Earlier this year, a friend sent me a copy of a 1890 letter between the NCO Railway and Cedarville merchant, T.H. Johnstone about a business proposal at Liegan. That triggered a memory. In 1982, a paper dealer from Redding contacted me about a collection of  letters dating from the 1890s to the early 1900s between T.H. Johnstone, and his brother Samuel A. Johnstone. Sam Johnstone came to Amedee  in 1893, and would later the become owner the Amedee Hotel from 1901 to 1907. The letters opened a proverbial pandora box, with topics such as the tragic death of Maud Bentel and the death Cora Johnstone, the first person interred in the Amedee Cemetery. Below, a is a 1899 letter about the NCO and  extending its line northward.

April 25, 1899 – T.H. Johnstone, Cedarville,

Dear Tom:  Are you having any maple sugar this spring, if so can I have some of it, 2 or 3 bricks for my own use. Well Railroad business is somewhat a standstill. Mr. Fulton has resigned his position taking effect May 1st. Do not know who will be his successor, think Ed Smith will. Smith is the head engineer on the. road is a fine man, has got charge of all trains. None think Amedee will be moved to Doc Smith’s place, that is at the foot of the hill where those warm springs are. They have built a side track there and level it up nice. Also built  water tank that hold 42,000 gallons of water. Mr. Gest calls the place Smith. They expect to move the shipping corrals up there for fall shipping of stock and think that the depot for Honey Lake merchandise will be there, but do not know yet as people are guessing at most of it. Smith told me if he had anything to do with it after Fulton. left, he would give me all the information he could. Are not doing much now as they are out of steel and will be summer time before they can get any.  Yours Respectfully Sam.

Never miss a story, click here.