by Lisa Robinson
In the latter part of the 1800s, pioneer settler, Prussian John A. Hoffman laid claim to two parcels of land he had homesteaded on the upper reaches of Bear Creek just northeast of where Mustang Mesa is today. With his sons, he would operate the ranch and a shingle and box mill.
The shingle mill was in high demand and over the years was moved from site to site cutting shingles for many lumber tract owners.
In the late 1890s, it was used on the Hubbard and Carmichael tract close to the Saratoga Road at the summit until it was moved back to the Bear Creek ranch in 1897, by John’s son Louis.
In March 1899, the mill, a barn and several small cabins all burned to the ground along with shingles, fruit boxes, shingle bolts, and cordwood. John had been burning brush and debris in the woods near the mill but a strong breeze sprang up and “began a wild career through the woods” towards the mill. Apart from the boiler and engine, which survived with little damage, the operation was a total loss.
In October 1899, the rebuilt mill this time survived another fire which ravaged the area. “A Tornado of Fire It Whirlingly Sweeps Across Bear Creek Canyon” was the headline of the story that described the destruction of houses, barns, vineyards, orchards and outbuildings, that were “licked up like chaff.” Hoffman was convinced that the fire earlier in the year, which had removed much of the fuel, was the reason he could save his buildings from the thick shower of burning embers.
In 1901, the shingle mill was moved again, this time to the McGaffigan tract above the Dougherty Mill.
In 1902 it was reported that the mill would be put into storage. The following year John and his sons built a wagon road from the ranch to a tract of timber owned by Isaiah Hartman at the head of one of the branches of Newel Creek (likely Moonrise or Lawton). It is there that the shingle mill was to be re-erected and operation resumed.In early 1906, the mill was moved again from the Newel Creek site to another site owned by Isaiah Hartman on Deer Creek. It began operation in March, but operation was abruptly halted on April 1906 when the earthquake hit. The earthquake triggered a cataclysmic landslide that completely buried the mill killing two men, James Dollar and F. M. Franklin.By May, all the usable mill equipment had been recovered. The shingle machine was uninjured and the pulleys and shafting could all be reused. The saws however would need to be straightened and repaired. The mill was re-erected and put into operation on a new site close by.