Colusa Biographical Sketches.
CHAPTER XII.
C. GRIMES
Cleaton Grimes, for whom Grimes Landing was called, was born in Maysville, Kentucky, May 24, 1815. After receiving a common-school education, he learned the trade of tanner. In 1840 he moved to Brown County, Ohio. At Georgetown, in this county, he worked at his trade for several months, for Jesse R. Grant, the father of General Grant. After various investments in Ohio and Kentucky, in the tanning business, he started for California in 1849, crossing the plains from St. Joseph, Mo., following the Fremont trail to Weaverville. His first essay at acquiring a fortune was in the mines, and for this purpose he first went to Dry Creek, south of Sacramento, and afterwards to Oregon cañon, near Georgetown, working in both camps about three years. Tiring of the mines, he came to Sacramento and bought an interest in a boat carrying freight between Marysville and Sacramento. Afterwards he bought extensively of provisions and miners' supplies, and, loading them in a wagon, he brought them to Shasta and disposed of them at a satisfactory profit.
He came to Grimes, his present abode, in the spring of 1852. He remembers when he first passed through the town of Colusa that there was only one house there and that was occupied by Will S. Green. Grimes was short of powder, so he asked Green to let him have a small quantity. He says that Green cheerfully consented to do so and that he hunted around and brought out some powder which was caked and proceeded to cut it apart and pound it with a cold-chisel, greatly to the terror of Grimes and his companion. On first arriving at Grimes, he purchased one thousand two hundred acres of land from Dr. James Morrison and then began erecting a log house. Shortly after this, Goodhue & Case built and conducted the first store at Grimes.
Mr. Grimes, besides farming, has devoted much of his time in raising stock. Raising hogs was very profitable at an early day, but he complained that the grizzlies could eat them up before he could dispose of them.
In 1876 Mr. Grimes was married to Mrs. Annie E. Rollins, of Sacramento, and with her resides on his large ranch where he first located in the county twenty-eight years ago.
COLUSA COUNTY
ITS
HISTORY TRACED FROM A STATE OF NATURE
THROUGH THE EARLY PERIOD OF SET-
TLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT,
TO THE PRESENT DAY
WITH A
DESCRIPTION OF ITS RESOURCES, STATISTICAL
TABLES, ETC.
ALSO
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PIONEERS AND
PROMINENT RESIDENTS
by Justus H. Rogers
Orland, California
1891
Page 343-465
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 6/24/2009
Colusa County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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