Crabtree Cabin-9,173' (Mineral King) (36.4235528, -118.5923150)
Crabtree Creek-10,338' (Mt Whitney) (36.5521585, -118.3567578-mouth)
Crabtree Lakes-11,345' (Mt Whitney) (36.5423452, -118.3146297)
Crabtree Pass-12,595' (Mt Whitney) (36.5488242, -118.2814789)
Description:
JAMES A. CRABTREE. Among the earliest pioneers of Tulare county, James A. Crabtree has been identified with the development, growth and material upbuilding of this section for nearly a half century. A native of Jefferson county, 111., he was born November 13, 1829. The family traces its ancestry to England, when two brothers, banished from their native land, came to America and located in Virginia. The first to leave Virginian soil was Isaac Crabtree, a native of the Old Dominion, who became a pioneer farmer of Tennessee and later of Illinois. In his family was a son, J. B. Crabtree, who was born in Tennessee. In young manhood he enlisted for service in the war of 1812, serving at New Orleans as a member of the life guard of General Jackson, who as a boy had made his home with the Crabtree family. Coming safely through the perils and adventures of war, J. B. Crabtree returned to civic life as a farmer in Illinois, preferring agricultural pursuits to the trade of hatter, which he had learned. He eventually removed to Benton county, Ark., thence to Newton county, Mo., remaining in the latter location for four years, when he settled in Lamar county, Tex., and engaged as a stockman and hatter. In 1852 he brought his family across the plains, crossing the country by teams to Durango, thence packing across the mountains to Mazatlan, then by boat to San Diego. The remainder of the- journey was made on the steamer Ohio to San Francisco. A desirable location was chosen for a home at Santa Cruz, but the family later removed to San Juan, Monterey county, where they remained until 1857. In that year James A. Crabtree located in Tulare county, where he engaged in the stock business. In i860 his father, J. B. Crabtree, located in Tulare county, and in 1864 homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres on the site of the soda springs at Springville, which town he laid out. Later he sold the springs and passed the remainder of his life in retirement, living to be eighty-three years old. His wife was formerly Rebecca Wilkerson, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Thomas Wilkerson. She died on the home place in Tulare county at the age of seventy-four years. Of their family of nine children, four sons and one daughter are living, namely : Rebecca, the wife of J. H. Thorp, of Napa; James A., of this review ; J. F., located on the Kings river; W. N., on the Tule river; and E. J., at Bakersfield. The boyhood years of James A. Crabtree were spent principally in Texas, receiving his education in private schools in Hopkins and Cherokee. He was twenty-three years old when he accompanied his father across Old Mexico to California, remaining with him in his residence in Santa Cruz, San Juan and Tulare counties, engaging in the stock business on the lands adjacent to the Tule river. For many years he remained occupied as a stockman, when he began prospecting and mining, opening the White Chief mine at the headwaters of Kaweah, which he still owns. Adjoining that is the Silver Lake mine and the Lady Franklin mine, both of which are fine silver properties. Of late years he has sought retirement from active cares and is making his home on his farm of one hundred and sixty acres located two and a quarter miles east of Portersville, in which town he had previously made his home. Seventeen acres of his ranch is devoted to navel oranges in full bearing, while the entire property is fine orange land, all being under irrigation, as he has a fine electric pumping plant. He is also interested in the Pioneer Ditch Company. At Plano Mr. Crabtree was united in marriage with Paulina Moreland, a native of Jackson, Mo., who came with her father, Zachariah Moreland, to California, in 1849. She died January 12, 1903, at the age of sixty-one years. She was a devout member of the Christian Church, although her husband is a Methodist. Of the five children born of this union two are living, namely : Thomas, a farmer living at home, and William, a farmer at Rocky Ford, both of whom own considerable alfalfa land. A public-spirited citizen, Mr. Crabtree has taken an active interest in public affairs, being one of the organizers of the cemetery association at Portersville, and was for several years a director. Politically he is a stanch adherent of the principles advocated in the platform of the Democratic party. As a pioneer Mr. Crabtree has many recollections of the early days, interesting alike to old and young, รข€” to those who participated in the stirring events and to those who are profiting by the courage and energy of the first settlers of this region. He recalls the days when the plains abounded in deer, elk, bear, panther, etc., and the many adventures which he had when only courage and presence of mind saved his life. Today the fields are dotted with orange groves, orchards and prosperous farming lands, all eloquent of the changes which the years have wrought.
From History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn
Trips:
- July 16, 2013-JMT: Sherri and Gary-Crabtree Meadow
- August 2007-JMT: Sherri and Andrea-Crabtree Meadow
- August 27, 2014 - Meetup hike, Crabtree Cabin
References:
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