THE HISTORICAL EVALUATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OLD JOERGER RANCH, MARTIS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. By Hope Caroline Schear A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology Committee Membership Dr. Justine Shaw, Committee Chair Dr. Marissa Ramsier, Committee Member Dr. Marisol Cortes-Rincon, Committee Member Rebecca Robertson, Program Graduate Coordinator December 2018 ABSTRACT THE HISTORICAL EVALUATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OLD JOERGER RANCH, MARTIS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. Hope Caroline Schear United States history is full of adventure and pioneering but building the regional histories of the nation allows one to dig deeper into what it took to make this country develop socially and economically. In the mid 1800’s California experienced a boom like never before. In 1848, mill workers found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, which led to a huge influx of people and population spike that changed California forever. Once the Gold Rush subsided, agriculture replaced gold in California as a wealth generator. Early settlers discovered that the mild climate of the region allows a wide variety of crops, orchards, and livestock to thrive. Today, California grows a majority of the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Despite the agricultural industry’s importance after the Gold Rush to the state’s growth and development little work has been done to understand the daily lives of early settlers whose choices, hard work, and ingenuity led to California’s success. Archaeological remains of these early agricultural settlements are few and far between. Unfortunately, development and expansion throughout California has destroyed many sites. Through the lens of historical archaeological investigation and archival research, one of these rare properties, the old Joerger Ranch, in the Martis Valley of Northern California, has been evaluated for the ii National Register of Historic Places for its archaeological data’s potential and historical significance. This investigation adds to the knowledge and understanding of what can be learned from archaeological investigations at these types of properties and helps reveal more about the lives of the people who helped shape the state into what it is today. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank and acknowledge Mr. LeMarcus A. Malone, my Veterans Administration Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, for working hard to find a way not only to fund my schooling but my thesis project. Without his support this would not have been possible. I would like to thank Mr. Jack Pfertsh for his mentorship in historic archaeology, his guidance and willingness to share his resources, and his full support in the field during both the survey and the test excavation portion of this project. He has helped develop my skills as a historic archaeologist and made me more confident in my abilities. I will be forever grateful. I’d like to thank Mr. Bryan Schear my incredibly supportive husband who not only helped me survey and figure out how to use a metal detector, but built screens for our field work, and cooked for everyone on two separate trips. I could not have accomplished this without your love and support. I’d also like to thank Mr. Joe Griffin, Ms. Geneva Kraus, Mr. Richard Perry, Ms. Jenna Hovart, Mr. Stanton Morse, Ms. Dianna Newberry, Ms. Jessica Neal, and Mr. Russ Frink for putting their own lives on hold and enthusiastically volunteering their time and energy to help me complete this project. Archaeology is not possible without a team and I could not have hoped for a more dedicated and experienced team. I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Tim Warner for his help and guidance regarding the best path towards having this project approved. I would like to thank the Army Corps of Engineers Operations Department, Martis Creek Lake and Dam Rangers, and the Real Estate Office for their support and approval of this project as well as their help with the project’s logistics. I iv would also like to thank my Chair, Dr. Justine Shaw and all of the dedicated professors in the Applied Anthropology Department at Humboldt State University for not only providing a positive environment for success, but for their continued feedback and suggestions that made this project manageable. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Vance Skarstedt for his superior editorial skills and ability to help me find a clear written voice. Thank you! v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: PHYSICAL CONTEXT .............................................................................. 3 Geology and Hydrology .................................................................................................. 4 Climate ............................................................................................................................ 5 Flora ................................................................................................................................ 5 Fauna ............................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: HISTORIC CONTEXT ............................................................................... 8 The Gold Rush ................................................................................................................ 8 California’s New Gold .................................................................................................... 9 Dairy Industry ............................................................................................................... 10 Brief History of the Martis Valley ................................................................................ 13 The Washoe (Wel mel ti). ......................................................................................... 13 Euro-American Settlement ........................................................................................ 16 Patriarch Joseph Joerger’s Story. .............................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................. 25 Research Design ........................................................................................................... 25 vi Theoretical Approach ................................................................................................... 26 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 30 Archival Research ......................................................................................................... 32 Survey ........................................................................................................................... 32 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 34 Data Collection Methods. ......................................................................................... 34 Field Methods. .......................................................................................................... 35 Data Analysis and Management Plan. ...................................................................... 38 Data Format and Curation. ........................................................................................ 39 Historical-Era Research Questions and Data Requirements ......................................... 40 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 41 Phase 1: Pedestrian Survey ........................................................................................... 41 Findings ........................................................................................................................ 41 Feature 1. ................................................................................................................... 43 Feature 2. ................................................................................................................... 44 Feature 3 and Feature 4. ............................................................................................ 48 Feature 5 .................................................................................................................... 48 Two Track Road ....................................................................................................... 52 Surface Artifacts. ...................................................................................................... 53 Phase 2: Qualitative Research ......................................................................................