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Have you heard the one about…
…Arno, formerly called Hicksville? According to the 1890 edition of the
California State Gazetteer and Business Directory published in San Francisco,
Arno housed a post office and an express and telegraph office at McConnell’s, a
station on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mail was delivered daily. Sylvester D. Johnson was the postmaster, H.C. Hansen was the blacksmith, and it seems that
Mrs. Johnson operated and/or owned a hotel in the area. However, this writer
can’t determine which. The nearest bank to the Hicksville-Arno area was in
Sacramento. However, the story of Hicksville doesn’t end with a few buildings. People are what make history and the Hicksville area history is full of colorful
gents and ladies. So what happened in the Hicksville-Arno area prior to 1890?
Have you noticed the Hicksville cemetery just east of 99 on Arno Road? The
cemetery is an old pioneer cemetery that is still in use, is open to the public
and is currently part of the Galt-Arno Cemetery District of Sacramento County. If you take a walk through this peaceful place, you will notice names on the
headstones that are quite familiar. The Dillards, the McGuirks, the Davises, the
Putneys, Shellenbargers, Randolphs and the Wades pretty well make up the
Protestant genealogical history of the Arno-Hicksville area. This lovely place
was once part of the William Hicks Estate, one of five of the largest estates in
California. The cemetery was named after a native born Tennessean known by most
as “Uncle” Billy Hicks. Uncle Billy came to California with one of the first
wagon trains in 1843 with Captain Joe Walker as guide. Hicks came to Sutter’s
Fort some time after 1844 where he fast became friends with Sutter at New
Helvetia. Hicks made arrangements with Sutter to acquire a land grant that
covered thousands of acres south of the Cosumnes River and into the foothills of
the Sierras- the Chabolla Grant.
Thus Uncle Billy, the cattle baron and the passionate Southerner, became one
of the oldest settlers and cattle ranchers in this area. In 1854 he housed the
post office in his own home until it was moved to another site in 1857. According to the 1983 Herald Day Book, a Presbyterian Church stood in front of
the cemetery; however, the fate of the church is unknown at this time. There
were also two schools in Hicksville. The Arno School, located one mile southeast
and across the road from the cemetery is presently the Shellenbarger residence. The location of the Hicksville School on the estate is still uncertain. Patterson and Smith established a store in 1863 and the Hicksville Hotel in
1864. A Hicks descendant, James B. Hicks, and A.W. Bottimore established a
butcher business in Galt.
As rumor has it, Uncle Billy was also responsible for naming the town of Ione
which was once located on his property. It seems he was fond of boasting about
his latest property purchases so he was jokingly referred to as “I own”. He is
best remembered as a very generous man and a most cordial host. He was also a
man who seemed able to do anything he set his mind to doing. That’s why a
withered arm and leg-effects from some kind of paralysis – did not stop him from
becoming a skillful horseman and one of the best vaqueros in Sacramento County.
It also seems that Uncle Billy Hicks married Susannah Patterson at Sutter’s
Fort in 1848 but nothing is ever again mentioned about this bride. However, his
marriage to the charming widow, Mrs. Sarah Davis Wilson, a relative of Jefferson
Davis who later became president of the Confederacy, is quite well known. The
marriage took place sometime prior to 1852 when Sarah came to California with
her daughter and son-in-low, Melvina and Calvin Swain. Sarah’s first husband,
Thomas Wilson, a wealthy plantation owner from Virginia moved the family to
Missouri. There he served as sheriff until he was killed in a skirmish with
Mormons. And so the famous Hicks married a Davis but the story does not end
here. In a later article, I will tell you about the McCauley party that brought
Caroline Davis (Sarah’s cousin), McCouley’s daughter, Alice 9, who later became
the Countess Valensin), and the fines carriages and thoroughbred horses to
Sacramento County.
Did you know…
…that Miwok Indians are buried in the first two rows along the fence on the
east side of the Hicksville Cemetery? The prominent Indian leader, Aleck Blue,
is among the older Indian graves. There are no tombstones for Indian graves. Many of the markers there are homemade and bear the names of the Brown, Grow,
Taylor and McKean families. Can anyone tell the Galt Area Historical Society
more about these families who were here well before we were?
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