Red Bank, California

{{Further|Red Bank Creek#History}}

A land granted dated December 24, 1844, refers to the Barranca Colorado "red ravine".{{Cite book |last=Gudde |first=Erwin Gustav |title=California Place Names |publisher=University of California Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-520-21316-5 |edition=4th, revised and enlarged |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles |pages=312}} Subdivision of the Barranca ranch began after William Ide's death in 1861.{{sfn|Ide|1861}} According to a newspaper account of 1933, "Out of this ranch has been carved the Orchard Park settlement, the fine farms of Butte Tyler and Joe Casale, beside several other smaller holdings and there yet remains fragment of the original grant in the Ide estate.{{sfn|RBTCDN|1935|p=27}}

The school was the Red Bank School, whose location in the district varied over the years, but in 1891 was just east of the road that connects Lowrey Road with Red Bank Road.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=45}} It finally closed in 1962.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=45}} Red Bank School was one of nine one-room schoolhouses in Tehama County in the early 20th century.{{Cite news |last=Hamburg |first=Laura |date=1998-06-14 |title=Longtime Californ': Last month, 300 former students from the little one-room schoolhouses of Tehama County{{mdash}}north up the highway from Sacramento{{mdash}}got together to dance and remember what, for many, really were good old days |language=en |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Longtime-Californ-Last-month-300-former-3003730.php |access-date=2023-11-04}} A former student described the school as a white-shingled building near the creek; inside was a potbelly stove "and a wash basin to hold water from the well, which students used dippers to drink from".

The Meriam Library at Cal State Chico has photographs of the one-room school.{{sfn|Chico}} Tehama County residents Opal and Archie Kissee photographed almost all the Tehama County schoolhouses, including Red Bank,{{Citation |last=Kissee |first=Opal |title=Red Bank School |url=http://archives.csuchico.edu/cdm/ref/collection/coll11/id/11507 |access-date=2023-11-04}} with color slide film in the 1960s.{{Cite news |date=1966-01-05 |title=Dairyville Family Has Interesting Collection of Various Antiques |pages=12 |work=Red Bluff Tehama County Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/red-bluff-tehama-county-daily-news-dairy/134597198/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}

A post office called Redbank was established in 1904, with postmaster Charles S. Beall, and remained in operation until 1918 when it was moved to Red Bluff.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=45}}{{sfn|Helbock|Williams|1988|p=34}}{{sfn|USPS|1909|p=53}} (Beall, or Bell, had a home in Red Bank that burned to the ground in a 1909 fire—the only item saved was a sewing machine.){{sfn|RBN|1909|p=3}}

The post office had originally been the Colyear (also Colyer) post office, established {{convert|10|miles|km}} southwest of Red Bluff in July 1889, moved {{convert|5|miles|km}} west to Eby (and renamed) in April 1894, and finally moving again to Red Bank in 1904.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=16}}{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=20}}

The exact location of Eby post office, named for landowner Jackson Eby, is not clear from historical sources, as maps are either vague or known to be inaccurate.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=20}} The best source is the Red Bluff Daily News of 1901–1902 which places it in the centre of the school district, {{convert|15.5|miles|km}} west of Red Bluff.{{sfn|Hislop|Hughes|2007|p=20}}

File:Smaller centers of Tehama County.jpg

In April 1892, a Methodist preacher named J. E. Ray started giving sermons at the school house in Red Bank, and at Union Church in Lowrey.{{Cite book |last=Chase |first=Don M. |title=Pioneers: Sketches of pioneer days in Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties with emphasis on the beginnings of religious organizations |year=1945 |pages=21}}

From 1917 to 1929, the Red Bank branch of the Tehama County public library was in the home of Mrs. C. S. Bell.{{sfn|RBN|1926|p=2}}{{sfn|RBTCDN|1929}}

The Red Bank Farm Center supported a community baseball team in the 1920s.{{sfn|RBTCDN|1928}}

The Red Bank 4-H Club restored the Red Bank Cemetery in 1977, including installing a "new archway" that was donated for the "old site".{{Cite web |date=1977-11-29 |title=4H Happenings - Red Bluff Daily News Archives, Nov 29, 1977, p. 2 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/red-bluff-daily-news-nov-29-1977-p-2/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=NewspaperArchive.com |language=en}} The inactive Red Bank Cemetery is located on Red Bank Road and has six known burials, dating from the 1910s to the 1930s.{{Cite web |title=Tehama County Cemeteries and Graves Photos & Listings |url=http://www.tcghsoc.org/Tehama_Co/Cemeteries.html |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=www.tcghsoc.org}}

Based on 1990 census data, the United States Department of Agriculture found that the Red Bank "block group" had a population of 1,155.{{Cite web |last=Donoghoe |first=Ellen M. |date=April 2003 |title=Delimiting Communities in the Pacific Northwest |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr570.pdf |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service}}

File:For sale - Good 935 acre farm.jpg

The western watershed of Tehama county is predominately a farming, ranching, or lumbering area, with an average population density of five people per square mile as of 2006.{{Cite report |url=https://www.tehamacountyrcd.org/files/d144b28c3/Tehama+West+Watershed+Assessment+Executive+Summary.pdf |title=Tehama West Watershed Assessment Executive Summary |last=VESTRA Resources, Inc. |date=April 2006 |publisher=Tehama County Resource Conservation District |location=Redding, California |pages=1 (economy, population density) |access-date=2023-11-04}} Major crops produced by west Tehama county farms are typically grain, pasture grass, orchard crops, and/or sheep or cows. Milk products from the cows might have been sold over the mountains to Tomales Bay Creamery. One son of a sheep rancher recalled that their Red Bank farm was first hooked up to a party line telephone service with three other farms in the late 1930s. An alfalfa-hog-sheep-cow farmer who moved to Red Bank in 1942 recalled that she and her husband bought land that had already been cultivated for 50 years, but their place did not have an irrigation well until they sank one, nor electricity until 1945.{{Cite web |date=1971-01-04 |title=Letter to the Editor (Lily T. Fitzgerald): Pioneers of Red Bank Area at Red Bank Since 1942 - Red Bluff Daily News Newspaper Archives, Jan 4, 1971, p. 7 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/red-bluff-daily-news-jan-04-1971-p-7/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=NewspaperArchive.com |language=en}}

A telephone line between Red Bank and Red Bluff was connected in 1911, along with a branch line that extended {{Convert|3|mi}} northwest of the Red Bank post office.{{Cite web |title=Sacramento Daily Union 2 November 1911 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDU19111102.2.94 |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}

In 1977, county planning commissioners denied a developer's request that some land in Red Bank be reclassified from agricultural to agricultural-transitional, which would have allowed for partitioning into smaller lot sizes.{{Cite web |date=1977-12-17 |title=Red Bank Rezone Nixed by Jeff Bauer Red Bluff Daily News Archives, Dec 17, 1977, p. 1 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/red-bluff-daily-news-dec-17-1977-p-1/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=NewspaperArchive.com |language=en}}

{{Main|Red Bank Fire}}

The Red Bank Fire was ignited by a lightning strike on September 5, 2019.{{Cite news |date=2019-09-15 |title=Red Bank Fire now fully contained |pages=C2 |work=Record Searchlight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/record-searchlight-red-bank-fire-now-ful/134633732/ |access-date=2023-11-04}} The fire burned {{Convert|8838|acre}} of oak woods and brushland west of Red Bluff that is used mostly for cattle range,{{Cite web |last=Cosgrove |first=Jaclyn |date=2019-09-06 |title=Northern California fire reaches 6,500 acres, 5% containment |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-05/red-bank-fire-tehama-county |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Firefighting in the "rural and rugged" area was hampered by lack of roads.{{Cite news |date=2019-09-06 |title=Crews battling blaze west of Red Bluff; evacuations ordered |pages=A1 |work=Record Searchlight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/record-searchlight-crews-battling-blaze/134634032/ |access-date=2023-11-04}} The area at risk was said to have low population density and most structures were "seasonal cabins and ranches". The fire was extinguished on September 13.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite web|author1-first=Donald L.|author1-last=Hislop|author2-first=Benjamin M.|author2-last=Hughes|location=Red Bluff, California|year=2007|url=http://www.tehamaschools.org/files/TC%20Place%20Names.pdf|title=Place Names|publisher=|accessdate=25 March 2018|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508070312/http://www.tehamaschools.org/files/TC%20Place%20Names.pdf|archivedate=8 May 2017}}
• {{cite magazine|magazine=LA POSTA: A JOURNAL OF AMERICAN POSTAL HISTORY|date=May 1988|author1-first=Richard W.|author1-last=Helbock|author2-first=John|author2-last=Williams|url=http://www.lapostapub.com/Backissues/LP19-2.pdf|pages=31–38|title=TEHAMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, POST OFFICES|editor1-first=Richard W.|editor1-last=Helbock}}
• {{cite book|title=Historical Overview of the Western Tehama County Foothills|author1-first=Dottie|author1-last=Smith|publisher=Bureau of Land Management, Redding Resource Area|year=1997|editor1-first=Eric W.|editor1-last=Ritter}}
• {{cite book|ref={{harvid|USPS|1909}}|title=Official register of the United States Postal Service|year=1909|volume=2|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Official register of the United States Postal Service|id=officialregister28united|page=53}})
• {{Cite book|title=Tehama County, California : its products, climate, soil and undeveloped resources|author1-first=John D.|author1-last=Sweeney|publisher=Red Bluff Chamber of Commerce|hdl=2027/uc1.31175035170896?urlappend=%3Bseq=29 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31175035170896?urlappend=%3Bseq=29 |access-date=2023-11-03|language=en}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|CDO|1935}}|date=1935-02-18|title=800 Attend Annual Farm Bureau Party|pages=3|work=The Corning Daily Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-corning-daily-observer-800-attend-an/134587779/|access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBTCDN|1929}}|date=1929-12-04 |title=Red Bank Library Forced to Close |pages=1 |work=Red Bluff Tehama County Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/red-bluff-tehama-county-daily-news-red-b/134586225/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBTCDN|1935}}|date=1935-11-21 |title=Take Up Land for Belden |pages=27 |work=Red Bluff Tehama County Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/red-bluff-tehama-county-daily-news-take/134588059/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBTCDN|1928}}|date=1928-03-19 |title=Red Bank Evens Things by Licking Paskenta Sunday |pages=1 |work=Red Bluff Tehama County Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/red-bluff-tehama-county-daily-news-red-b/134587644/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBN|1899}}|date=1899-12-15 |title=Naming the Creeks - Gen. Bidwell Tells How Tehama County Streams Got Their Titles |pages=3 |work=The Red Bluff News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-red-bluff-news-naming-the-creeks-g/134586947/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBN|1909}}|date=1909-02-26 |title=Country Residence Is Destroyed by Fire |pages=3 |work=The Red Bluff News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-red-bluff-news-country-residence-is/134587493/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|ref={{harvid|RBN|1926}}|date=1926-07-16 |title=EIGHTEEN BRANCHES OF TEHAMA COUNTY LIBRARY ARE MAINTAINED FOR USE OF THE READING PUBLIC |pages=2 |work=Red Bluff News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/red-bluff-news-lourence-joe-store-holds/87474325/ |access-date=2023-11-04}}
• {{Cite news|date=1861-04-18 |title=Valuable Farms for Sale |pages=2 |work=The Red Bluff Beacon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-red-bluff-beacon-valuable-farms-for/134586574/ |access-date=2023-11-04|author1-first=J.M.|author1-last=Ide}}
• {{Cite web|ref={{harvid|Chico}}|title=Red Bank School|id=sc5988 |url=http://archives.csuchico.edu/digital/collection/coll11/id/17384/rec/39 |access-date=2023-11-04 |work=CSU Chico Digital Collections|language=en}}

{{refend}}

• {{url|http://archives.csuchico.edu/digital/collection/coll11/id/11507|archives.csuchico.edu - Red Bank schoolhouse, photographed March 1960 by Opal Kissee}}
• {{url|https://casetext.com/case/eby-v-board-of-school-trustees|casetext.com - Eby v. Board of School Trustees, 87 Cal. 166, 25 P. 240 (Cal. 1890)}}
• {{YouTube|id=gBKEyNVf3V0|title=Lowery Pioneer Cemetery & Red Bank Cemetery - Tehama County, CA}}

{{Tehama County, California}}

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Category:Geography of Tehama County, California