Igo, California
Encyclopedia
Igo is an unincorporated
town with 625 residents 9 miles west of Redding, CA. Its ZIP Code is 96047. Wired Telephone numbers follow the pattern 530
-396-xxxx. It has a neighboring town of Ono 4.0 miles west. It is also home to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery, dedicated in December 2005. It has a post office, elementary school, the store, and a restaurant/beer & wine bar/banquet hall - The Igo Inn. It is also home to Brigadoon Castle Bed and Breakfast, but it is now a private residence.
Igo is located in the 4th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Doug LaMalfa
, and in the 2nd Assembly
District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen
. Federally, Igo is located in California's 2nd congressional district
, which has a Cook PVI
of R +13 and is represented by Republican Wally Herger
.
Because Piety Hill stood on top of an ancient riverbed that the Hardscrabble Mine was planning to hydraulically mine for the gold it contained, plans were made to lay out a new town across Conger Gulch. George McPherson, superintendent of the mine, began laying out the new town in 1866. The first resident in the new town was William Conger. Before long, others followed. Only the white residents moved to Igo; the Chinese stayed at Piety Hill. As fate would have it, Piety Hill was not destroyed by hydraulic mining. It was a very close call because the mining stopped right at the edge of town.
Like Ono and Piety Hill, there's more than one colorful version on how Igo received its name. One version claims Igo and Ono received their names from McPherson's young son, who, when seeing his father leave for work, would put on his own hat and say, "I go," and his father would answer with "Oh no." Still another version claims the name was derived from an incident between a Chinese man and two white miners who came upon a prospective site occupied by a Chinese miner who didn't want to leave. When the Chinese man was asked to leave, he replied, "Oh no." When again asked to leave, this time with the gesture of a pistol, he replied "I go." One man named his claim for the first response, while the other named his for the second response. Still another version claims the name was derived from an incident between a Chinese man and white miners who came upon a prospective site occupied by the Chinese miner. When the miners claimed the land and told the Chinese man to leave, he said "I go" and moved on. Some time later, as the white miners moved on from the first claim, they again came upon the Chinese man and again told him to move on to which the Chinese man said "Oh no".
Igo quickly became a bustling community and the metropolis of western Shasta County. The largest concentration of silver mines in Shasta County was nearby on South Fork Road, now called Zogg Mine Road. In addition to its mines, Igo was also a good agricultural area that produced crops of hay as well as vegetables and fruits. Cattle raising was another good business. Stockmen wintered their cattle in the foothills near Igo where the wild oats and clover grew in abundance. Sheep were also brought in and successfully raised, but sheep-raising was not popular with the cattlemen.
The Igo Post Office was established July 14, 1873, and is still operating today.
The Masons purchased the land where the Igo Oddfellows building (aka The Igo Inn) stands today in 1885 for $50 and built it with the intention of it serving as their meeting hall. In 1887, the Independent Order of Oddfellows No. 209 (IOOF) moved into the building and began sharing it with the Masons. They shared the building until 1935, when the Masons moved to Shasta.
In the 1920s, the dance hall was added to the building. It still exists and is one of the few spring (aka sprung floor
) floors still around. Over the years, the lodge hall served as the voting precinct and the location of many social gatherings, meetings, funerals, weddings and dances. However, IOOF membership and attendance began dwindling and funds to keep the building in good repair were becoming increasingly scarce. The building was abandoned, and stood vacant and open to the elements of Mother Nature and vandalization. It was eventually declared unsafe.
In 1987, Denise Wallace purchased the building and painstakingly restored it, without destroying the historical features of the building. Today it is the most prominent historical building in Igo and is operating as a steakhouse, beer and wine bar and banquet hall.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
town with 625 residents 9 miles west of Redding, CA. Its ZIP Code is 96047. Wired Telephone numbers follow the pattern 530
Area code 530
North American area code 530 is a California telephone area code that covers Auburn, Chico, Colfax, Davis, Grass Valley, Marysville, Oroville, Placerville, Redding, Red Bluff, Susanville, Truckee, Woodland, Yuba City and South Lake Tahoe....
-396-xxxx. It has a neighboring town of Ono 4.0 miles west. It is also home to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery, dedicated in December 2005. It has a post office, elementary school, the store, and a restaurant/beer & wine bar/banquet hall - The Igo Inn. It is also home to Brigadoon Castle Bed and Breakfast, but it is now a private residence.
Politics
In the state legislatureCalifornia State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
Igo is located in the 4th Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
District, represented by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Doug LaMalfa
Doug LaMalfa
Doug LaMalfa is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Republican representing the 4th district, encompassing Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, Trinity, Tehama, Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter, and Yuba counties, as well as parts of Nevada and Placer counties...
, and in the 2nd Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen
Jim Nielsen
James Wiley Nielsen is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican party. Nielsen served on the Yolo County Republican Committee before winning election to the California State Senate in 1978...
. Federally, Igo is located in California's 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district contains much of the far northern part of the state, north of Sacramento. It is the largest district by area in California...
, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R +13 and is represented by Republican Wally Herger
Wally Herger
Walter William "Wally" Herger, Jr. , American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing the California's 2nd congressional district. The second district is physically large...
.
History
Igo is the relocated town of Piety Hill, once located on the other side of Conger Gulch a quarter of a mile east of today's downtown Igo.Because Piety Hill stood on top of an ancient riverbed that the Hardscrabble Mine was planning to hydraulically mine for the gold it contained, plans were made to lay out a new town across Conger Gulch. George McPherson, superintendent of the mine, began laying out the new town in 1866. The first resident in the new town was William Conger. Before long, others followed. Only the white residents moved to Igo; the Chinese stayed at Piety Hill. As fate would have it, Piety Hill was not destroyed by hydraulic mining. It was a very close call because the mining stopped right at the edge of town.
Like Ono and Piety Hill, there's more than one colorful version on how Igo received its name. One version claims Igo and Ono received their names from McPherson's young son, who, when seeing his father leave for work, would put on his own hat and say, "I go," and his father would answer with "Oh no." Still another version claims the name was derived from an incident between a Chinese man and two white miners who came upon a prospective site occupied by a Chinese miner who didn't want to leave. When the Chinese man was asked to leave, he replied, "Oh no." When again asked to leave, this time with the gesture of a pistol, he replied "I go." One man named his claim for the first response, while the other named his for the second response. Still another version claims the name was derived from an incident between a Chinese man and white miners who came upon a prospective site occupied by the Chinese miner. When the miners claimed the land and told the Chinese man to leave, he said "I go" and moved on. Some time later, as the white miners moved on from the first claim, they again came upon the Chinese man and again told him to move on to which the Chinese man said "Oh no".
Igo quickly became a bustling community and the metropolis of western Shasta County. The largest concentration of silver mines in Shasta County was nearby on South Fork Road, now called Zogg Mine Road. In addition to its mines, Igo was also a good agricultural area that produced crops of hay as well as vegetables and fruits. Cattle raising was another good business. Stockmen wintered their cattle in the foothills near Igo where the wild oats and clover grew in abundance. Sheep were also brought in and successfully raised, but sheep-raising was not popular with the cattlemen.
The Igo Post Office was established July 14, 1873, and is still operating today.
The Masons purchased the land where the Igo Oddfellows building (aka The Igo Inn) stands today in 1885 for $50 and built it with the intention of it serving as their meeting hall. In 1887, the Independent Order of Oddfellows No. 209 (IOOF) moved into the building and began sharing it with the Masons. They shared the building until 1935, when the Masons moved to Shasta.
In the 1920s, the dance hall was added to the building. It still exists and is one of the few spring (aka sprung floor
Sprung floor
A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best available for dance and indoor sports and physical education....
) floors still around. Over the years, the lodge hall served as the voting precinct and the location of many social gatherings, meetings, funerals, weddings and dances. However, IOOF membership and attendance began dwindling and funds to keep the building in good repair were becoming increasingly scarce. The building was abandoned, and stood vacant and open to the elements of Mother Nature and vandalization. It was eventually declared unsafe.
In 1987, Denise Wallace purchased the building and painstakingly restored it, without destroying the historical features of the building. Today it is the most prominent historical building in Igo and is operating as a steakhouse, beer and wine bar and banquet hall.