Hiram Leavitt
Encyclopedia
Hiram Leavitt was an early settler, innkeeper, and judge in Mono County, California
, in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Leavitt left his mark in the area and is the namesake of features such as Leavitt Peak
, Leavitt Meadow, Leavitt Creek and Leavitt Lake.
on 2 April 1824. When he was in his late 20s, Leavitt responded to the news of the California Gold Rush
and headed west to San Francisco. His wife Eliza and their infant daughter remained behind in Boston until November 1856, when he returned for them, collected their belongings, and made the sea voyage back to California. Following the end of the gold rush, the family travelled to the rugged Sierra Nevada of northeastern California
. There, he built a home in what then was known as Indian Valley but today is called Bridgeport
, a town not far from the Nevada
border.
Many well-known explorers and pioneers passed through Bridgeport Valley and Mono County, including Jedediah Strong Smith
, John C. Frémont
, Kit Carson
and others. Mono County was created by the California Legislature in 1861. Bridgeport is the seat of Mono County; its dominant architectural feature is the Victorian
Bridgeport Courthouse, built in 1881, and it belies the New England origins of many of the county's early citizens, including Granite State native Leavitt.
Mono County's Bridgeport was a growing town and Leavitt operated a stage stop business at what is called Leavitt Station, and later an inn. He also served as a judge. When it was determined in 1863 that Aurora, the county seat of Mono County, actually was located in Nevada rather than California, Bridgeport became the designated county seat of Mono County. In that same year, Leavitt built his hostelry at the east end of Sonora Pass
to serve the growing traffic, primarily miners, traveling between Sonora and today's Aurora, Nevada
.
By 1867 Leavitt was living in Sonora, California
, and later moved to the road linking Sonora with Mono County.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Leavitt Peak
, Leavitt Meadow, Leavitt Creek and Leavitt Lake appear on California maps. Hiram and his wife Eliza Leavitt continued to live in the family home – which he had hired builder Sam Hopkins to construct – until Hiram died in 1901 at age 77. (Builder Hopkins later married Leavitt's daughter Ida.) The old Leavitt House is today known as the Bridgeport Inn.
Mono County, California
Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to the east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,202, up from 12,853 at the 2000 census...
, in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Leavitt left his mark in the area and is the namesake of features such as Leavitt Peak
Leavitt Peak
Leavitt Peak is located in the Emigrant Wilderness near Sonora Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada range of California. Leavitt Peak is located on the Tuolumne County - Mono County line. The Pacific Crest Trail runs close to the east of Leavitt Peak, at an elevation of about elevation...
, Leavitt Meadow, Leavitt Creek and Leavitt Lake.
History
Hiram Lewis Leavitt was born in Grantham, New HampshireGrantham, New Hampshire
Grantham is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,985 at the 2010 census. This made Grantham the fastest growing town numerically in Sullivan County between the 2000 and 2010 censuses...
on 2 April 1824. When he was in his late 20s, Leavitt responded to the news of the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
and headed west to San Francisco. His wife Eliza and their infant daughter remained behind in Boston until November 1856, when he returned for them, collected their belongings, and made the sea voyage back to California. Following the end of the gold rush, the family travelled to the rugged Sierra Nevada of northeastern California
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...
. There, he built a home in what then was known as Indian Valley but today is called Bridgeport
Bridgeport, California
Bridgeport is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Mono County, California. It lies at an elevation of 6463 feet in the middle of the Bridgeport Valley. Bridgeport is located at the intersection of highways US 395 and State Route 182. The population was 575 at the 2010...
, a town not far from the Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
border.
Many well-known explorers and pioneers passed through Bridgeport Valley and Mono County, including Jedediah Strong Smith
Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
, John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
and others. Mono County was created by the California Legislature in 1861. Bridgeport is the seat of Mono County; its dominant architectural feature is the Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
Bridgeport Courthouse, built in 1881, and it belies the New England origins of many of the county's early citizens, including Granite State native Leavitt.
Mono County's Bridgeport was a growing town and Leavitt operated a stage stop business at what is called Leavitt Station, and later an inn. He also served as a judge. When it was determined in 1863 that Aurora, the county seat of Mono County, actually was located in Nevada rather than California, Bridgeport became the designated county seat of Mono County. In that same year, Leavitt built his hostelry at the east end of Sonora Pass
Sonora Pass
Sonora Pass is the second-highest highway pass in the Sierra Nevada, lower by 321 ft. than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 traverses the pass.-Description:...
to serve the growing traffic, primarily miners, traveling between Sonora and today's Aurora, Nevada
Aurora, Nevada
Aurora is a ghost town in Mineral County in the western central part of the U.S. state of Nevada, approximately southwest of the town of Hawthorne and three miles from the California border....
.
By 1867 Leavitt was living in Sonora, California
Sonora, California
Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,903, up from 4,423 at the 2000 census. Sonora is the only incorporated community in Tuolumne County.-Geography:...
, and later moved to the road linking Sonora with Mono County.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Leavitt Peak
Leavitt Peak
Leavitt Peak is located in the Emigrant Wilderness near Sonora Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada range of California. Leavitt Peak is located on the Tuolumne County - Mono County line. The Pacific Crest Trail runs close to the east of Leavitt Peak, at an elevation of about elevation...
, Leavitt Meadow, Leavitt Creek and Leavitt Lake appear on California maps. Hiram and his wife Eliza Leavitt continued to live in the family home – which he had hired builder Sam Hopkins to construct – until Hiram died in 1901 at age 77. (Builder Hopkins later married Leavitt's daughter Ida.) The old Leavitt House is today known as the Bridgeport Inn.
External links
- Bridgeport Inn, formerly the Hiram Leavitt House, Bridgeport, Mono County, California, The Historical Marker Database