When I”m traveling in the woods in Lake County I am always fascinated how ridges, canyons, mountains and other landmarks got their names. Many were named after the original pioneers who settled in the area.
For example, Hull Mountain, located near Lake Pillsbury, was named after John Hull, who was killed by a bear on the mountain in 1854. As the story goes, Hull shot a deer and his hunting companion went to get the horses and took the only rifle. When they got back they found Hull dead beside the deer carcass with a large bear nearby. Hull”s grave is located near the summit of the mountain.
The famous Bartlett Springs area is named after Green Bartlett, who bought the land in 1870 and turned it into a world famous resort with five hotels and 350 cabins. In its heyday it served more than 1,000 guests at one time. The resort burned down in 1934.
One area in the Mendocino National Forest where I deer hunted for years is Ruppert Ridge. Few people know the history of Ruppert Ridge and I only learned of it a few years ago. The ridge is named after Frances Ruppert, who is one of the least-known Lake County pioneers, but also one of the most interesting and colorful characters ever to live in the county. According to documents published by the Lake County Historical Society, she was born in Germany in 1867 and her parents brought her to Lake County when she was a young girl. As a young woman she settled in the forest located near Bartlett Springs. She was a true outdoorswoman and was so colorful that a writer for the San Francisco Examiner wrote a story about her in 1899 that was published in newspapers around the country.
The Examiner writer described her as a “man-hater, woman-hater, a miser and a hermit.” The story was titled “A Woman Who Needed No One.” She settled on 400 acres and built a small cabin and shunned any contact with people. She had a small herd of milk cows and a couple of horses and a surly dog. She worked the land for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Her only income came from the milk from her cows and the vegetables from her garden. She delivered the vegetables to the guests at Bartlett Springs Resort in a cart that was pulled by a horse teamed up with a cow. She was completely independent and even made her own clothes, which included her shoes.
As the story goes, Ruppert one day saddled a horse and went to Lakeport to file a homestead on an additional 140 acres. She so despised the town and its people that she never returned.
One of the guests at the Bartlett Springs Resort was the famous boxer James J. Corbett. He gained worldwide fame by knocking out the great John L. Sullivan. Ruppert took one look at Corbett and fell in love with him. She would deliver fresh milk and cream to Corbett and he treated her kindly. In fact, he was the first man to ever show her any respect. She called him “Gentleman Jim Corbett,” a nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his life. When he left Bartlett Springs, Corbett sent her a gold coin, which she wore in a small buckskin bag around her neck. She died in 1934.
Ruppert Ridge is located on Bartlett Springs Road just past Pinnacle Rock. As for the Bartlett Springs Resort, after it burned in 1934 only a few cabins remained and an arsonist burned them in 2007. Today the only remains are a few foundations.
I can only guess what Frances Ruppert would think if she were around today and saw ATVs and off-road motorcycles roaring up and down her ridge. I”ll bet that she would pull out her trusty rifle and order the trespassers off her land.
