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Thursday, 12 July 2007 00:16

Board Votes To Name Summit Trembath Mountain

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slide26The next item to appear before the board was part history lesson as the board learned about a long time family name that is not very well known in Amador County.  A proposal was received form the United States Board on Geographic Names to name an unnamed Summit in Amador County, Trembath Mountain after the Trembath family who migrated here form England in the 1800’s. The summit is located approximately 5 miles north-northeast of Amador City. Rick Sanders, a descendent of the Trembaths, reported to the board that he is requesting to name the mountain in honor of his ancestors Benedict and Ann Trembath who immigrated to Amador City in the 1870’s.

In a letter to the board Sanders explains the Trembath’s history as well as their role in Amador County. The Trembath’s were residents of Cornwall England and had extensive experience in mining, as Cornwall served as the largest copper-producing district in the world. In the early 1860’s the mining boom reached its peak and the market began to fall leaving thousands of miners, such as Benedict Trembath out of work. In 1866 Benedict Trembath, and his son-in-law Joe Thomas, decided to move to the US where they later found themselves in Amador City. There they worked in the “Little Amador Mine,” explained Sanders, until five years later when a strike was declared. Trembath and Thomas then took the opportunity to return to England to bring back the rest of their family, where they again returned to Amador City in 1871. In the mid 1870’s Ben and Anne’s daughter Mary Thomas opened a popular boarding house for miners in Amador City, as well as started a general store. In 1880 Mary and her husband Joe purchased 400 acres of ranch property in New Chicago, just outside of Drytown. It is on that property where the summit lies.  

slide30 Through good times and hardships the Trembath’s and Thomas’ stuck it out in Amador County with the eventual incorporation of the Thomas Estate Company in 1910. The family leased out the ranch land property until the 1930’s and Sanders reported that now he and his wife Lin now own the original 400 acres bought by Mary Thomas, the Trembath’s daughter in 1880.  Sanders explained that he wants to name the summit in honor “of Ben and Ann who stood by their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren all their lives, giving time love and financial support.” He continued by saying, “By doing so, they also gave all their descendants an irreplaceable heritage in Amador County in America.” Sanders also noted that this could be the only Cornish name place in the county, even though hundreds of Cornwall citizens migrated here when the mining boom began in the US.

The District Supervisor Brian Oneto commented, “I think there is actually a lot of history in mining in Amador County and the Cornish miners did provide a lot of expertise.”  Supervisor Forster wanted to be clear that the Trembath descendents had owned the property for 100 years or longer, as the US Board on Geographic Names stated in a letter to the board that there was “a lack of long term or significant association between the Trembath family and the summit.” Sanders reiterated that the Trembath’s and their descendents have owned the property and summit since 1880. Forster asked that Sanders send the necessary information making that clear to the federal Board. A motin was then made to send a letter to the US Board on Geographic Names making it clear that the Board supports naming the summit Trembath Mountain. The vote was unanimous.

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