- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
Lake County Time Capsule: Cache Creek Dam
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo DaVinci
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In 1866 a San Francisco-based water company called the Clear Lake Water Works Co. erected a dam across Cache Creek in what is now Lower Lake.
The dam caused the waters in Clear Lake to rise 13 feet over normal and flooded thousands of acres of prime farmland in the county.
Many, many people were adversely affected by the construction of the dam. Among those affected by the flooding were the Grigsbys of Anderson Marsh.
After two extremely rainy years, the Grigsbys and others owning property repeatedly flooded by the dam brought suit against the water company.
Some of the lawsuits were settled out of court or dropped, but none were prosecuted to judgment.
Grigsby won the original case, but later the California State Supreme Court rescinded the decision on a technicality.
The dam housed a large flour mill, and plans for its future included a wool mill and the transportation of Clear Lake waters to San Francisco.
On Oct. 14, 1868, 300 armed vigilantes came to Cache Creek seeking justice for the flooding of their fertile agricultural lands and homes.
The disgruntled residents disassembled the millworks and, piece by piece, took apart the dam. They went about their jobs in an orderly, almost methodical manner, not even allowing so much as a sip of liquor within the work area.
One old-timer named "Pap" Way tried to smuggle a bottle of whiskey in by stashing it in the lining of his pants. His secret was soon found out, and the whiskey was poured out right in front of him.
During this time messages were sent and intercepted by “Uncle George Tucker,” who was dispatched to Guenoc. At that time, Guenoc was a small town in Coyote Valley along the way to Calistoga.
While some of the men were taking down the dam with block and tackle, another body of organized men held the superintendent of the water company, county officers and the sheriff at bay.
One of the men being held, Sarshel Bynum, the county clerk, wasn't going to stand for the outrageous situation, so he made an attempt to move off the wagon full of officials.
The book entitled “History of Lake County 1881” recalls how Bynum was deterred by an old hunter named Mr. Welty:
"Mr. Welty was upwards of eighty at that time, and as gray as a badger. He was very diminutive in stature, and had a very long-barreled gun – one of the old-fashioned muzzle-loading flint-locks that were common a century or more ago. Mr. Bynum proceeded to make good his words, that he 'would not stand it any longer', and started to move off. Old Mountaineer was not to be trifled with in that manner; so, backing off till he could get the entire length of his gun barrel in a horizontal between him and Mr. Bynum, he leveled his old piece on him, and shouted on in stentorian tones: 'STAND, Sarshel, I say, STAND!' And Sarshel stood. For many years that was a 'catch phrase' all over the county, but it was always very repulsive to Mr. Bynum's ears, although he was forced to hear it very often in after years."
The Cache Creek Dam buildings were mysteriously destroyed by fire later that same night.
As a result of the damages, the water company brought suit against the county of Lake for $200,000. Tragically, The Clear Lake Water Works bought the Grigsby ranch in 1870, forcing the Grigsby family to move on.
The Cache Creek Dam of yesteryear may no longer exist, but in 1915 another dam was built by the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
This Cache Creek Dam releases up to 21,000 cubic feet of water per second, but the five-mile channel running from Clear Lake to the dam includes a naturally occurring rock barrier called the Grigsby Riffle. This gives the channel a limited capacity of just 2,500 cubic feet per second.
Yolo County and Lake County have fought in court over this dam throughout the years. For example, in 1920 a decree by resort owners on the lakeshore was set forth directing dam officials to keep Clear Lake at a level between zero and 7.56 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, a special device made to measure Clear Lake's level. This was done to maintain high recreational lake levels.
To meet the rules of the decree the lake may rise between 7.56 and 9 feet. The Rumsey Gauge is kept under careful watch.
In 1940 another decree was issued which prohibits the expansion of the Grigsby Riffle area.
The area around the Grigsby Riffle was expanded in the 1930s to allow for heavier water flow and caused soil erosion to landowners.
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers recommended enlarging the outflow channel to increase the dam's output in 1983, but fortunately for the sensitive Anderson Marsh wetlands area, the idea ran into opposition by environmentalists, with the costs outweighing the benefits.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.