Former Conklin Mill Site - Modoc County, CA
N 41° 21.061 W 120° 56.054
10T E 672814 N 4579783
This site contains bits of ruins from the former Conklin Mill.
Waymark Code: WMN7HK
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2015
Views: 1
Located off Hwy 139/299 and along a dirt road is the site of the former Conklin Mill which operated in the early 1900s. There is a historical placard near the site that reads:
CONKLIN MILL SITE AND SPRING
1901 - 1938
FOUNDED BY WILLIAM E. CONKLIN
I tried to obtain some information on the history of this former mill but the only info I could find was from another waymark I published here and from research on that waymark found some written info on Conklin Mill and it reads:
"...During 1906-1907 Lassen County and the State of California experienced a major lumber shortage. (Note: It was that crisis that the citrus growers established the Fruit Growers Supply Co.--sorry can't escape that topic!) This created in part by the demand for lumber in the mining towns of Nevada, the reconstruction of the San Francisco Bay area after the great earthquake of 1906; and the construction of the Western Pacific Railroad. These matters prompted Conklin to build and operate a sawmill in the spring of 1907. Conklin's mill had a daily capacity of 15,000 board feet. The mill furnished the needs of the southern portion of Willow Creek Valley and adjacent areas, for Hurlburt's were operating a sawmill in the northwest region of Willow Creek.
In 1920 Conklin retired from active operation and sold out to W.J. Johnson. Johnson operated the mill for approximately three years until selling out to the Red River Lumber Company, who dismantled the mill. It appeared logging operations of the area had met its fate. Then in August 1926 a major brush and forest fire ravaged the area, encompassing some 20,000 acres. The following year the Red River Lumber Company established Camp 70 at the old Conklin mill site to salvage the fire killed timber. Camp 70 existed for only one year and was a truck logging camp consisting of sixty men.
I only knew about this site from seeing it listed on a topography map (I've included a screenshot of it). I've located a few historical remnants/ruins of notable sites from looking on topography maps.
All that remains here are some concrete and stone foundations with re-bar and iron beams.There are also many old, rusty cans and other rusted pieces to possibly machinery strewn about as well.