EMR-A tale of two mills Traditional Cache

Another cache in my series along Elk Mountain Road into the Mendocino National Forest.  Please be patient with your GPS when you are in the trees......it takes a little longer!

Lake County, like most of Northern California, had an active logging industry in the early 20th century.  Before the environmental movement virtually shut it down, the lumber industry provided a solid economic base and helped build the county, state, and country.  Due to the road network and the available transportation of the era, lumber operators found it much more efficient to build their sawmills as close to the source of the trees as possible.  Just to the west of this cache is the old Howard Mill site.  After it was closed down, the US Forest Service operated a fire station for many years, and still maintain it as an administrative site.  Less than a mile east of this cache was the site of the Prather Mill, which operated for many years.  The Prather lumbering operation actually laid track and used a small locomotive to move logs to the mill.  This was, in fact, the only railroad that ever operated in Lake County!