A History of Paxton, California

The history of Paxton, California, begins with the 1850s gold miners working the Feather River’s rich placer deposits, mining developers who constructed a 30-ton processing mill, and the subsequent acquisition by the Indian Valley Railroad which constructed a rail line from the Western Pacific Railroad connection at Paxton, over 20 miles through Indian Valley. 

Lawson details the construction of the iconic Paxton Lodge in 1918, a 17-room, three-story edifice perched high on the bluff overlooking the Feather River. He describes its subsequent use and owners over the years spanning the construction of the Feather River Highway, World War Two, and various uses such as a late 1960s recording studio, alcohol rehabilitation center, and student housing for the local college. Fire, renovations, and new adaptations for the historic structure have changed its appearance some over the decades but it still stands as a monument to a bygone time when tourists took the train or drove up the scenic canyon highway to spend a weekend or longer fishing, swimming, gold panning and relaxing in the quiet mountain environment.