By Susan Meeker
WOODLAND, CA (MPG) – When John Morton moved to Colusa decades ago after retiring from the U.S. Navy, his interest in history led him to the dusty upstairs of the Hall of Records.
Morton, a longtime researcher of Colusa County’s illustrious history, is hanging up his pen, turning a page, and retreating from the refuge he once loved so deeply – at least to the greater extent.
“I’m not sure I retired,” said Morton, who suffered a debilitating stroke in September. “I will miss it if I do. I’m doing OK. I want to get well; get my voice and memory back together. I am reading books, doing puzzles, and doing Bible Study at church.”
Morton was born in Massachusetts in 1950, the oldest of two brothers and a sister born to Charles and Joan (née Avery) Morton. In high school, he played baseball and other sports, and was a member of the Navy ROTC.
When he graduated from Woburn Senior High School in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the Navy when his draft number was called.
Morton served in the US Navy for 22 years. He saw many countries along his journey. He did two tours in Vietnam in the Mekong Delta, in 1971 and 1973, while serving on the USS Alamo.
In 1982 and 1983, Morton spent time in Beirut, assisting the Multinational Peacekeeping Force aboard the USS New Jersey. He also served in the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991 during the Gulf War aboard the USS Mount Hood, an ammunition ship.
Morton retired from the Navy in 1991 as Boatswain Mate and found his way to Colusa. Wanting a part-time job, Colusa County Clerk-Recorder Kathy Moran hired Morton as the County Archive Keeper, which led to a second career in historical research.
Morton spent years chronicling the histories of local business, special districts, churches, individuals, families, landmarks, and law enforcement agencies. He established a historical record of all military veterans, which did not exist in Colusa County, by researching old records, pouring through newspaper archives, and writing to Washington DC.
His military research dates to the War of 1812, and the people who flocked to California during the Gold Rush, eventually settling, and building towns along the Sacramento River.
To date, Morton has identified 260 Civil War veterans and two Civil War nurses buried in Colusa County, many who came to Colusa County after the conflict and became community leaders and business owners.
His military research dates to the War of 1812, and the people who flocked to California during the Gold Rush, eventually settling and building towns along the Sacramento River. His research chronicles every service member and local law enforcement officer killed in action or the line of duty.
As his interest in research grew, Morton made it his lifelong mission to compile data, write histories, collect newspaper articles, and identify and archive photographs. He compiled histories on nearly 70 families, including the Logan Cecil family, Poage, Davis, Larken, Weston, Danley, Mulford, Boyes, Vaughn, Harbison, Hadley, Will S. Green, Zumwalt, Otterson, Durst, French, Yates, and Arnold, among others, whose pages reside in the Hall of Records or the Colusa County Free Library.
At the same time, Morton started on a quest to compile historical data for businesses in Colusa, including Chung Sun Market, the Colusa Theater, the Colusa Laundry, Davison Drugs, and Wilbur Hot Springs.
He also created binders on the history of the Colusa Fire Department, Colusa Police Department, the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office, and Williams Fire Department, which he keeps up to date with newspaper articles.
He compiled the history of Colusa’s Trinity United Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the Maxwell Methodist Church, the Colusa Hospital, and the Chamber of Commerce.
“I liked going places and doing things,” Morton said, through his wife Barbara. “I liked discovering old things and the old history of Colusa County. I liked talking to the old people about their lives and their history.”
In addition to research, Morton was active in the VFW and Maxwell American Legion. For 15 years, he was a part-time dispatcher for the Colusa Fire Department. He was also a member of the Colusa County Heritage Preservation Commission, a trustee of the Colusa Cemetery District, and Trustee for the Trinity Methodist Church. He also worked as the office manager for Colusa County Chamber of Commerce.
In 2013, Morton met Barbara J. Newton while she was researching her ancestors. They were married in their backyard on October 4, 2014. Barbara was also a member of the Colusa Heritage Preservation Commission.
Even though they bought a home and moved to Barbara’s hometown of Woodland in July 2017, Morton has continued to update the historical binders. However, his stroke, from a blood clot in his brain, has affected his speech and memory, requiring him to relearn words and simple tasks, like understanding a computer keyboard. But it has not debilitated him from enjoying life and travel. He and Barbara have since vacationed in Hawaii and are planning a cruise to Alaska.
Morton said he is not certain where his interest in historical research will lead him now, but he said he will retire from updating the binders he created for all the local businesses. He has completed work on some institutions that will need to be incorporated, but, for now, he will concentrate on his health and recovery.
Morton understands that he could not have accomplished the amount of research he has done over the years without support from the people – living and dead – whose stories needed to be told.
“I want to thank the people and businesses of Colusa County for helping me with all my research,” Morton said.
Morton is 74-years old and looking to forge a new path in life, wherever it may lead him.
He knows his path to recovery will be a slow process, but he hopes his journey takes him to unfamiliar places and brings him new interests.