Dredging up the past in Lakeport, CA On a recent trip to Oregon, my husband and I stopped in Lakeport, a charming 19th century town that looks like it has been frozen in time since the1950s. It was a sunny Saturday morning, and there was a vintage Volkswagen car show going on in the public park that lines the shore of Clear Lake. We had lunch with a view of people boating and fishing and talked about Eric’s family ties to the area, including his mother learning to waterski on that very same lake in the 1950s. Unfortunately, it’s not a good idea to swim in the lake or eat the fish caught in it. Belying its name, cinnabar mining throughout the area in the previous century has left Clear Lake poisoned with mercury. Being the nerdy historians we are, we paid a visit to the local historical museum located in the restored courthouse. The plaque outside the building noted that the courthouse was the site of the trial for the infamous “White Cap Murders” in nearby Middletown that shocked the country in 1890. We had never heard of them. The men convicted are, clockwise from top left, C.E. Blackgurn, Charles Osgood, Robert Cradwich and B.F. Staley. The murder and trial made headlines across the country. See more. On further exploration, we learned that nearly a dozen men, dressed in the white hoods favored by lawless groups in the 19th century, had taken advantage of a local candidate’s ball one October night to storm what was usually the crowded Campers Retreat saloon. They shot and killed the proprietress, Mrs. Riche, fatally injured her husband, and nearly killed employee Fred Bennett, their true target, who they had planned to tar and feather and run out of town. Apparently, many of the men—miners at the nearby quicksilver mines—held a grudge against Bennett for his treatment of them at the saloon. Later investigations showed that a wealthy mine owner with competing interests with Bennett had perhaps whipped them up to do the deed. He himself remained unpunished while four men were sent to San Quentin prison. The Lake County Courthouse today. It is now a museum. The violence was considered extreme, even for an area with a Wild West mentality, and we wondered if the fact that the men were mining quicksilver—or mercury—could have contributed to their actions. Mercury is a neurotoxin, and long-term exposure can lead to, among other symptoms, mood swings, irritability memory problems, difficulty concentrating and, in extreme cases, psychosis or hallucinations.
Learning more about the history of the lands where we live, work, and play is an urgent imperative today, a time when we’re finding toxic microplastics in the snow on Everest, in the depths of the oceans, and in our own bodies. Fertilizers and pesticides have been linked to neurological disorders like autism and Parkinson’s disease. I shudder to see children playing in the creek that empties onto our local beach, creating a little pond. The creek passes through farmland, gathering toxins on its way to the ocean. We all might benefit from being a bit more curious. Sources There’s plenty to find on the internet about the White Cap Murders, but I found this document, to be the most well-researched and thorough.
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AuthorHeidi Hackford explores how past and present intersect. Archives
November 2023
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