Tuesday, January 13, 1970

Places: CA-Mill (Fresno)


Mill Flat Creek-1,165' (Verplank Ridge)  (36.8566138, -119.0981698)
Legal: T12S, R26E, Sec25



 Deg Min Vertical Deg Min Distance Visible
Delilah
17
24
-12
0
3.9
 Yes, on upper stretches
Park Ridge
316
56
-5
32
12.6

Buck Rock
302
11
-5
55
15.6




Mill Flat-1,135' (Verplank Ridge)  (6.8566138, -119.0978920)
Legal: T12S, R26E, Sec25



 Deg Min Vertical Deg Min Distance Visible
Delilah
17
37
-11
54
3.9
 No
Park Ridge
316
59
-5
28
12.5

Buck Rock
302
13
-5
52
15.5




Millwood-5,108' (Millwood)  (36.7446692, -119.0045538)
Legal: T13S, R27E, Sec36SE



 Deg Min Vertical Deg Min Distance Visible
Delilah
123
0
0
55
7.6
 Yes
Park Ridge
292
29
-7
55
3.7
 Around above it
Buck Rock
273
43
-4
25
8.0







Description:
In the 1880's Mill Flat was the site of a large logging operation, sawmill and attendant town. A dam was built to form Sequoia Lake to supply water for a lumber flume. The operation logged Converse Basin, which was the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the world until all trees but one were cut. The cut lumber was transported in a flume which ran along Mill Flat Creek and then along the Kings River to the town of Sanger. I have heard that much of the wood was used for fences, I wonder if there are any structures still existing that contain any of the lumber from those old giants. Think; trees that took 1,000, 2,000 or more years to grow, were cut down over a period of 10 years and now, only a little over a hundred years later, we may have nothing to show for it.
From American Whitewater

By 1890, the Kings River Flume had been built to float rough-sawn timber from Millwood to the trailhead and finishing mill at Sanger. The flume, an impressive engineering feat in this mountainous terrain , stretch 62 miles, making it the longest of its kind in the world at the time. It emerged from dense mountain forest to join the river at Mill Flat, the site of Mill Flat Campground, on the south side of the Kings River.

Estimates suggest that loggers harvested 200 million board feet, the equivalent of approximately 7,500 redwoods from this pristine old growth forest. Sadder still is the fact that most of the 2,000 year-old trees were left to rot because they were too difficult to transport. Possibly only 25-30 percent of the felled trees made it to the milling yard.   From California Trails: High Sierra Region

By 1880 a number of small sawmills were in the mountains, particularly on Mill Flat Creek.  The area which Sequoia Lake occupies was originally called Mill Flat Meadow.  Mr Waugh used it as a pasture for his cows. These cows were to supply diary products for the mills in the area. William Brewer camped at Mill Flat Meadow when he passed through the area. By 1890, the Mill Flat Dam was constructed, creating Sequoia Lake. Flumes were erected to bring down the lumber to the Valley.  From Oak to Pine to Timberline by Helen and Forest Clingman

Nothing is left of Millwood, except a flat meadow area. Used to be a bustling lumber town with a shoemaker, photographer, barber, blacksmith, doctor and an undertaker. Also there was a phone there as well A red light village about a mile south of Millwood existed. The labor force was between 300 to 2,000 employees. When the lumber company went bankrupt in 1909, Millwood died out. Nothing was left as the town was demolished or burnt within a couple of years. There are two graces: Ruby Ellington, about a mile south and a quarter of a mile from the Millwood Road. She lived in the red light village. John Miller, an infant of 6 months-the grave os about a mile west of the Millwood town site..From Oak to Pine to Timberline by Helen and Forest Clingman



From GNIS:

  • Millwood also called Sequoia Mills from Durham, David L. California’s Geographic Names. 31-Dec-1998. Clovis, CA : Word Dancer Press.

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Location: Sequoia Lake, California 93641, USA

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