Loybas Hill (formerly Squaw Hill) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Tehama County Tehama County ( ) is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Tehama County comprises the Red Bluff, California m ...

, 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 so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Retrieved November 4, 2023. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

, the community is on the west side of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () 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–San Joaquin River D ...

and 4.6 miles southeast of the city of Corning.

History

Origins of name

According to local historian Marguerite Dietz, in the 19th century, riverboat captains called the area Squaw Hill because there were elderly Native American women ("

squaw The English word squaw is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Scribi ...

s") who lived on the west bank of the

and waved to them. The name Loybas Hill was proposed by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, to honor past, present and future Native women from and living in the area. Loybas translates to "young lady." The name was changed in 2023 after review by the United States Board on Geographic Names, Board on Geographic Names, part of the Department of the Interior, as part of a process to remove derogatory names from federal use.

Ferry and landings

One of the early settlers in the area was William C. Moon, a hunter from Tennessee who moved to California with the Workman-Rowland party in 1841. A former "Bear Flag Rebellion, bear flagger", he squatted west of Rancho Bosquejo, and built what was likely the first timber house in Tehama County two miles south of Squaw Hill between 1847 and 1849. During the California Gold Rush, Moon operated a ferry across the

, where a bridge was later built on the road between Vina, California, Vina and Corning. The Moon House itself was a tavern serving prospectors and miners on their way to look for gold. In the 1880s, farmers stored wheat in a warehouse at Squaw Hill, to be loaded onto steamboats. Many landings along the river were made of brush and tree prunings, upon which the boats would lay boards to load cargo. Snags were a severe problem in the twelve-mile stretch between Squaw Hill and Tehama, California, Tehama, and removing logs and other wood debris was costly for many steam companies.

Bridge

The first Woodson Bridge at the Squaw Hill crossing opened on February 16, 1922, bringing an end to the local ferry service. It was named after Warren N. Woodson, a businessman from Corning. At the time, it was the first river crossing south of Tehama. The bridge was rebuilt in 1974, and dedicated in 1975. In 1932, ''The Sacramento Union'' reported that farmers of Tehama County had fenced off a park area next to the bridge for barbecues and picnics, and installed an old-fashioned Pump, water pump. In the summer of 1934, Mrs. Leroy Martin of Squaw Hill circulated a petition to keep the area open as a park. Over the next 40 years, residents of Squaw Hill, Vina, and Corning raised funds and volunteered to create Tehama County River Park on the eastern bank of the Sacramento River.

School

In the late 1800s, residents of Squaw Hill built a schoolhouse on land donated by William McLane, at the corner of Hall Road and Loleta Avenue. Known as the Moon School, it moved into a new two-room building in September 1906. By June 1953, the school's enrollment had dropped to 15 students, with only one teacher for eight grades. The Moon school district was consolidated with Corning Union Elementary District during the following school year.

Population

Based on 1990 census data, a United States Department of Agriculture report found that the population of Squaw Hill "block group" was 2,028.

Agriculture

In the 1920s, the area had orchards of Olive, olive trees, Peach, peach trees, and Prune, prune trees. Crops grown included alfalfa and Maize, corn. Livestock included Dairy, milking cows and sheep. In 1932, ranchers in the area grew sorghum. In 1969, the ''Red Bluff Daily News'' reported that Pioneer Nursery had 5.5 acres of pistachio seedlings in the Squaw Hill area, when pistachios were considered an up-and-coming nut in California.

Telephone company

In 1909, ranchers in the area formed the independent Squaw Hill Telephone Company to ensure that they could reach the fire department in Corning in the event of emergencies, and speak to their neighbors without having to drive. There were 17 couples who originally formed the company, including Emil Staheli, treasurer, and his wife Helen. For the first 44 years, there were 16 members on a single line. One of the members was the Squaw Hill Ferry. The first line was made by placing Dimensional lumber, 2 by 4s on fence posts, and hooking one end to the company line into Corning. In 1953, company members voted to rebuild the line, creating two lines with eight parties on each. The new lines used heavy wire and glass insulators, as well as cedar poles, and hooked into the main telephone cable at the corner of the Moon schoolhouse. Pole climbing and troubleshooting were performed by the local owners themselves. In 1969, company members reached an agreement with Pacific Telephone, Pacific Telephone Company to take over their local phone service. At the time, the Squaw Hill Telephone Company was one of the few remaining companies of its kind. Over a 60-year period, 64 families had been members of the company.