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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2016)
C6 History Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 28, 2016 Brewery owner had start at Prairie Diggings mine Blue Mountain Eagle The F.C. Sels Brewery building stands as a reminder of the early days in Canyon City. Francis Clemens “F.C.” Sels, the owner of the estab- lishment, had his career start in mining. He was born in 1837 in Meschede, Westphalia, Ger- many. He left Germany at age 17, arriving in California in 1854. Sels made his way to Canyon City in July 1, 1862, joining the Prairie Diggings camp. The 18 members of that party were from California and mostly of German de- scent. They prospected in Can- yon City in 1862 while en route to Florence, Idaho. However, they were informed of discouraging reports in Florence and returned to Can- yon City. They soon found fair pros- pects, locating 18 claims, and later had six adjoining claims. The original owners of the Prairie Diggings cleared $10,000 each during the irst year of their operations, and many hundreds of thousands more were garnered by com- panies which followed. It is assumed that Sels had his career start from this min- ing success. Sels had several occu- Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum Men gather at the Canyon City saloon and brewery owned by F.C. Sels in 1913. Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum Canyon City Commercial Co., Canyon City, circa 1910, once stood near where the Whiskey Gulch Gang later built its rock wall around the beer garden of the F.C. Sels Brewery. Eagle file photo Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum F.C. Sels owned a brewery in Canyon City in the early 1900s. pations prior to owning the brewery, including general merchandise store owner, jus- tice of the peace (1864-1866) and postmaster for less than a From June 6, 1985: Members of the Whiskey Gulch Gang are perched atop their “staff car” beside the new rock wall they have constructed along the beer garden adjacent to the F.C. Sels Brewery in Canyon City. year in 1866. He ran for state senator in 1868 and won the election, but lost the seat due to a tech- nicality. He was the Grant County judge from 1870 to 1874. Sels bought the brewery on July 28, 1870, from John H. Stahl. Though it is known today as the F.C. Sels Brew- ery, Sels called it the City Brewery. Two weeks later, the town burned down in the irst of three disastrous ires the town suffered over the years. The brewery was not spared. Sels listed his loss at $7,000 with no insurance. It was said: “F.C. Sels, our present county judge, came near losing his life through over exertion and copious in- halation of heat and smoke. He is still conined to his bed and in a rather critical condi- tion.” In 1898, a second ire de- stroyed the brewery, and Sels listed the inancial loss at $30,000. Although his brewery was small, Sels had a reputation for his beer, which won a medal at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Sels died at his Canyon City home on Jan. 29, 1914, at age 77. At the time of his death, he was president of the First National Bank of Canyon City. He was preceded in death by his wife, Vella, who died in 1913 at the age of 43. Both are buried in the Canyon City Cemetery. His children were Julia Sels Kuhl (born 1859), Lizzie (1861), Clara (1863), Frank (1865), Eddy (1868) and Elta (1870). Information was provided to the Grant County Histori- cal Museum by Dennis Smith. The Corner Cup Coffee • Tea • Hot Drinks • Cold Drinks • Smoothies • Baked Goods • Free WiFi Did you know, The Corner Cup was once the local Texaco gas station? • Charming, affordable rooms • Free, secure WiFi • Cable TV • A/C • Beer and wine bar • Tesla and universal charging stations 3+ ,6725,&3+27(/335$,5,( 100 E Main St., John Day • 541-792-0425 Open Mon-Wed 6am-9pm, Thur-Sat 6am-12am & Sun 8am-8pm Located downtown historic Prairie City 112 Front St. • Prairie City • 541-820-4800 3ZZZKRWHOSUDLULHFRP33KRWHOSUDLULH#RUWHOFRQHW Hardware Paint Cookware Garden Supplies Home Decor and much more! The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Joaquin Miller’s desk sits in his cabin preserved by the Grant County Historical Museum. Taken Wednesday, Sept. 21. MILLER Continued from Page C1 and high-heeled boots. This garb made him popular with the local women, and the publishing of his book of po- etry, “Paciic Poems,” added greatly to his sense of self-im- portance. Literary Traveler reports the British seemed to enjoy Miller’s character more than his poetry, while Ameri- can critics were not nearly so kind and questioned his over- all literacy, according to. Miller returned to Califor- nia and settled in Oakland. He engaged in a number of affairs with married and unmarried women, worked a brief stint as a newspaper correspondent during the Klondike gold rush and worked in conservation towards the end of his life. He bought up a large area of land above Oakland and took to calling it the Hights, insisting on his own spelling. He lived here until his death in 1913. His funeral was oficiat- ed by a unitarian priest who called him “the last of Amer- ica’s great poets.” Before its completion, Literary Traveler reports, the event devolved into a riot, with attendees ran- sacking his home and police having to rescue his corpse. HEALTHY FOREST ~ JOBS RENEWABLE RESOURCE SOLUTIONS YESTERDAY. TODAY. AND TOMORROW Malheur Lumber Company Celebrating over 30 years YOUR MONEY - YOUR COMMUNITY - YOUR CREDIT UNION Where People Are More Important Than Money Since 1957 Proud to be part of Grant County history for the last 59 years. The only locally owned financial institution in Grant County. 650 W. Main St., John Day, Oregon • (541) 575-0264 162 W. Front, Prairie City, Oregon • (541) 820-4601 • (541) 820-4725 ent by vertisem ber Co. 1957 Ad um Hines L Edward Malheur Lumber Company was established in 1983 as a division of Ochoco Lumber Company which is based in Prineville, Ore. As we celebrate 33 years of operation in Grant County, we would like to thank those who have helped us meet the challenges of the years past, as we look forward to meeting the challenges of the future. By providing family wages and excellent benefits to our outstanding employees and their families, we provide a strong foundation to the Grant County economy.
