Old Postcard Wednesday--Thousand Springs Ranch, Fall River Mills, California

What a chop job! First, the beautiful b&w photograph was cropped at the left by the postcard manufacturer, thereby beheading one of the grazing horses. Then, somewhere along the line of ownership of the postcard it was sliced unevenly at the bottom, thereby "unheading" the heading that identified the location! I could determine the words "Thousand" and "Ranch," but it took my husband's eye to make out "Springs." Adding that to the town information printed on the back of the card, I was off to see what I could find about the place.

Excerpts from a book found online filled in the history of Fall River Mills. The added plus was that Thousand Springs Ranch is mentioned in the excerpt. From California's Best Fly Fishing: Premier streams and rivers from Northern California to the Eastern Sierra, by Chip O'Brien:

 

Thousand Springs Ranch in Fall River Mills is mentioned at the Peckerwood Ranch website, in its Feb.-Mar, 2009 Western Cattle Dog Association (WCDA) Newsletter. The following were 2008 WCDA sponsors:

Peter and Nora Stent, Thousand Springs Ranch, Fall River Mills CA
Jim & Burney Gilligan, Thousand Springs Ranch, Fall River Mills CA

Between these names are listed the names of a couple from McArthur, California (their last name is also McArthur). This jumped out at me because, in one of my searches, I also found Thousand Springs Ranch with a McArthur, California address. So I Google-Mapped directions from Fall River Mills to McArthur and found that they are separated by 3.9 miles, or 5 minutes. From this, I feel fairly safe in assuming the ranch is one and the same.....one ranch, sometimes identified as being in Fall River Mills and sometimes given the McArthur address. Perhaps one of the ranch's owners or inhabitants will read this down the line and either confirm or correct my speculation. The Intermountain Ranch Rodeo website mentions sponsors of the rodeo as Thousand Springs Ranch, McArthur, Ca.

   Thousand Springs Ranch~Shasta County Farm Bureau~ Intermountain Ranch Rodeo

Thousand Springs Ranch is a large suporter of Shasta County agriculture and has become a Buckaroo Sponsor for the Intermountain Ranch Rodeo.
We would like to thank them for their support of the event and look forward to seeing them at the rodeo!

This is the ranch's logo/brand, very striking I think:

From what I read it appears that Thousand Springs Ranch is privately owned and that the owners are or have been active in cattle dog championship trials and a popular local rodeo. I did not find anything about the history of the ranch itself; therefore, I do not know what circumstances or conditions led to the publication of a postcard featuring the ranch. Perhaps it once was open to the public for horseback riding and fly-fishing. Perhaps it was a "dude ranch" for the rich and famous. Perhaps it provided scenery for a movie. Perhaps someone knows and will leave a comment here so we cease wondering!

While researching for this post I found a listing for a property around Fall Rivers at this site, where the following caught my eye because it mentions the lot coming from "an approximately 1,000 acre ranch."  Now, I do not know how many acres Thousand Springs Ranch has, but it was not named for the quantity of its acreage; it was highly likely named for the numerous springs* all around that gorgeous area.

So the parcel is probably not on Thousand Springs Ranch. But what a plot (see beautiful images at the link above)! The latest Powerball jackpot is estimated at $245 million..........guess what I would buy with part of it if I won!

The owners of an approximately 1,000 acre ranch with extensive river frontage on the Fall River have carved out a 5.5 acre estate parcel with approximately 400 ft of river frontage. This parcel is located on the more desirable “Lower River” where private lots and river access is rare. The parcel is level and has a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta.

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* Boating and Canoeing are popular in the Fall River Valley as it is home to several Lakes including Fall River Lake, Eastman Lake and Big Lake. White Water Rafting is among several popular sporting activities that take advantage of the river systems in the valley. These tributaries include the Fall River, Tule River, Ja-She Creek, Lava Creek, Bear Creek, Shelly Creek and Pit River. Together they span much of the Valley forming one of the largest systems of fresh water springs in the country. These waters culminate in a splendid waterfall south of the Town of Fall River Mills and again at a viewing point off State Highway 299 West of Fall River Mills. The Valley is home to the Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, located north of the Fall River-McArthur Town Center. This state park is unique in that it is accessible only by water.
[Source: Wikipedia page on Fall River Mills, California]

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