If you would like to see one of the most interesting and seldom-visited mountain cabins in Tulare County, take a long day’s hike or horseback ride on a scenic trail to the Barton-Lackey cabin. Built as headquarters for a long-term summer cattle range, it preserves the history of both an important mountain industry and a prominent early Tulare County family.

     The Bartons were typical Tulare County pioneers in many ways. In 1865, James T. and Susan Barton, natives of New Jersey, crossed the plains from Illinois with their ten (sometimes reported as 9 or 11) children, and arrived in Visalia in October. Soon they took up land at the site of Auckland, a settlement on the old Millwood Road (now Highway 245) that runs north up to Badger and on to the sawmills and high country meadows beyond. The little town was an important stop for hundreds of teamsters on their journeys to and from the busy mills that supplied wood products to many growing Tulare County communities.

     Four generations of Bartons lived at Auckland. James T. Barton raised cattle there on 440 acres for 14 years, then moved to Three Rivers in 1879.

     James and Susan’s sons Hudson (“Hud”) DeCamp Barton and Orlando Barton stayed in Auckland, where they ranched with their father and brothers and worked at the local sawmills. Hud, born in 1844, homesteaded land just above the village. He and Orlando built Auckland’s school and Hud was its first teacher. Over the years, he was also a rancher, sawmill owner, miner, hotel owner, orchardist, and carpenter. In his later years, he wrote many letters, a number of which were published in local newspapers, about his journey across the plains to California and events in our local mountains.

     Hud married Sarah Jane Harmon in 1870, and they had eight children. Their first son, James DeCamp (Jim) Barton, was born in Auckland in 1871. He married Nellie St. Clair in 1893, and they had two daughters. Early in life Jim acquired and lived on the property homesteaded by his grandfather (James T.), then gradually acquired much adjoining property, becoming a prominent cattleman. He also worked as a contract logger and owned a big bull team that hauled heavy freight. To advance his logging and ranching operations, he built many of the mountain roads leading into the high country.

     By 1904, the Bartons were driving cattle over these roads and trails to summer pasture on Federal Sierra Forest Reserve land. They chose the remote meadows at 7400′ along Roaring River in what is now Kings Canyon National Park, very near the present Roaring River Ranger Station.

     Around 1910, the Bartons began constructing a number of improvements at their Scaffold Meadows cow camp. These included a one-room log cabin with a fireplace, a covered porch, a dirt floor and no foundation, along with corrals and hitching posts, and several outbuildings to house tack, tools, food, equipment, a kitchen, and summer herdsmen.

     In 1915, Hud wrote one of his many letters to the newspapers. Alarmed by rumors of a proposed enlargement of Sequoia National Park, he railed against the parties whose sole purpose, he claimed, was “getting the cattle shut out of the mountains and thereby letting vast quantities of feed go to waste for the selfish satisfaction of knowing that no one else can get any benefit from that which they cannot use or destroy themselves.”

     He emphasized that the cattlemen were “always ready and willing to help the rangers in case of fire and also to help the fish and game wardens in stocking barren lakes and streams” and lauded the forest rangers as “men of intelligence, always on the lookout for the interests and welfare of the tourist.”

     Meanwhile, Hudson and Jim, father and son, continued to graze their livestock at Scaffold Meadows, and their children and friends often accompanied them on the annual trail drives. In 1922, they met the new administrator of their summer range. Forest Ranger Albert Roswell Lackey had transferred from the Sierra National Forest to take charge of the Kings Canyon District of the Sequoia National Forest. In March, 1923, Jim’s daughter Sylvia married Al Lackey, who took over the Barton family’s cattle business after Hud and Jim died.

     Hud died in 1929, at age 84, followed by Jim in July, 1931, at age 61. In accordance with his wishes, Jim’s body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Roaring River country, “which he loved so well.” Al Lackey continued to take the cattle there every summer.

     Then Kings Canyon National Park was established in 1940, and grazing was to be phased out. However, life-time use permits were granted to historic users of the area, including the Barton-Lackey cattle operation, since Nellie Barton was still alive. When she died, in 1955, Al Lackey obtained an extension of the grazing permit, but by 1960, the Barton-Lackey cattle had left the Roaring River country for good. Al continued the business in the Badger area until he retired three years before his death in 1967. (Sylvia died young, in 1953, of cancer.)

     The National Park Service took over the fifty-year-old Barton-Lackey cabin and used it for many years as a storage shed. By the time Park staff nominated it for the National Register in 1977, the old fences and out-buildings were all gone and the historic cabin, which had never been altered from its original appearance, needed significant repairs and reconstruction. That work was done in the early 1980s and was accomplished again authentically in 2012 by the Parks’ Historic Preservation crew, led by Thor Riksheim.

     Into the twenty-first century, Barton descendants, along with thousands of backpackers and trail riders, have continued to visit the family’s summer cabin and to recall its long history in Tulare County. While mining, logging, and domestic livestock herding are not allowed in the National Park, the Park Service preserves the Barton-Lackey cabin as a visible reminder of the Euro-American pioneers’ presence on and uses of this land, which sustained Native Americans’ summer uses for thousands of years before them and will be protected for as long as the national parks endure.

June, 2021

   In the mid-1800s, people from all over the world began settling in the great fertile valley of Tulare County. Most hoped to make their living by farming or ranching. They needed reliable water supplies to grow their crops and cattle, and efficient transportation to get their produce to market. Soon they were forming irrigation districts to lead water from the rivers to their land. Thus, in the early 1880s, the 129,000-acre Alta Irrigation District was established in the northern end of what was then a much larger Tulare County.

     Meanwhile, communities sprang up and grew, and as construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad moved south down the valley in the 1880s, all the little towns’ boosters vied to become stops on the railroad line. Joining forces, the boards of trade in Dinuba, Sanger, and Reedley managed to change the route of the Southern Pacific to come through their communities, and when the trains began to run in February of 1888, Dinuba built a depot to accommodate them.

     That depot burned down in 1911, but it was promptly replaced. The handsome new depot served the town until the last stationmaster retired, in June, 1978. Fortunately, the Alta District Historical Society (ADHS), had been formed before then, in 1962, initiated by Dinuban W. N. Davis. Its purpose was to encourage and promote the study of the history and culture of the Alta District and surrounding environs, and to collect, classify, and publish related historical information, data, facts, and folklore.

     Recognizing the depot’s historic value, ADHS purchased it in 1979. However, as a condition of its sale, the building had to be moved. After an extensive search, in November of 1982, the society paid $40,000 for a large corner property, now known as Heritage Square, at Ventura and K streets in Dinuba, and in January, 1984, moved the depot to its new home. Having played such a critical part in the area’s history, the depot was to become the repository for that history — a museum for the Alta District, whose boundaries roughly followed those of the still-operating historic Alta Irrigation District and included the towns of Dinuba, Cutler, Orosi, Yettem, Monson, and Reedley.

   In July, 1984, Dinuban Evelyn Dopkins Corr donated the 1912 “White House” to the ADHS. She, too, required that her building be moved, but she included a $10,000 donation to cover the cost, so in January, 1985, this large historic home joined the Depot at Heritage Square.

     From 1976 through 1989, through volunteer and youth program efforts, as well as dues, donations, memorials, raffles, food booths, dinners, auctions, fireworks sales, and other fundraising efforts, ADHS was able to pay for substantial renovation work on the White House and the Depot, and numerous improvements on Heritage Square.

     Fundraising and construction projects have continued apace ever since. The White House gained a library, named in honor of donor Evelyn Dopkins Corr, in 1990. In 1991, Rose Ann Vuich of Dinuba (born in Cutler), the first woman to be elected a California State Senator (in 1977), donated $50,000 to ADHS, which greatly contributed to additional major work on the White House.

   This fine example of American Foursquare/Prairie architecture now serves as a cultural center for the community, and houses, in addition to the library, historical exhibits, art displays, and the ADHS offices. It hosts ADHS meetings and cultural and community celebrations, such as the annual Christmas at the White House.

   Exhibits have included photography, quilts, Depression glass, wedding gowns, art from local schools, and Japanese, Armenian, Filipino, Mennonite, Cowboy, Korean, and Native American cultures. An exclusive highlight is the striking private collection of textile art and art on paper created by Dinuba resident Katchidor “K” Boroian, which he donated to ADHS in 1983. The White House can also be reserved for public and private functions.

   The first display to be installed in the restored and refurbished Southern Pacific Depot Museum building was the Rutan Brothers Aviation Exhibit, in November, 1997. World-famous aviation pioneers Burt and Dick Rutan grew up in Dinuba, and graduated from Dinuba High School. Among many other innovations, Burt designed, and his brother Dick and partner Jeana Yeager piloted, the Voyager, the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. Burt also designed the sub-orbital spaceplane SpaceShipOne and the BiPod, a hybrid flying car.

     The Rutan brothers arrived for the 1997 grand opening of the Depot in Burt’s experimental “Boomerang” plane. Since that grand opening almost 20 years ago, many exhibits on a wide range of subjects have been installed. Community members have donated hundreds of interesting items, including those comprising a veterans’ display, a Native American display, the Orosi Room, a kitchen from the early 1900s, a Rose Ann Vuich display, and a blacksmith shop.

     Recently, ADHS began searching for more exhibit space. In 1997, Burt Rutan donated to the museum another of his experimental aircraft, the “Solitaire” sail plane, “a product of the genius who lived among us.” The Society hopes to find a place in which to permanently display this exciting gift where it can be seen by the public.

     Additionally, the Society partners with schools and other organizations, making the Heritage Square facilities available for events, such as the Dinuba Festival of the Arts sponsored by the ADHS, the Chamber of Commerce, and the city.

     ADHS has also been working with the school district, the city, and local service clubs to bring third-graders on field trips to Heritage Square. The service clubs finance the bus transportation, and volunteer docents guide the students through the exhibits and the blacksmith shop. The youngsters get introduced to 100-year-old technology such as wringer washing machines and to old-fashioned toys and games like jacks and horseshoes, then join in singing historical songs played by Brad McCord and Ron Jefferson on guitar and harmonica.

     Another innovative ADHS outreach project is volunteer Nancy Hoyt’s delightful “Museum in a Trunk.” Nancy visits classrooms with a trunk full of treasures to introduce students to the history and cultures that have created the community that they live in today.

  “Remembering the past, working for the future,” the ADHS strives “to preserve the cultures that have joined talents and customs to form the Alta District, and to educate and develop appreciation of their importance to present and future generations.”

     On June 3, 1919, the people of Tulare County received a wonderful gift. John Cutler, Jr., and his wife, Mary, donated to the county approximately 70 acres of splendid oak woodland along the St. John’s River, stipulating that “Said lands shall be used and maintained forever by the [County] as and for a public park and public pleasure ground, and for no other purpose.” Thus our county acquired the land for its second park, for free, just ten years after purchasing the 100 forested acres of Mooney’s Grove for $15,000.

     The donated land was part of the Cutler family’s 1854 home ranch, where John, Jr.’s generation had been born and raised. He gave the gift as a memorial to his parents, John and Nancy Cutler, pioneer settlers and leading citizens of Tulare County, requiring that “Said lands and premises shall forever thereafter be named . . . Cutler Park.” The deed also emphasized the new park’s importance as a preserve for posterity, specifying that “None of the oak trees now growing on said premises shall ever be cut down, destroyed, or removed from said premises, so long as the same shall remain in a healthy, growing condition, excepting only such trees as it shall be found necessary to cut down or remove for the purpose of erecting buildings or structures on said premises for the convenience and pleasure of the public.”

     Land to the center of the St. John’s River was included, to provide the public with boating and swimming opportunities. The county envisioned the new park as a picnic ground as attractive as Mooney Grove that would relieve the pressure of heavy use on its first park. It even considered moving some of its growing population of zoo animals from Mooney to Cutler. But first, it set to work to fence the new park, build an attractive entrance gate, and improve accessibility to the property.

     By July, 1920, two 12-foot driveways were under construction, leading into the park through the impressive new entrance and looping through the grounds. A well had been dug, brush cleared, trees pruned, and with comfort stations and picnic tables installed, it was expected that “The new park will be a delightful camping spot for motorists passing on to the mountains during the summer.”

     A year later, a large water tank, pump, and waterlines were installed, enabling 400 oak saplings, uncovered in the brush clearing, to be watered and cultivated for posterity. The Pomona Grange organized a big ceremony and all-day picnic on October 1 to celebrate the dedication of Cutler Park to the public. The whole county was invited to attend, with a special invitation to the old surviving pioneers to come and talk about early life in the area and their memories of John Cutler, Sr.

     Superior Judge W. B. Wallace, who had taught many of the Cutler children at the little school near the parkland, gave the dedicatory speech. Chairman Newman of the Board of Supervisors then formally accepted the park for the county and promised funding for its development and maintenance. “The gift of this fine grove of oaks constitutes one of the greatest acts anyone can do,” he said. “As we grow older as a county we find that more playgrounds are needed and must and shall be provided.”

     The next day, the Visalia Morning Delta announced that the County Supervisors had cut the tax levy for park purposes in the new county budget from two and one-half to two cents. The funds raised would not be sufficient to carry out the park’s development program, with the possible exception of a few swings and some road work. The paper noted later that week that as of the first of September, 100,000 people had visited Mooney Grove in 1921, and 37,000 had come to Cutler Park (out of a total county population of just over 59,000).

     Despite its continuing lack of facilities, the park continued to serve many outdoor recreational interests. In addition to picnicking and river play, it hosted statewide archery tournaments, training exercises by the Visalia Infantry Regiment, the sheriff’s pistol practice, and many Girl Scout and Boy Scout day camps and overnight Camporees.

     At last, in April, 1951, the county supervisors adopted a master plan for Cutler, with a number of proposed enhancements. Unfortunately, since park funding had been slashed, the planned improvements would be delayed.

     By 1954, none of them had been made. (Furthermore, the park was now described as comprising only 50 acres, far less than the 70 acres donated in 1919.) A Visalia Times Delta article in August described the park’s condition as “so poor as to render the area offensive to sight.” Declaring Cutler “unfit for public use due to lack of facilities and its generally run-down condition,” the Ivanhoe Chamber of Commerce, American Legion Post, Garden Club, Elbow Creek Grange, and Visalia Chamber urged the Supervisors to get a plan approved and funded and get to work on the park.

     Earl Ingrim, County Planner, outlined several proposed long-term developments, but emphasized that, unlike crowded Mooney Grove, “a commercial and carnival-type park suited primarily to mass recreation facilities,” Cutler should feature casual, family-type recreation.

     In December, 1954, the Supervisors unanimously adopted the amended plan, which included adding a youngsters’ fishing pond and upgrading the roads. By September, 1956, the Times Delta was able to report that “Improvements Make Cutler Park Popular Recreational Spot.” The roads had been paved, nineteen acres of lawn planted for a children’s play area, and a third picnic arbor completed. And the new park superintendent, Merle Harp, had more plans for Cutler: irrigation sprinklers, barbecue pits, new playground equipment, more arbors, and eventually a bath house and rest rooms near the river.

     In six months, his work was underway, and by 1959, Cutler boasted horseshoe pits, 82 picnic tables, five arbors, twelve fire pits, the ball diamond, swings and merry-go-rounds, a new shop building, and parking space for 210 cars (but no pond or bath house). It was one of our county’s most popular parks.

     Sixty years on, it still appeals to people of all ages. Eleven hundred cars filled Cutler on Easter Sunday in 2017. The mile-long loop of the park’s road through the picnic areas under the big trees and along the river on the levee hosts strollers, joggers, cyclists, and cars taking slow scenic drives. Children race to explore the two big modern sets of play equipment. In 2018, the County, working with Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, built a beach to enhance enjoyment of the river. Rafters and waders, picnickers and bicyclists, students running cross-country meets and their elders racing in the Senior Games post photos of their good times on the park’s Facebook page.

     For those who relish the simple pleasures of being outdoors in beautiful, historic, natural, family-friendly surroundings, Cutler continues into its second century as a well-loved Tulare County treasure.

     CAUTION: The river may look calm and peaceful, but it can be running very fast, especially when water is being released from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah. Enjoy it carefully, and never leave children unattended.

June, 2019