Granville P. Swift
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
pioneer
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
who participated in the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846 and who was highly successful at gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
. His great-uncle was Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
.
He came to California at the age of 19 in 1840. Records indicate he was active in the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
, hunting and trading rawhide and fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
s. During the rebellion of the Californio
Californio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
s in 1844–45, Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
asked John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
to form a troop of riflemen, of which Swift was one.
By 1846, however, Swift would later favor independence from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He was one of thirty-three Americans who captured the town of Sonoma
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
. He was elected sergeant of the party and even helped design the Bear Flag.
He served until the spring of 1847, after which time he settled in Colusi County, where he ran an extensive cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
operation. It was during this time that he constructed a corral
Corral
Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system...
made of flat stones, as there was no timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
in the surrounding country. This corral, still standing, became known as Swift's Stone Corral and is now registered as California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
#238. In addition, his adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
from the ranch is registered as CHL #345 (the two are listed in different counties because Colusi County was later split into Colusa
Colusa County, California
Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...
, Glenn
Glenn County, California
Glenn County is in the California Central Valley. As of 2010, it had a population of 28,122. The county seat is the city of Willows.-History:Glenn County was formed in 1891 from parts of Colusa County. It was named for Dr. Hugh J...
, and Tehama
Tehama County, California
Tehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...
counties).
After the discovery of gold at Sutter's Fort
Sutter's Fort
Sutter's Fort State Historic Park is a state-protected park in Sacramento, California which includes Sutter's Fort and the California State Indian Museum. Begun in 1839 and originally called "New Helvetia" by its builder, John Sutter, the fort was a 19th century agricultural and trade colony in...
, Swift took a party to Bidwell's Bar
Bidwell's Bar, California
Bidwell's Bar was a gold mining camp in Butte County, California, United States, which lay at the end of the California Trail...
in 1848 and struck it rich. A fellow miner recalls, "Swift was one of the best miners I ever knew. It seems as if he could almost smell the gold. He made an immense amount of gold." With his newfound wealth, Swift, his brother William, and his cousin Frank Sears first purchased the ranch they had been working, and later purchased 15,000 acres (61 km²) of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
's Rancho Petaluma
Rancho Petaluma
Rancho Petaluma was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo...
, located near Sears Point
Sears Point
Sears Point is a prominent landform jutting into the historic reaches of San Pablo Bay in Sonoma County, California, USA. This hill is the southernmost peak of the Sonoma Mountains and forms the southwestern ridge above Tolay Lake...
.
In 1858 he constructed his three-story Southern antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
-style mansion, called Telemec, on the rancho. The first two floors had 14 rooms, while the dining room could seat as many as 50 guests and featured a fireplace of imported Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. It also had an encircling balcony supported by great stone columns. Swift also buried an estimated $100,000 in gold. The list of his burial locations (in his handwriting) still survives, with notations like "1 tin box & 1 Little Bottle Boath in the saim hoal."
Rich and famous, he married 16-year-old Eliza Jane Tate of Sonoma. Together they had three sons before their divorce in 1869.
However, his fortunes would soon take a turn for the worse. He suffered serious financial losses in the so-called Comstock Swindle, forcing him to sell off his ranch and Telemec to pay his debts. The family then moved to Solano County
Solano County, California
Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...
in 1864, settling in Green Valley
Green Valley, California
Green Valley is a census-designated place located in Solano County, California, United States. It sits in the northeast corner of the San Francisco Bay Area and is located approximately from Sacramento, approximately from San Francisco, approximately from Oakland, less than from Napa Valley,...
. The stone mansion they purchased today houses the Green Valley Country Club.
Swift returned to prospecting, this time for quicksilver
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
in the mountains between Berryessa Valley and Knoxville
Knoxville, California
Knoxville is an unincorporated community in Napa County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1322 feet . Knoxville is located north-northeast of Saint Helena....
, but on April 21, 1875, he was riding on a mule and suffered a fatal fall from a steep mountain path. He died at the age of 54 and is buried at Rockville Cemetery in Suisun.