Picard California

Located east of the Cascade Mountain Range where the old Topsy Grade Stage Road enters Butte Valley, Picard was settled in the early 1880s. Its post office opened in 1883 and closed in 1907. La Lake School, one mile west, was Picard's first schoolhouse; it opened in 1886 and closed in 1912. Nellie and George Otto owned and operated the Picard store and dance hall, selling ice cream during dances, and Mr. Otto built the small rock powerhouse that still stands to provide lighting for the dance hall and store. By 1903 Picard had two saloons and hotels, three general stores, a blacksmith shop, church, and doctor's office. By 1908 the new railroad had bypassed Picard, and most town businesses moved four miles east to present-day Dorris where rail service could be accessed. The Picard cemetery, still in use today, is all that remains of this once colorful valley farming town.

California · United States