicted in a city RR depot. The ones I've seen were nothing but a spur, that .... yes, got a "name" that survives to this day (generally taken from the geographic area it served). And yes, it may have had a "post office", but bear in mind, that a "post office" in those days isn't like what we think of today, as a post office. A post office could get applied for, to the government, to operate out of one's front porch, to serve a dozen neighbors, for example. Ie.: nothing but a mail drop, to serve the locales of that area. And, the mail may not have actually been picked up there by the actual recipients. It could've just been the drop point for the RR, at which point, it was picked up and delivered to area residents. Or, to be brought to "post offices" further out in the countryside (there were "post offices" in those days, often every square 20 or 30 miles or so. I have researched and found many "post offices", and found them to be nothing more than someone's front living room, which doubled as the surrounding neighbor's post office. As such, they'd be no more productive, from a md'ing point of view, than any other old country home. Not that I wouldn't still give it a try, because yes, those type "cross-roads" could also lend themselves to other community functions. So it all just depends on if it was just a bulk mail drop, ultimately going to other destinations, or if you really have a community assembly point. Better yet, if you can determine if there were things like a store, saloon, hotel, blacksmith, etc... THEN you know you've got the real deal of a place where people milled about, money changed hands, etc....

There were these whistle/flag stops, sometimes, as little as 10 to 15 miles apart along the RR line. The way I understand it is, it was because during the construction days (1870s/80s), the progression of tracks advanced at a snail's pace. So every 10 or 15 miles, another supply depot would spring up: Like a camp for the RR workers (that might last all of just a few months), a water tower (steam power locomotive days), and loading/unloading platform. Some of those "depots" actually did turn into towns. Others have nothing to survive than just a place-name, and the oft-misleading "depot" definition. I may be wrong, and maybe yours is something more. But for a lot of those, they were just short lived thing, and were just loading platforms for grain & such. Ie.: no throngs of people milling around waiting to catch trains, as you'd imagine in a city depot, lending themselves to coin losses.

Give it a try though! Yeah yeah, I'm a kill-joy 30+ yrs of this, knocking yourself silly chasing leads, will do that to a guy

 

[El]

Good luck buddy. I hope you and AA have good luck

El

 

[Old California]

Hi Tom and El,

El, I've met Battery once a few years ago, So I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Plus, Take care of the gash on the back of your head Please be careful amigo for we can't afford to loose you. See you soon Albert

Tom, You're not a Kill-joy anymore, You've long moved on and put that behind you And I must agree I've knocked myself out chasing silly leads in my long career as well

You know me, I'm more in it for the pure satisfaction of locating the long lost settlement and second relish the joy of making the find rather than displaying the finds like a big game hunter does displaying the heads of his kill as trophies Unless of course the displays are for the property owners then I'll put together cool displays for them with much passion.

Also, I apologize for leaving important information out of the post above on the train station. For the life of me I can not remember the name of the Colony that later lived here on the same premises of the Train station, And for leaving out the Cross train station was to be a future town but like some stations or colonies they eventually writher away such is the case with Cross Creek station.

Thanks again El and Tom, I'll give you a call one of these days Tom.
Paul (Ca)

 

[bnsfhobo]

Great pics and nice finds.As also a railfan I have found the glass marbles several times around the tracks. I have always thought they were bearings of some sort, but have never had a positive ID. Maybe you ought to post it on "What is it?"
I would sure be interested to hear an answer.

BTW the RR China is about the coolest.

Hugh in OKC

 

[Old California]

Thanks Hugh in OKC,

Based from what you are saying and BoxTopp these large clear marble size objects are common finds from railroad tracks and BoxTopp mentioned his father said they are for making fiber glass, Apparently these fell off the trains up and down the railway.

Someone once pulled a complete picture of the (Southern Pacific Company Sunset Ogden & Shasta Routes) piece of china I have posted above, It was intact and was the same piece of plate I found and the other day I found another piece to this same plate.

Well, At least it appears we have the marble mystery solved

Thanks again,
Paul (Ca)

 

[claydog65]

Great location Paul !
I noticed your question mark on the little marble shapes. When I was a kid, we used to find them near/between tracks. I was told that trains used to (and still might) have a nozzle mounted near the wheels which were used to spray sand on the wheel and tracks while the brakes were in use. The sand helped create friction etc. The silica-sand formed into droplets similar to melted lead dropped from a shot tower. I am pretty sure you have train-made marbles. Please let us all know what else you find, Thanks.
Claydog65 (David)

 

[GULDDIGGER]

IF YOU GO THERE NO MATTER IF BIG A OR SMALL, IF YOU DIG, DON'T JUST DETECT, USE 1/2 INCH HARDWARE CLOTH ON A FRAME AND SIFT THE DIRT AS YOU DIG. YOU WILL BE SUPRISED WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND THAT A DETECTOR WON'T. ONCE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DIRT THAT YOU THINK IS THE BOTTOM, THEN DETECT THAT DIRT. HAVE FUN, AS THAT IS THE PREMISE OF ALL THIS..........