I just happened to be browsing over a topo map of our area the other morning and noticed something strange... Just a bit to the South East of Arnold it appeared to indicate a town called McKay. How curious. I had never heard of the place. A quick look at Google maps shed no light on the subject, McKay didn't show up on their maps.
So, what was McKay and where did it go?
With a little more digging (Thank you Sierra Nevada Logging Museum), I discovered that apparently McKay was a small community built around a lumber mill built by Nathan and John McKay in the late 1800s. They were the largest operation in the area until the mid 1900s when Frank Blagen came to town... You know Blagen... Blagen Road? White Pines?
So, where is McKay? Truthfully, I don't know for sure. The topo map shows it a bit South East of central Arnold,near the junction of Love Creek Road and Dogwood Road. I drove out that direction the other day and other than a lot of pretty country I saw no sign of the old mill, community, or historical markers indicating their presence in our past. I could easily have missed a sign, or many for that matter. It's a one lane, twisty road and I was driving alone so had to keep my eyes on the road and on the lookout for oncoming neighbors.
If you know anything about this historic place, or any others in the area, Please post in the forum!
For more information about the mills in Calaveras County have a look at:
http://snlm.wordpress.com/logging-history/local-mills/
and about the McKay mill specifically:
http://snlm.wordpress.com/logging-history/local-mills/mckays'-clipper-mill/
joe
