Colusa County Biographies

Cleaton Grimes

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

Cleaton Grimes, for whom Grimes Landing was called, was born in Maysville, 
Kentucky, May 24, 1815.  After receiving a common-school education, he learned 
the trade of tanner.  In 1840 he moved to Brown County, Ohio.  At Georgetown, in 
this county, he worked at his trade for several months, for Jesse R. Grant, the 
father of General Grant.  After various investments in Ohio and Kentucky, in the 
tanning business, he started for California in 1849, crossing the plains from 
St. Joseph, Mo., following the Fremont trail to Weaverville.  His first essay at 
acquiring a fortune was in the mines, and for this purpose he first went to Dry 
Creek, south of Sacramento, and afterwards to Oregon canon, near Georgetown, 
working in both camps about three years.  Tiring of the mines, he came to 
Sacramento and bought an interest in a boat carrying freight between Marysville 
and Sacramento.  Afterwards he bought extensively of provisions and miners� 
supplies, and, loading them in a wagon, he brought them to Shasta and disposed 
of them at a satisfactory profit.
            He came to Grimes, his present abode, in the spring of 1852.  He 
remembers when he first passed through the town of Colusa that there was only 
one house there and that was occupied by Will S. Green.  Grimes was short of 
powder, so he asked Green to let him have a small quantity.  He says that Green 
cheerfully consented to do so and that he hunted around and brought out some 
powder which was caked and proceeded to cut it apart and pound it with a 
cold-chisel, greatly to the terror of Grimes and his companion.  On first 
arriving at Grimes, he purchased one thousand two hundred acres of land from Dr. 
James Morrison and then began erecting a log house.  Shortly after this, Goodhue 
& Case built and conducted the first store in Grimes.
            Mr. Grimes, besides farming, has devoted much of his time in raising 
stock.  Raising hogs was very profitable at an early day, but he complained that 
the grizzlies could eat them up before he could dispose of them.
            In 1876 Mr. Grimes was married to Mrs. Annie E. Rollins, of 
Sacramento, and with her resides on his large ranch where he first located in 
the county twenty-eight years ago.
 
�Colusa County� � by Justus H. Rogers � Orland, CA � 1891 � pp 367