PartisanRanger
Jr. Member
- Feb 17, 2018
- 21
- 37
- Detector(s) used
- 2@Garrett Master Hunter CXIII with depth multiplier, Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger, Garrett AT Pro, Garrett GTI 2500, Garrett pro pinpointer, Garrett Ace Apex.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Here is a little history of people and places connected to this lost gold cache.
In 1844, Gen. Bidwell, executing a commission to locate a grant of land for the Children of Thomas O. Larkin, who was a merchant and United States consul at Monterey. Bidwell fulfilled his mission by mapping out and locating a large body of land lying west of the river in the vicinity of the present town of Princeton; and this territory is/was known as the Larkin's Children Rancho. John S. Williams was sent from Monterey by Thomas O. Larkin to settle on and conduct as a cattle ranch the grant of the land the Mexican government had given to the Larkin children, Larkin furnishing the cattle to Williams on shares. In the summer of 1847 Williams brought his wife and cattle up the valley to the Larkin grant, and picked a spot on the John Boggs ranch, where W. A. Yerxa had lived. This was a 1 1/2 mile south of Princeton on the west side of the river. Here Williams built a comfortable house, establishing the first home in Colusa County. The livestock business prospered. But once James Marshall's gold discovery became known, Mr. Williams went to the Feather River region to dig for gold. Williams hailed from Cape Girardeau, Missouri
At this time Charles Bolivar Sterling was requested to come up and to take William's place on the ranch. At this point in time Charles became the second settler of Colusa county. Charles stayed on for several years at this location, which became know up and down the valley as "Sterling's Ranch." Now about Charles Sterling. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana about 1825 and when he was older he had a falling out with his father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a purser on a United States war-ship and was secretary to Thomas O. Larkin. Sterling sold his half interest in the hotel stand to a man named Taylor.
He wanted to go to the mines on the Feather River in the spring of 1849 and did not like to bury his money around his home for fear of being watched, put several thousand dollars in a square gin bottle and carried it with him to the bank of a slough in a direct line from his place to French Crossing on Butte Creek and buried it there. He did mark the location with a bunch of weeds, and this did not work out for him. He stayed in the gold fields longer than he expected to, and when he came back to the area of his cache, a fire had obliterated all the grass in the area, and could not locate his burial spot. Charles Bolivar Sterling died in Sonoma in 1854 at age 28 years.
A side note for Treasure Hunters: A mile down the river from Willitts' was the Sixteen-Mile-House. Princeton is now situated upon the location of the Sixteen-Mile-House. About two miles below Princeton was Sterling's Ranch, and a mile below that was the Eleven-Mile-House.
Here are two GPS points for the area of French Crossing:
39 20' 13.6"N 121 53' 48.9"W
39.337111N 121.8969183W
In 1844, Gen. Bidwell, executing a commission to locate a grant of land for the Children of Thomas O. Larkin, who was a merchant and United States consul at Monterey. Bidwell fulfilled his mission by mapping out and locating a large body of land lying west of the river in the vicinity of the present town of Princeton; and this territory is/was known as the Larkin's Children Rancho. John S. Williams was sent from Monterey by Thomas O. Larkin to settle on and conduct as a cattle ranch the grant of the land the Mexican government had given to the Larkin children, Larkin furnishing the cattle to Williams on shares. In the summer of 1847 Williams brought his wife and cattle up the valley to the Larkin grant, and picked a spot on the John Boggs ranch, where W. A. Yerxa had lived. This was a 1 1/2 mile south of Princeton on the west side of the river. Here Williams built a comfortable house, establishing the first home in Colusa County. The livestock business prospered. But once James Marshall's gold discovery became known, Mr. Williams went to the Feather River region to dig for gold. Williams hailed from Cape Girardeau, Missouri
At this time Charles Bolivar Sterling was requested to come up and to take William's place on the ranch. At this point in time Charles became the second settler of Colusa county. Charles stayed on for several years at this location, which became know up and down the valley as "Sterling's Ranch." Now about Charles Sterling. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana about 1825 and when he was older he had a falling out with his father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a purser on a United States war-ship and was secretary to Thomas O. Larkin. Sterling sold his half interest in the hotel stand to a man named Taylor.
He wanted to go to the mines on the Feather River in the spring of 1849 and did not like to bury his money around his home for fear of being watched, put several thousand dollars in a square gin bottle and carried it with him to the bank of a slough in a direct line from his place to French Crossing on Butte Creek and buried it there. He did mark the location with a bunch of weeds, and this did not work out for him. He stayed in the gold fields longer than he expected to, and when he came back to the area of his cache, a fire had obliterated all the grass in the area, and could not locate his burial spot. Charles Bolivar Sterling died in Sonoma in 1854 at age 28 years.
A side note for Treasure Hunters: A mile down the river from Willitts' was the Sixteen-Mile-House. Princeton is now situated upon the location of the Sixteen-Mile-House. About two miles below Princeton was Sterling's Ranch, and a mile below that was the Eleven-Mile-House.
Here are two GPS points for the area of French Crossing:
39 20' 13.6"N 121 53' 48.9"W
39.337111N 121.8969183W
