Wandering Lizard
Central California

The city was incorporated in 1876 roughly coincident with the arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad. Rail transportation proved to be more convenient and less expensive than using the river and the colorful steamships quickly faded away. The urban areas of Sacramento and San Francisco to the south grew rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century and the fertile land around Red Bluff began producing large quantities of agricultural products and timber for consumption in San Francisco and beyond.