The women who made Stonyford history – and those who preserve it – were honored Saturday at the town’s second Founders Day.
The annual event is held to honor those who settled in the community first known as Smithville, named after founder John L. Smith.
Smith left Illinois in 1863 and settled on the banks of Stony Creek late the same year, where he established a hotel, blacksmith shop, and the first lumber and flour mills in the area.
“This year is a little bit more special because we are honoring women in history,” said Jay Sanchinelli-Huttman, founder of the Stonyrose Heritage Society, which sponsors a number of community events throughout the year in the small town in the western foothills of Colusa County.
Among those honored Saturday were John Smith’s wife, Elizabeth Catheryn (Laird) Smith, who was unlocated and unknown grave in the Stonyford/Indian Valley Cemetery since her death more than a century ago.
“For a long time, nobody knew exactly where her grave was,” Sanchinelli-Huttman said. “Now we do. We’ve actually laid concrete on it, and we ordered the headstone that is going on it. It says who she was and what she did to keep the down going after her husband passed.”
Elizabeth Smith, the founding lady of Smithville, ran the Grand Hotel after her husband’s death in 1893, until her death on April 4, 1906, at the age of 70.
“After he passed, she kept building the town and bringing more people in from Utah and other towns and places,” Sanchinelli-Huttman said. “She basically kept the trajectory that he had for the town. Thanks to her the hotel kept on going and the store kept on going.”
Founders Day also honored the historians of the town, including longtime Stonyford Museum Executive Director Joyce Bond, who resumed her role after Penne Arbanistan stepped down following a two-year stint.
Bond, who had been the executive director since the Stonyford Museum opened in 2011, retired from her post on June 10, 2020.
Bond, was back at the helm on Saturday, as Museum volunteers greeted dozens of guests who visited on the special day.
The museum is typically open on Sundays or by appointment.
Bond said she was excited to share the latest exhibit at the Stonyford Museum: the history of local animal trappers, which also included women.
Trappers for the Stonyford area included Cherice and Richard Garrison, of Stonyford; bear hunters Gene, Tom, and Bill Wallace; Coyote trapper Richard Knight; and Mountain Lion hunter Lyle Simpson.
“Their aim was not to annihilate the animals but to protect the ranchers and their cattle and sheep,” Bond said.
The inaugural Founders Day in 2021 was held in late September and was permanently moved this year to Labor Day weekend to take advantage of the campers and visitors who flock to the reservoir for the holiday weekend.
“It’s worked out really well,” Sanchinelli-Huttman said.
The event included local vendors, who positioned themselves outside the Stonyford Community Center. The Willows cheerleaders also shared their talents, showing up with a float and giving a cheer to the town. ■