Ross Quartz McCloud (April 16, 1819 – August 22, 1868) was a
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
pioneer and early settler in
Northern California. While he is regarded by some as a namesake of the town of
McCloud, California
McCloud is a small town and census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou County, California, United States. Its population is 945 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,101 from the 2010 census.
Commerce and tourism
Locat ...
, and the nearby
McCloud River
The McCloud River is a longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10, 2011 river that flows east of and parallel to the upper Sacramento River, in Siskiyou County and S ...
, please see historical note below.
Born and raised in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, McCloud moved to
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
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
Linn County, Iowa
Linn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 230,299, making it the second-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Cedar Rapids. Linn County is named in honor of Senator Lewis F. ...
. He married Mary Campbell in Iowa in 1848, came to California during the
California Gold Rush as a
Forty-Niner in the early 1850s, but had limited success in the gold fields. His wife took the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...
and joined him in Northern California in 1853. Together they operated an early inn in the (now-disappeared) mining settlement of
Portuguese Flat, California
Portuguese Flat was a California mining camp of the early 1850s during the California Gold Rush, consisting largely of Portuguese miners. It was located about 35 miles north of Redding, California near what is currently now the unincorporated co ...
on the upper
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River ( es, RÃo Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento†...
. The McClouds purchased the rights of the Lockhart brothers to property at the site now known as
Upper Soda Springs
Upper Soda Springs is on the banks of the Sacramento River in Dunsmuir, California, USA. It consists of approximately ten acres (40,000 m²) of level ground on both sides of the River, the surrounding hillsides, and continues north along the eas ...
in present-day
Dunsmuir, California
Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, northern California. It is on the upper Sacramento River in the Trinity Mountains. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 census.
Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism ...
, where they expanded an early wayside hostel into a more substantial inn.
McCloud was instrumental in improving the roads and trails in
Siskiyou County, California
Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregio ...
, 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
Siskiyou Trail
The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through river valleys, t ...
.
By 1860, mule train and later stagecoach traffic between California's
Central Valley,
Yreka, California
Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fr ...
and
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
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 and operated a sawmill near present-day
Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta (also known as Mount Shasta City) is a city in Siskiyou County, California, at about above sea level on the flanks of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its na ...
.
The McClouds eventually sold their interest in the Upper Soda Springs inn, and moved to a ranch near present-day
Gazelle, California, 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).
Origin of the placename "McCloud"
The McCloud River was likely originally known as the "McLeod River," after
Alexander Roderick McLeod
Alexander Roderick McLeod ( 1782 – 11 June 1840) was a fur trader and explorer in British North America who began his career with the North West Company in 1802.
McLeod became a trader and brigade leader with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) ...
, the leader of a number of hunting and trapping expeditions for the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
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 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
McCloud, California
McCloud is a small town and census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou County, California, United States. Its population is 945 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,101 from the 2010 census.
Commerce and tourism
Locat ...
was later organized, the town similarly took the spelling "McCloud."
References
County Surveyor in Linn County*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120514215052/http://www.siskiyous.edu/shasta/bib/B7.htm Attribution of name of McCloud, California
*
ttp://www.indiana.edu/~e472/cdf/checks/MOU.pdf Attribution of name of McCloud, California*
ttp://www.siskiyous.edu/shasta/bib/B10.htm Attribution of name of McCloud, California*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 Siskiyou Historical Society, Yreka, California: 1971
*B.F. Frank and H.W. Chappell The History and Business Directory of Shasta County (1881)
*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
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloud, Ross
People of the California Gold Rush
Businesspeople from California
1819 births
1868 deaths
History of Shasta County, California
People from Siskiyou County, California
19th-century American businesspeople