“C.W. Gerle (Charles William Gerle of Uniontown/Gerlees Ranch on Gerle Creek) was plaintiff and David Croft et al. was defendants in an action to recover Gerle’s mining claim and $100 damages July 1, 1861.  The jury determined that Gerle owned the claim, but did not award the $100 damages”

 From Justice Court Records of Coloma, stored in the California State Library California History Room’s Collections between 1859 to 1888 compiled by Paul Nesbitt, PhD…published in the April 22, 1988 issue of the MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT Newspaper page A-8

According to original Land Patent records,  Charles W. Gerle filed on 4 pieces of property within MD 11N, 09E, sections 10 & 3, of which 3 pieces were in 10 and 1 piece in 3 in Uniontown, El Dorado County, Ca..  The attached map outlines these sections which are basically Northwest or down the South Fork of the American River from Coloma and Uniontown.  Their ranch was most certainly on the North side associated with the land along the section line between 3 and 10.  The land is flat and was close or on the river directly. The Gerle Brothers needed that water for their livestock.  When they drove their cattle to their cabin (Gerles) on Gerle Creek, they drove it Northeast up to Georgetown and then on the road to Gerles on Gerle Creek each Summer. These land patents were issued in 1874, 1879 and 1892 to Charles W. Gerle by the General Land Office.

The Gerle brothers ranch in Uniontown Coloma outlined above is now contained within the Cronan Ranch Regional Trails Park in Pilot Hill California now administered by the BLM. Currently one of the walking and biking trail loops within this very large park along the Northside of the South Fork of the American River is referred to as the "Gerle Loop" reflecting the three Gerle brothers original settlement there in the 1850s.   Anyone with information on the Gerle brothers who would like to share should contact James Barnes, the BLM Archeologist in charge of the current research in this area.

According to the Mountain Democrat of Sept 30, 1916, the Gerle Brothers bought their ranch property (Gerles/ Wagner Brothers/Lawyers Cow Camp) on Gerle Creek from the Indians in the early sixties(1860s). By 1877, Christopher Cyrus Gerle and his family had moved to Plymouth in Amador County. Gerle Family sources indicate that Christopher may have lost his portion of the Gerle Ranch in Uniontown and on Gerle Creek in a poker game in Carson City to his own brother Charles W. Gerle, which would account for his move with family to Plymouth. Another possible reason for this move is it came shortly after Christopher and Mary lost their two infant sons which may have also convinced them to move as well to make a fresh start.  In 1889, the California Water and Mining Company purchased the Charles W. Gerle's  interest in the property and had the land surveyed. The survey reported that the property was swampland and overflow lands which made it the property of the State of California. In 1895, CM Fitzgerald, the superintendent of the California Water and Mining company, was granted a patent to the 440 acres of property in section 36 of  T.14N, R. 14E.. He then deeded it to his company and who in turn deeded to each of the other companies who have taken ownership since.

 The remaining part of Gerle's Ranch on Gerle Creek....the eastern part was still owned by Charles W Gerle and remained in his family, being passed to his wife Minnie and son George M Gerle after Charles death in 1907. Later after the death of George M Gerle in 1917, George's wife Aileen became the owner of Gerle's Ranch property on Gerle Creek, eventually deeding the ranch property in 1935 to George's two younger brothers, Thomas H Gerle and Grant G. Gerle(Chris Hankins, 2010) Thomas passed away in 1949 while Grant Gerle died in 1956. In 1964, Bruce Wadsworth of Georgetown bought the eastern part of the Gerle Ranch , 330 acres, on Gerle Creek and held it until it sold in late 2008/early 2010 to the Sacramento Municpal Utility District or SMUD.

The Georgetown Gazette reported in their August 20, 1880 edition about Charles Gerle's trial in justice court.........."The trial of Chas. Gurley (misspelled), for drawing a rifle on James Smith, took place in Justice McLains court last Saturday.  Dist Attorney Ingram represented the prosecution, with Jas. Smith and Chas. Harris as witnesses for the complaint, while Gurley testified for himself.  The weight of the testimony told against Gurley, but the matter was compromised by Gurley pleading guilty to simple assault and paying a fine of $50.00."Gernes; Deibert, 1999

A report from the June 23, 1882 edition of the Georgetown Gazette on the movement of livestock through Georgetown to the ranches in the Sierras.........."A great many droves of stock and dairy cattle, sheep and goats, have passed through Georgetown during the present month for their ranges above, and many more are yet to pass before the month ends.  Among those who have already passed up with dairy stock are: Forni of Gold Hill, Sam Forni of this place (Georgetown), Filippini & Co., Bacchi of Garden Valley, Schelari and Gerley(mispelled) of Uniontown, Deller and Son near this place (Georgetown) and others whose names we have not in mind.  Besides this, no less than a dozen large bands of sheep and goats have passed through town.  Much stock is also passing up by routes south of this place." (Gernes; Deibert, 1999)

 The Gerle Brothers used their Sierra ranch on  Gerle Creek (Gurley; Lawyer's Cow Camp; & Wagner Bros.) from the early 1860s to raise hogs  and cattle during the Summer months, hauling the pork products over the Sierra's on the Georgetown/Wentworth Springs/Rubicon Springs/Lake Tahoe Road to sell in Virginia City, Nevada. The earliest maps including Bowman's 1874 Map of the whole Georgetown Divide show their  ranch and the creek identified with Gerle misspelled  and written as it sounded; "Gurley." Gerle's Ranch dates from the early 1860s and became a very important way stop on the road to Lake Tahoe from Georgetown, remaining so well into the 20th Century after the ranch property was sold off in 1889.

Gerle Meadow/Neck Meadow  The Old Bruce Wadsworth cabin at the back of the very southern section of Gerle/Neck Meadow up against the base of Johnny's Hill, on the south side of Gerle Creek serviced by two wood and steel bridges.  The main wood bridge across the meadow and the old flatcar bridge recovered from Jacobson's Crossing of Gerle Creek, one 1/8 mile up Gerle creek from the main bridge. Gerle Meadow/Neck Meadow is the Eastern part of the Section which originally belonged to the Gerle Brothers and now belongs to SMUD, purchased in 2009 from Bruce Wadsworth of Georgetown.  Bruce owned the property from 1964 and built the cabin and the barn structure using a chainsaw saw mill using timber in the meadow. The cabin uses water from a spring off the lower North side of Johnny's Hill. This area is one of the most beautiful and serene areas on Gerle Creek. Walking this area will immediately tell you why the Gerle Brothers attached themselves to this area. The original Gerle Brother's cabin before the main one ( Gurleys, Gerlees, Wagner Bros, Lawyers Cow Camp ) to the west on the meadow was built was in Neck Meadow on the original survey plat from the 1870s.

"A new summer home and recreational area is being planned by Eldorado National Forest for Gerle Creek,  on the Wentworth Springs Road approximately 40 miles East of Georgetown.  The site selected embraces an area large enough for 50 to 60  summer homes, one public camp area and two organizational areas.  Fishing, swimming and hiking will be the principal attractions.  The area is only eight miles west of Desolation Wilderness area.  Work on the proposal is being carried out under direction of County Supervisor Gene Chappie and Ranger George Ramstad." 

 This original plan and layout of the summer home tract lots along the Southside of the creek did not work out.  Interest in the lots was basically lacking and some of the old stories indicated due to the location directly on the creek, the mosquitos made it difficult.  In any case, with no interest in the original location, the Forest Service went back to the drawing boards and re-laid out the summer home tract in the present location on the North side away from the creek and up on the hillside above the Airport Flats area as laid out in the map below.   Have a look at this original US Forest Service Map of the GCSHT, a compass and tape survey, dated Feb 1953. By the time the FS offered lots at Gerle Creek, they had eliminated the lots on the Southside of the creek in favor of the current position up the hill on the Northside of the flats.

For a number of reasons not clear, there were no takers for the summer home tract between the original offering in 1953 and when they began again to create interest in the summer home tract. In a January 31, 1957  article entitled "SPRING OPENING  OF SUMMER HOME TRACT ON GERLE CREEK PLANNED," published in the MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT,

"Plans were announced this week by Ranger Kenneth St. John of Georgetown Ranger station for the opening of a summer home tract along Gerle Creek.  The forest service will offer 40 lots for lease this spring or early summer, said St. John.  The tract, about three and a one-half miles north  of South Fork on Gerle Creek., will be reached  either from  the Georgetown-Wentworth Springs road or  by the Icehouse road from Highway 50.  The area is 39 miles northeast of Georgetown on the Georgetown-Wentworth Springs  road and 28 miles north of Riverton on the Icehouse road.  The lots, each of one-quarter to one-third acre in size, will be leased on a standard forest service permit, reissued  annually, according to St. John.  This is the first summer home development area opened along Gerle creek."

As originally envisioned, it was laid out for lots 1 through 47, but later lots 1 through , 8,9 and 16 were removed from this original plan. The exact position of the Summer Home tract center is 38 Degrees, 59.205 Minutes North; 120 Degrees, 23.010 Minutes West.

Later in the Summer of 1957,  the MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT reported in a July 11, 1957 article entitled "FIVE SUMMER HOME SITE APPLICANTS AWARDED LOTS AT GERLE CREEK,"

"Summer home sites along Gerle Creek above Georgetown have been awarded to five applicants in the first allotment of 42 sites in the Forest Service development it was announced this week by Georgetown Ranger Kenny St. John.  Lots were awarded to Steven R. Camber, Oakland; D.C. Young, Orinda; Albert H. Somner, Garden Valley; John Holmes, Sacramento; and Harry Heckenliable, Stockton.  The five were among a list of applicants which has been building up since 1952, it was explained and many who had previously applied apparently were no longer interested, accounting for the small number of applicants appearing to select sites.  Later applicants now on file will be notified of a date to be announced later when further selections may be made."

I believe that due to the rather remote location, the unfamiliarity of people in general with this area on the forest and real difficulty in reaching this area in the early 50s, that interest was lacking for few interested folks who were willing to trek to Gerle Creek. The roads to Gerle Creek then were little more than two tire tracks whether coming from Riverton or Georgetown. The narrow old log roads  took considerable time and navigational skill to make your way to places like Gerle Creek. The initial offering of summer home sites in 1953 was coming at a period of time when the country was just 8 years past a major World War and currently was involved in the Korean War. Recreation opportunities for people were not high on the scale when balanced against the need to reestablish their basic needs including housing and work. Among the other difficulties of Gerle Creek was the fact that the original log bridge crossing Gerle Creek at Airport Flats in 1927 had been washed out in the Winter of 1951/52. So besides the isolation presented by the summer home tract at Gerle Creek was the fact you had to ford the creek every time you came or went to the summer home tract. In the days before the new Loon Lake Dam, this was no small feat and nearly impossible during the early Spring and Summer, due to the snow runoff. All tract residents as well as other users of Airport Flats barracks buildings, including the South Fork Mill ditch keeper had to ford the creek till 1963 when the first lane of the new concrete bridge was completed.

By 1957, 1958 people were ready to take up the opportunities presented by the Forest Service offering of summer home tracts. My parents, Gordon and Joy Brattland found out about Gerle Creek as a result of applying to the Forest Service for a summer home lot at Wright's Lake. Our family camped regularly at Wrights Lake from the mid 50s and fell in love with the isolated setting and the cabins around the lake.  The Forest Service advised that they had no more lots at Wright's Lake, but they had a summer home tract at Gerle Creek and plenty of available lots. My parents then visited the tract in the early Summer of 1958 via Georgetown with my sister and I in tow and selected  lot 34 next to the Holmes on Lot 33. After completing the paperwork and being awarded the lot, the Carey Brothers, who had also wanted Lot 34, had begun to build on the lot. When we showed up after being awarded  lot 34 by the Forest Service, the Carey family indicated  they had earlier actually selected lot 34 and that one of the three Carey Brothers was supposed to go to Georgetown and sign the required paperwork with the Forest Service, but had failed to do so. They were so intent on this lot that my father and mother decided to pick another lot, selecting instead  Lot 24. They  reported the problem to the Forest Service, who corrected both lease documents, awarding Lot 24 to the Brattland family, while allowing the Carey family to retain Lot 34.

In 1885, Alex F. Forni applied for a patent on 560 acres near what is now Gerle Reservoir in the Butler Meadows area, where he operated a ranch (Errington 2000). Review of the earliest map of the area, shows AE Browns ranch house and fence in this area, but no mention of Forni. Butler Meadows is more than likely named for the Samuel Butler and his pioneer family who were early cattle ranchers, arriving in about 1860. This same area was also an area frequented by Indians, most likely Southern Maidu, making use of several areas around the juncture of Angel Creek and Gerle Creek, "during the Summer months, hunting, fishing and gathering seeds, fruits, and bulbs" underneath the current reservoir, according to Wilson and Dyson(1962)

For a picture of Charles Forni, see Rambeau, 1998, page 21 for a group photo of the I.O.O.F. lodge in Georgetown, 1889. There is a group picture showing members Alex Francis, Charles Forni, Dan Jerrett, Gus Orelli and Charles Wentworth, all significant men in the history of Gerle Creek

Gerle Creek Reservoir Dam

Gerle Creek Reservoir Dam was completed in 1962 and is on the East side of Butler Meadows. As an interesting piece of background on this eventual site for this storage reservoir for SMUD, in 1916, hearings were held on the water rights of the Truckee River General Electric Company to water from Gerle Creek.  These rights had been assumed when they acquired them from the California Water and Mining Company (California Water Company). The company wanted to build a dam and reservoir to produce electricity. This claim was disputed and became part of rather complicated and extended federal hearing. The most interesting part of the proposal, was the  intention to build this dam on Gerle Creek at Jacobsens, creating water storage lake in the meadow adjacent to Jacobsens extending back into Gerles Ranch or Lawyers Cow Camp.  The hearings were reported on extensively, including the names of witnesses who testified, including Jacob  Jacobsen (Mt Democrat Sept 30, 1916). In the April 17th issue of the Mt Democrat in 1917, it was reported the federal government found in favor of the Truckee River General Electric Company and confirmed their rights to the water for use of Gerle Meadow for a dam and reservoir. By 1924, these rights had been passed along to the Georgetown Divide Water Company (Mt Democrat, March 8, 1924). All real action to actually create a dam and reservoir were put off till the early 1950s when El Dorado County in the push to resolve their increasing need for water with the post WWII boom revisited creating a a number of dams and reservoirs in the county for electricity generation. From early 1951 till at least 1955, the  planning of the SMUD Upper American River Project on the divide included the Gerle Creek Dam and reservoir in Gerle Meadows next to Jacobsens. The Mountain Democrat carried a very extensive and detailed article including a map showing 68 proposed dam sites in the June 23, 1955 newspaper, including the actual proposed reservoir site at Gerles Meadow, next to Jacobsens and not in its present location. As the proposed SMUD Upper American River Project progressed after 1955, the Gerles Meadow site was dropped in favor of the eventual and current site in Butler Meadow.