Lowrey's was a settlement in Tehama County, California that was named for George M. Lowrey and located on Elder Creek.[1] What remains of it today are a ranch and a road named Lowrey Road.[1]
George Malay Lowrey came to California in 1849.[1][2] He had been born in Montgomery County, Ohio on 1826-10-26; the fifth child of James Lowrey, a miller from Kentucky, and Nancy Lowrey (née Stoker) from Virginia.[2] Having left school at 17, he had worked in the Mount Savage iron works, and as a carpenter for 3 years, both in Maryland.[2]
He arrived at Sacramento on 1849-08-13, moved to Dry Diggings shortly thereafter, and in 1850 built himself and ran a hotel between Sacramento and Nevada City.[2] He gave up the hotel after two years and went into teaming, going back to Ohio and then coming to California again in 1863.[2] He was in the cattle industry with a business partner in Solano County for eight years from 1857, and also raised sheep.[2]
He married Sarah Morrow Foster from Belfast (born 1826-03-21, and daughter of a farmer, cattleman, and drover) in Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco on 1865-08-29.[3] They were to have four daughters and three sons together.[3]
In 1870, Lowrey and a business partner bought 1,040 acres (420 ha) of land in Tehama, which he was to expand with additional purchases over time to a peak 4,000 acres (1,600 ha), which they used for sheep farming.[2] He bought out his partner in 1874, and sold 7000 head of sheep and 2,825 acres (1,143 ha) of his ranchland to avoid bankruptcy, diversifying into cattle and hogs.[2]
His home was the local post office, established in 1888 with himself as the postmaster.[4][2] The application claimed the post office would serve a settlement of 425 people.[5] The location was likely the south bank of the North Fork of Elder Creek.[5] Its name changed to Lowrey in 1898, and it closed in October 1917 with mail thenceforward being handled at Red Bank.[4][1]
The Lowrey school, which he also helped to organize, was established in 1873, and closed in 1943.[1][2] He was the director of the school district and supported the local Union Church.[2]
His daughter Katie became the postmaster at Tehama.[3]
There were three major chromite mines to the west of Lowrey's in the North Elder Creek area, the Grau Mine, the Kleinsorge Mine, and the Noble Electric Mine.[1][6][7] The Grau Mine dates from 1893, the Noble Electric from 1886, and the Kleinsorge from 1916.[8] One of the earliest mines lasted from 1890 to 1899, and only produced 500 tons (450 t) over its lifetime.[6]
The Basler Mining and Development Company consolidated many of the mining claims in the area in the early 1900s.[6] The Kleinsorge was on the mountainside and had a service road down to Lowrey and an aerial tramway for transporting ore down.[8] The Noble Electric, which only produced comparatively little ore, had a service road built in 1919 and did not have its own mill.[8]
