When James “Jim” Beckwourth built his first cabin in Sierra Valley in 1852, it was one of the few buildings in the territory that would become Plumas County. It burned, so he built another one in 1854. That cabin burned, too.
The V-notched log structure Beckwourth built in 1856 or 1857 survived. Wagon trains traveling west from Nevada to the gold mines of California passed it on the 150-mile trail he established between Truckee Meadows and Marysville. Weary travelers stopped in for lodging, provisions and an evening at the foot of the African American explorer known for his expansive knowledge of the expanding West, and for his storytelling.
But time moved on and for more than a century the 600-square-foot cabin sat in obscurity in the shadow of barns. The Ramelli Ranch grew up around it, and the two-room cabin was nearly torn down to make way for more productive ranch buildings.
Today history has finally caught up with Jim Beckwourth’s humble cabin. It is being hailed as a significant site on the California National Historic Trail. A partnership between the Plumas County Board of Supervisors and the National Park Service, approved Aug. 20, will elevate the building 2 miles east of Portola as an interpretative facility on the 5,000-mile trail, which covers portions of 10 states.
The recognition promises to highlight the cabin for history buffs exploring pioneer trails largely obliterated by four-lane highways and city streets. Once it appears in the National Park Service’s driving guide, visitors who frequent national parks and monuments will stop in to collect a stamp from the newest addition to the California National Historic Trail.
“I guess I’ll have to get a stamp made,” said Richard Arnold. He has been the cabin’s curator for about 12 years, hosting the occasional tour groups and greeting visitors who mostly stumble on the place as they traverse back roads.
History hounds to the rescue!
A handful of local history buffs saved Beckwourth’s cabin from obliteration in 1984. Largely unknown until it appeared as the opening entry in Plumas Sketches, the cabin was becoming an attractive nuisance to the ranch owners. John Sheehan, then director of the Plumas County Community Development Commission, proposed moving the building a quarter mile to a cottonwood grove across Rocky Point Road. The monumental move harnessed the energy of E Clampus Vitus, a fraternal organization founded during the California Gold Rush dedicated to preserving the heritage of the American West. It also engaged the interest of Plumas County officials, who purchased the structure from the Ramellis for $1 in 1985. Sheehan, who coordinated the move, helped fund it by selling “Save the Beckwourth Cabin” T-shirts.
For the next decade Beckwourth’s outpost enjoyed relative fame. Betty Folchi and several other volunteer docents greeted a steady stream of visitors, who flocked to the cabin in private cars and school buses. It opened as a museum in 1991 with a dedication ceremony attended by 300 people, many dressed in buckskins and pioneer sack dresses. As part of the celebration, cycle enthusiasts organized a three-day 171-mile Trans Sierra bike tour mimicking the 1861 route established by Beckwourth. The tour crossed Grizzly Ridge into Quincy, then crested Bucks Summit into Oroville and ended in Marysville, where riders were greeted by a parade.
Eventually Beckwourth’s trading post lapsed into the obscurity common to the aging. By the time Arnold volunteered to be its sole docent, visitors had dwindled to a handful. On the days when no one came by, Arnold sat under a cottonwood tree and enjoyed the sights: a young bear wandering past, birds nesting nearby.
He had time to read the tales, both tall and plausible, that circulated around Beckwourth and his cabin. The most intriguing was printed in the Nov. 17, 1866, edition of the Butte Record, a weekly newspaper that enjoyed 11 years of publication. Given Beckwourth’s notoriety and the mysteries that surrounded him, it was almost inevitable that one story would involve ghosts.
This story describes Beckwourth’s cabin as haunted. Aleck Kerby, who then owned the cabin, said it was occupied by “noisy and unwelcome guests.” He heard “a man walk heavily across the upper floor one night.” After chasing “the sound of retreating footsteps,” he crashed into a wall, “leaving him a battered nose and a shocking bad hat.”
As Kerby’s story circulated in fall 1866 among the communities sprouting along Beckwourth’s Trail, skeptics dismissed it. A house cannot be haunted by someone who is still alive, the Butte Record editor said. News traveled slowly in those days. When the editor and others learned that Beckworth had died in Colorado in late October 1866 — three weeks before the Butte Record publication — the ghost story took on an edgy reality.
“It’s the best tale ever,” said Arnold. And he makes sure every visitor to Beckwourth Cabin hears it.
Partnership provides help with signs and maps
The National Park Service partnership recognizes Beckwourth’s cabin as a certified site on the California National Historic Trail. Most sites are privately owned, said Angelica Sanchez-Clark, a Park Service historian and partnership coordinator. Designating sites along the trail provides the public with places they can visit to learn more about historic trails, she said.
As a partner, the Park Service can help Plumas County and other local agencies with site planning and design, on-the-ground trail mapping, educational opportunities and identifying available resources. Once a final agreement is in place for the Beckwourth Cabin, park historic trails staff will work with the county and Arnold to come up with a site description, which will then be posted on the California National Historic Trail list of certified sites. It will also be part of the National Park Service app.
“It’s a great way to help our partners, who are doing the hard work,” Sanchez-Clark said.
Meanwhile, Arnold will greet visitors when they show up. He keeps the cabin open from noon to 4 p.m. during summer months into September. He is available to tour groups who reserve the cabin in advance.
Arnold is the consummate volunteer who has dedicated himself to Beckwourth and his legacy, said Sheehan. “It takes people like that who give it their heart and soul,” he said.
