Loomis Library & Community Learning Center

10/22/2026

LOOMIS BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S THROWBACK THURSDAY: Secret Ravine Postmasters – Horace Hart and John Agan

In the early days, postmasters in the Secret Diggings mining district changed often. The first post office along Secret Ravine was aptly named the Secret Ravine Post Office. It was established on August 29, 1854, with Horace G. Hart, postmaster.

Horace Hart was from Holden, a small town near Bangor Maine. He grew up on the old Hart homestead, where his father was an energetic farmer who did his own blacksmithing and made shoes for his thirteen children.

Horace adventured to California, sailing on the ship Charles Cooper, bound for San Francisco, in November 1849. With Granville Wall, a fellow native of Maine, he mined for gold at Placerville. The two then made their way to Stewart’s Flat, on Secret Ravine, where Horace was appointed the first postmaster in 1854. He most likely kept the post office at Granville’s store, called the Wall House.

Horace perhaps left his friend in charge of the mail while he returned to Maine to marry Miss Lydia Tibbetts in 1858. Bringing his bride to California, he settled near San Jose. He lived there until his death in 1877.

Secret Ravine’s second postmaster was John S. Agan. He replaced Horace Hart on January 18, 1860. The story of John’s life is elusive. He was from Indiana. When he arrived in California is unknown. He served as Secret Ravine postmaster for one year, then was reappointed six months later and held the post until March 25, 1863.

Sometime, probably in 1862, John was elected constable of Township 9, which encompassed the entire Secret Diggings mining district from present-day Newcastle to Rocklin. He was the local law until early 1865. With the arrival of the railroad in 1864, he became a “retail liquor dealer” in Newcastle. Perhaps he had a saloon. With John Hanson and John Mitchell, he organized a social ball in Newcastle on April 16, 1864. He is next seen in August 1865 serving as an election judge at Clipper Gap. By 1871, he had moved further up the hill and was keeping a saloon at Cisco.

Stay tuned next week for more on the postmasters of Secret Ravine.

10/21/2026

10/15/2026

LOOMIS BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S THROWBACK THURSDAY: Granville Wall

Granville Wall was a typical California pioneer, with an adventurous story full of contradiction. He reputedly came here at the height of his youth, made two or three fortunes, lost them, and never complained about his luck.

Granville was from Monroe Center, a quiet, rural village in Maine. In 1849, he left his pregnant wife and four children, sailed around the Horn and arrived in California in the spring of 1850. He was 35 years old.

He made his way to Placerville, where he mined with his fellow Downeaster, Horace Hart. After a year or two of strenuous work, he saved enough gold dust to take a trip to “the states,” but an unfortunate accident brought the journey to an end and he never made it back to his native state.

With other miners, he returned to California on the ship Yankee Blade. Near Los Angeles, the vessel wrecked in a mysterious way. The misfortune was generally believed to be purposefully caused to give a gang of robbers a chance to procure the fortunes of the miners.

Finding himself with no money, Granville once more started for the mines. This time, he settled at Stewart’s Flat (now Penryn) where he conducted a general store.

Or so the story goes.

The story is contradicted by the birth of a daughter in Maine in July 1850. Historical records themselves conflict, showing another daughter born in February 1850. And both Granville and his friend, Horace Hart, resided in Maine in late summer 1850. They were in Placerville by December, making for a quick trip around the Horn.

Verified is that Granville was still here in 1852 and he operated a business called the Wall House at Stewart’s Flat in 1854.

Contrary to the claim that he never made it back to Maine, he was in Monroe Center, living with his wife and children in 1860. She divorced him in 1868.

Granville later had a wheelwright shop and succeeded in making another fortune. Then, the spirit of mining again took him to the gold region. He lost all when a big mining corporation drifted under his claim, taking advantage of the vein he was seeking.

Granville Wall died in Oakland 1908 at the age of 92 years.

10/08/2026

LOOMIS BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S THROWBACK THURSDAY: The Tower of Loomis

It was amusing to see the very men who had been so persistent in growing fruit without irrigation now be foremost in bringing in a water supply.

The year was 1888 and improvements were happening around Pino. . . or Loomis. The town had two names -- one for the post office and another for the train station.

Land was being cleared on every hand. Plows and grubbing hoes transformed the countryside. Where oak and chaparral stood a few years earlier, peaches, plums, grapes and oranges now grew. The wilderness was fast becoming a garden, with houses appearing in the distance.

The town needed a water works. Five men -- Jonas J. Morrison, W.G. Williams, Edward Maslin, R.H. Pettit and Andrew Ryder – came to an agreement with Mr. Birdsall, the water man from Auburn. They advanced him $4,000 with which he put in a 14-inch pipeline from Red Ravine (between the Greeley and Lewis ranches) to Pino. . . or Loomis. The water would run into a tank from whence it could be distributed to wherever needed.

By June, there was 250 inches of water in the main Bear River ditch. Water was running into a reservoir at J.P. Whitney’s ranch across Boulder Ridge. A ditch was dug to Clover Valley. Flumes were built. The water main pipe to Pino was completed and a water tank, 40 feet high, went up. The tank was dubbed “The Tower of Loomis.”

Four fire plugs were installed, and a hose company was organized. It was the town’s first fire department.

Several residents laid pipe to connect their dwellings and premises to the new water service. They had water for their houses. They had water for their orchards and vineyards. In a short time, a large fertile area was supplied with water.

In town, among the first to connect was saloonkeeper Jim Loomis. He put a fountain in front of his house near the saloon -- a watering hole at the watering hole.

Morrison, Williams, Maslin, Pettit and Ryder -- men who once insisted they could grow fruit without irrigation -- laid several miles of pipe to cover every knoll. They recognized that there is a charm in a bountiful water supply, and they provided for it.

10/02/2026

LOOMIS BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S FLASHBACK FRIDAY: James O. Loomis

Joel Loomis, a farmer of Pontiac, Michigan, grew apples, big apples weighing one pound each and measuring fourteen inches in circumference, with a most delicious flavor. He and his wife, Emily, raised a family of four children on their farm. The oldest was a son named James Oscar. They called him “Jim.”

Jim Loomis left Pontiac for California in 1852 at the age of 21. He settled at Pine Grove, a mining community along Secret Ravine where he was employed by merchants Smith and Hubbell. For a while, he was a farm laborer in Suisun, but with the arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) in 1864, he returned to Pine Grove, now called Smithville, to work at a new train depot named Pino Station. Jim trained under station agent Harry Unruh, learning telegraphy and station management. He then took over from Unruh as station agent. His duties included Wells Fargo express agent and tending the bar. His residence next to the depot was a hotel for travelers.

In December 1869, the Smithville post office moved from Smith’s store on Secret Ravine to the Pino depot along the tracks and was renamed Pino post office. Jim Loomis replaced his old friend L.G. Smith as postmaster. He kept the mail in a cigar box at the end of the bar.

The railroad reached Reno in 1868. The similarity in names between Pino and Reno caused mix-ups in freight, so in 1884, the CPRR changed the name of Pino Station to Loomis in honor of its long-time station agent. The next year, Jim Loomis resigned to pursue other business ventures. J.J. Morrison became the new station agent. In 1886, Jim retired as postmaster. He was replaced by S.L. Laird. In 1890, the Pino post office was renamed Loomis to match the depot. Jim Loomis built a new saloon (the only one in town) and opened a butcher shop.

At one time, Jim Loomis was the entire town. He witnessed its evolution from Pine Grove to Smithville to Pino to Loomis. He filled the roles of gold miner, station agent, postmaster, express agent, saloonkeeper, hotel keeper, storekeeper, butcher and pioneer.

He died in 1895 at his home near the depot in the town that is named for him.

10/01/2026

Hello October!
What to plant in October: Cornflower, Nasturtium, Nigella, Sweetpea.

-Leave 3-4” of stem when harvesting winter squash and pumpkin to reduce rot.
-Clean up the summer vegetable and flower garden and compost the disease-free remains.
-Acid-loving plants may show yellowing between leaf veins due to inability to absorb iron from soil. Add chelated iron if correcting poor drainage and adjusting soil pH does not solve the problem.
-Watch for snails, hand pick.
-Shred fallen leaves and add to your compost pile or apply as a mulch instead of burning them.
-Irrigate only if it doesn’t rain.
-Prepare vegetable beds for spring. Add compost, dig in leaves, or plant a cover crop.
-Plant cool season flowers and vegetables.
-Remove water basins from trees and shrubs before rains begin.
-Move potted plants under cover to avoid overwatering or frost damage.
-Plant daffodils over a 2-3 week period for extended spring bloom.
-If needed, dig up corms and tubers of gladiolas, dahlias, and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.
-Trim spent flowers from roses.
-Cover compost bins with a plastic tarp when rains begin to maintain moisture.
-Remove fallen leaves from turf grass to avoid rot. Shred and add them to the compost pile or mulch them in place.
-Apply or reapply mulch to protect soil from erosion and compaction.
-Do not apply pesticides when rain is expected to avoid runoff