Oh, those 49ers...

I just want to point out that there’s really a canyon near my hometown called “Murderer’s Gulch.” And that someone did dump a body there recently. Aren’t Gold Rush-era monikers quaint?

Murderer's Gulch case goes to jury

I grew up taking these names for granted, but with distance I can see their bizarre qualities. For example there’s:

· Hooker Creek
· Jackass Hill
· Drunken Gulch
· Black Rascal Slough
· Old Priest Grade
· N***** Jack Point
· Coarsegold
· Criminal Slough
· Grizzly Gulch
· Hangtown
· Whiskey Creek

I’m slightly amazed that some of these names haven’t been PC-ified, knowing California’s bent these days. But at origin they were only meant to be descriptive. The names Chinese Camp, French Camp, Pennsylvania Gulch, Chili(e) Gulch, and Cherokee Flat denoted the peoples who settled or mined these spots. The ‘Jack’ of N… Jack Point, near Copperopolis, was Jack Wade, “a slave who came to California, bought his freedom, and settled near the feature,” according to California’s Geographic Names. You’d be surprised how many creeks, gulches, and lakes are called “Deadman” or “Dead Horse”—mortality seemed closer back then.

And of course, there’s my beloved Skunk Ranch Road, on which I grew up and never saw any sign of such an absurd ranching operation.

I did not take the ugly photo of the Chili Gulch marker, nor am I responsible for the egregious historical misspelling.