Picture Postcard of the Turtle Bay Sawmill
Artifact of the Month Blog
November 2025
Historic postcards are little snapshots in time that show us what life was like and what vendors thought would sell. Both the images and the messages tell stories about places and people.
Today we fire off brief electronic communications to let people know where we are, what is up, or, in the case of this postcard, to remind them to finish a centerpiece they promised for an event. In 1905, a postcard was the answer. Not everyone had access to a telephone, and telegraphs were usually limited to business that warranted nearly instant communication. Locally, the postal service was swift and reliable between the small post offices spread across the region. It is likely that Miss Bessie Bass in Montgomery Creek had this in her hands the day after it was sent from Redding.
Turtle Bay Sawmill Postcard
Colorized photographs of local landmarks were popular postcards subjects. This is not the only postcard of the mill. Turtle Bay has another, slightly later postcard depicting the rebuilt mill following a fire. Today, we might not think of a sawmill as a local landmark, but the Turtle Bay Sawmill was a significant business that brought both employment opportunities and revenue to Redding. Its location on the river and the boom full of floating logs seasonally covered in Western Pond Turtles lent an aesthetic quality that probably helped it sell.
Turtle Bay Sawmill Site in 1931
Imagine the flat down by the river just west of Turtle Bay Exploration Park, but instead of the Civic Auditorium, Rodeo Grounds, and ACID Canal, there was a growing industrial complex. After 1884, the mill and its later planing mill, box factory, lumber yard, and rail spur dominated the landscape on what was then lower Butte Street. By 1916, its run ended and all of the surviving infrastructure was removed and reused elsewhere. By 1923, all that was visible from the air were the foundations of the mill. Also gone was the early 20th century Indigenous encampment just west of the mill complex that some refer to as the Butte Street Rancheria. But that is a story for another day…
Visit Turtle Bay to see Artifact of the Month in person and explore more of the Turtle Bay Sawmill’s history.