Cloud Rim Ranch is located in scenic Scott Valley, known for its vistas of the Marble Mountains, cattle and dairy ranches, and its historic background as a gold mining area, dating back to the days of the California Gold Rush.
Scott Valley is steeped in history. At the time of the first contact with Europeans in the 1830s, the valley was occupied by a branch of the Shasta tribe of Native Americans. The first recorded non-Native American presence in Scott Valley was that of trappers seeking the abundant local beaver in the mid-1830s, led by mountain man Stephen Meek.
The discovery of gold during the California Gold Rush by pioneer John W. Scott at Scott Bar, downriver from Scott Valley, brought many prospectors into the area; Scott's discovery led to the naming of the valley and the river in his honor.
Scott Valley Hydraulic Mine - 1870
The miners at Scott Bar needed pasture for their horses and mules. The closest area was around Fort Jones (trading post for the "Forty-Niners" who came in search of gold, and named after a U.S. Army post which was established nearby.) Thus ranching was established in the valley at what became known as the Meamber Ranch.
Not far from the Meamber Ranch was a prosperous mining community named Oro Fino. One of the richest strikes in all of Siskiyou County, it was home to many miners as there were two large hydraulic claims, a quartz mill, a store, a hotel and a post office that was commissioned in 1861. The post office closed in 1903.
Mining dwindled in Oro Fino by the 1880's, but resumed again for a period in the 1930's and 1940's. Oro Fino was also an agricultural community, and consisted of numerous small farms. In the mid 1900s, several of these farms were combined to form a larger hay and cattle ranch, known today as Cloud Rim Ranch.
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| Original ranch house, built in 1890 | Remodeled ranch house in 1966 |