Welcome to the Tauhindauli Park and Trail Home Page
History

During the 1830's and 1840's many people passed through the Sacramento River Canyon to hunt and trap. Ewing Young used the canyon for a route called the "California to Oregon Road". The Gold Rush had really no effect on the Sacramento River Canyon except for travel. In the 1880's the Central Pacific Railroad was completed and this made access and transportation of logs easier, thus leading to a more productive industry. Upper Soda Springs was used as a resort for tourists coming in on the train.

Bird's Eye View of the Tauhindauli Park Area
The first people to permanently settle in the canyon area were Harry and Samuel Lockhart in 1852. They built an inn and it was used for lodging by the mule riders going from Shasta to Yreka. The Wintu Tribe left their Trinity River home because of the mining. William Tauhindauli moved to Upper Soda Springs.

The Lockhart brothers sold the Upper Soda Springs site to the McCloud's. The McCloud's built a resort on the land they purchased and constructed a foot bridge across the river connecting the railroad to the resort.

Historic Foot Bridge Crossing Sacramento River

In 1916 the highway was improved with two lanes and a bridge going across the river. Tourists just passed by and eventually the resort lost business. This forced the resort to close in 1920. In 1963 the heart of the resort was sold to Harry and Patricia Chappell. After Harry's death Patricia married William Rhinesmith. The Rhinesmith's wish, upon the sale of the property in 2002, was that the land be used for the benefit of the people of Dunsmuir.



Archaeological and Ethnographic Background

The Tauhindauli Park area was originally inhabited by Wintu and Okwanuchu tribes. The Wintu migrated from the south to the Sacramento River canyon. The Wintu and Okwanuchu occupied all of Siskiyou county and Southern Oregon. Not much is known about the Okwanuchu because the were killed in the Modoc Wars.


Both tribes were nomadic. Different areas of the land were more productive during the changing seasons so the Indian tribes moved around with the seasons to get the most out of the land. Permanent winter settlements were set up along rivers and tributaries. They lived temporarily in brush or bark huts during the other seasons.



Grant Towendolly and his wife at Upper Soda Springs
 Grant Towendolly was born in 1873 at the Upper Soda Springs Resort. His Wintu name was Laktcharas Tauhindauli which meant "Tying With The Left Hand". Laktcharas Tauhindauli was too hard a name for white people to say so he changed his first name to Grant. He also changed the spelling of his last name. Grant Towendolly worked at the resort as a child and continued to work at the resort until it closed. Marcelle Masson wrote a book called Bag of Bones. The book was composed of stories and legends that Grant's family had passed down to him.



©copyright 2001 Dunsmuir Garden Club**3rdrck3/09