Beegum, California
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Beegum, also known as Bee Gum, is a defunct town which was located in an
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of Tehama and Shasta counties, in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. In the early 1900s, it was a mining town in the Harrison Gulch mining district. Starting in 1913, proposals to make the road between Beegum and
Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
in Trinity County part of the state highway system were discussed repeatedly in the California state legislature. In 1933, the segment between Beegum and Peanut became part of the state highway connecting
Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...
, to Reno, Nevada via
Red Bluff Red Bluff(s) may refer to several places in North America: Places Canada *Red Bluff, British Columbia, a community near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ** Red Bluff First Nation, a First Nations band government headquartered near Quesnel, ...
. By 1972,
California State Route 36 State Route 36 (SR 36) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The highway passes through Red Bluff, t ...
was moved, bypassing Beegum and leading to the eventual abandonment of the hamlet, as well as the hunting and fishing resort which operated there.


History

The community took its name from nearby Beegum Peak, which was said to resemble a
bee gum A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
hive and was also inhabited by bees. The town was situated next to
Beegum Creek Beegum Creek is a stream located in Shasta and Tehama counties, southwest of Redding in the U.S. state of California. The stream cuts through Beegum Gorge and runs before it empties into Cottonwood Creek. The creek derives its name from near ...
, which forms the county line between Tehama and Shasta counties. During the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
, prospectors flocked to Beegum Creek to look for
placer gold Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for pr ...
, but there were no major discoveries in the Harrison Gulch district until the 1890s when the Midas Mine vein was found in 1894. Beegum served as the first stagecoach stop between
Red Bluff Red Bluff(s) may refer to several places in North America: Places Canada *Red Bluff, British Columbia, a community near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ** Red Bluff First Nation, a First Nations band government headquartered near Quesnel, ...
and the coast. From Beegum, stagecoaches proceeded to
Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
, Hayfork, and
Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
. A post office was in operation at Beegum from 1895, and was ordered to close in January 1918. In 1902, miner Fred Smith was shot and killed by his partner George Wheeler near the Beegum post office, after Wheeler discovered that Smith was having an affair with his wife.


Selvester Ranch and businesses

The town was located on land that had been part of the Selvester Ranch, where the Selvester family lived for three generations. The Beegum area including the family ranch was popular with hunters. Patriarch Isaac Selvester (1847–1930) purchased properties in Beegum after first settling in Maxwell, Colusa County, in 1887. In 1904, he and his sons Smith, George and Joseph formed the livestock company Selvester & Sons, raising cattle, horses and mules near Beegum. He put his ranch at Beegum up for sale in 1920. Isaac Selvester also conducted a freight depot and roadhouse in Beegum, until freight teams were no longer used to haul payload from mines. The family business then shifted to cater to the automobile trade. In the late 1920s, his grandsons Jesse I. Selvester and Smith I. Selvester each operated businesses called "Beegum Garage", causing Smith to file a restraining order against his brother and W. D. Linton. For a time, George W. Selvester operated a grocery store in Beegum. In 1955, Jesse I. Selvester was serving as foreman for the Beegum Mining Company, which had built a $200,000 chrome ore concentration plant in Beegum Gorge the year before.


School

The Beegum school operated for over half a century, until it was suspended in 1943 due to lack of pupils as well as a shortage of teachers. In the early years of the school, as many as 30 to 40 children lived in the community. One of the teachers was Maybelle B. Belote, who went on to marry Joseph Selvester in 1902. In 1929, 12 pupils were enrolled at the Beegum school. In 1930, one of the three residents living closest to the schoolhouse agreed to give free rent to parents who built small dwellings near the school, so they could live there five days a week while their children attended school. For a period of 15 years or more before it closed, the school taught both elementary and high school students.


Highway

In 1913, a bill was introduced in the lower house of the California state legislature, requesting an appropriation of $50,000 to build a 20-mile state highway connecting Beegum and Peanut in Trinity County. The Redding chamber of commerce opposed the measure, arguing that the route would be a disadvantage to the people of
Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...
. The bill was the first of many to be introduced repeatedly in the California legislature over the next twenty years. After years of debate, in 1925, the California assembly passed bill No. 151 to place the road between Peanut and Beegum in the state highway system. By closing the gap between
Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
and Beegum, it was argued, motorists would have a nearly straight highway across the state connecting
Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...
, to
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, via
Red Bluff Red Bluff(s) may refer to several places in North America: Places Canada *Red Bluff, British Columbia, a community near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ** Red Bluff First Nation, a First Nations band government headquartered near Quesnel, ...
. Governor
Friend Richardson Friend William Richardson (born William Richardson; December 1, 1865September 6, 1943) was an American newspaper publisher and politician, most famous for supporting a 1923 gun control bill aimed at Chinese and Latinos. A member of the Progressiv ...
subsequently vetoed the bill, leading ''
The Sacramento Union ''The Sacramento Union'' was a daily newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi River before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with ' ...
'' to comment: "This veto is proper. If the people of Beegum and Peanut have not enough imagination to find new names for their hamlets, at least for legislative purposes, they are not entitled to new roads." In 1930, the
California State Automobile Association California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
reported that between Red Bluff and Beegum, there was "good graveled and dirt road", but that after leaving Beegum toward Peanut, there was "a somewhat rough and rocky stretch". A 1931 report by the Eureka district office of the National Automobile Club was more critical, stating: "Between Peanut and Beegum, the road is in very poor condition. There are numerous streams to be forded on this stretch, there being no bridges, and during or immediately following storms this part of the road is impassable." In March 1933, the
California Department of Public Works The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
announced that it would recommend to the California legislature inclusion of the Red Bluff–Eureka road into the state highway system. By August, the state highway department kicked off-road repairs, with one crew to be headquartered in Beegum, housed in five cabins constructed by George Selvester for their use. In June 1934, the ''Red Bluff Daily News'' reported that the Red Bluff–Eureka highway was in "excellent shape", including the segment from "Beegum and over Beegum mountain to Noble's Station and on to Wildwood and Peanut". In 1966, the state allocated $250,000 for improvements of Forest Highway 6, the Peanut–Beegum Highway, and paving a segment of Highway 36. In 1972, the ''Oakland Tribune'' noted that
California State Route 36 State Route 36 (SR 36) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The highway passes through Red Bluff, t ...
had bypassed the hamlets of Beegum and Peanut over the course of making highway improvements. The decision to move the highway was devastating to the hunting and fishing resort then operating in Beegum.


References

{{Shasta County, California Former settlements in Shasta County, California Former settlements in Tehama County, California