First Christmas on Canyon Creek
Does your childhood have a place of magical meaning? For me, it was a mountain cabin my grandfather built near tiny Baxter in northern California. My dearest childhood memories trace to that cabin, and the creek that ran below it. Called Canyon Creek, I reckon it to be the northern-most tributary of the American River. The American River, you may recall, was the Mother Lode of the California Gold Rush. To get you in the holiday mood, here’s a Christmas story about the biggest gold nugget ever seen on Canyon Creek.
The discovery of gold in early 1848 led to the great California Gold Rush. The creeks of the Mother Lode were soon filled with novice miners laboring away with pickaxe, shovel and pan to find their fortune. It was a rough and tumble time of hard work and hard living. The sluice pan might yield a bit of gold dust for a miner’s labor in the cold water, but their real hope was to find a nugget. And this leads to the unusual happening on Canyon Creek.
Not every miner was a bachelor. There was a man on Canyon Creek, William George Wilson, who brought his wife. He had built a little cabin and was working his claim as fall turned to chilly winter. A woman was such a rarity in the gold fields that Canyon Creek miners were said to walk miles out of their way just to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Wilson doing chores, like washing laundry in the creek. For the lonely miners, she brought back memories of far-away homes.
As the Christmas of 1849 drew near, word began to spread that Mr. Wilson had found a nugget. Not an ordinary nugget of an ounce or two, but one weighing pounds, maybe as much as 12 pounds, though that was surely an exaggeration. Miners in the area started dropping by the Wilson cabin, hoping for a glimpse of the find, said to be the “the handsomest ever.” The cabin was closely guarded, but the Wilsons let them in, just a few at a time, to admire the precious nugget. And as they left, the miners solemnly declared the Wilson nugget to be the “finest ever.”
The story of the Wilson’s good fortune is documented in the memoirs of a miner named William Bennett. Bennett recalled that miners came for three days, walking as far as 10 miles, to see the nugget. But it turned out to be a hoax. There was no 12-pound lump of gold. Still, the miners continued to come, for the truth was the Wilsons had something better—a newborn baby. The baby may have brought good fortune, for Mr. Wilson made a Christmas Day discovery on his claim that yielded over $3,000, a great sum for the time. And a few miners, out of thankfulness, came bearing a gift, a gold ring they had made.
So, that’s the story of the first Christmas in the gold camps of Canyon Creek, and the infant who blessed the lonely miners so far from home. But when you stop to think about it, isn’t there something familiar about men coming from their fields to adore a newborn babe, even bringing gifts of gold? The Beautiful Wife and I wish you a meaningful Christmas.
(Credit for this story goes to writer-historian Craig MacDonald who first shared it years ago. You can read his stories in the art book, “Old West Christmas Tales with a Twist,” available from the Anderson Art Gallery in Sunset Beach.)
Places to worship (all on Sunday, unless noted):
Baha’i’s of Laguna Beach—contact [email protected] for events and meetings.
Calvary Chapel Seaside, 21540 Wesley Drive (Lang Park Community Center), 10:30 a.m.
Chabad Jewish Center, 30804 S. Coast Hwy, Fri. 6 p.m., Sat. 10:30 a.m., Sun. 8 a.m.
Church by the Sea, 468 Legion St., 9 & 10:45 a.m.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 682 Park Ave., 10 a.m.
First Church of Christ, Scientist, 635 High Dr., 10 a.m.
ISKCON (Hare Krishna), 285 Legion St., 5 p.m., with 6:45 feast.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, 20912 Laguna Canyon Rd., 1:00 p.m.
Laguna Beach Net-Works, 286 St. Ann’s Dr., 10 a.m.
Laguna Presbyterian, 415 Forest Ave., 8:30 & 10 a.m.
Neighborhood Congregational Church (UCC), 340 St. Ann’s Drive, 10 a.m.
United Methodist Church, 21632 Wesley, 10 a.m.
St. Catherine of Siena (Catholic), 1042 Temple Terrace, 7:30, 9, 11, 1:30 p.m. (Spanish), 5:30 p.m. There are 8 a.m. masses on other days and Saturday 5:30 p.m. vigils.
St. Francis by the Sea (American Catholic), 430 Park, 9:30 a.m.
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 428 Park Ave., 8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Unitarian Universalist, 429 Cypress St., 10:30 a.m.
