Historical Transcription
The letter is written on a single folded sheet of paper in iron gall ink by a son writing home to his mother while traveling through the early resort springs of Lake County.
Letter Page 1
Houghs Springs, Cal.
Dear mama
I thought I would write a few lines to you. I suppose you think I put off writing a long time but I have so much to do I can not get time. I have to bring so much water in the daytimes that I can not get time to write. We got here Thursday night eleven oclock. The first day we drove to Calistoga. The second day we drove [to] Kelseyville. It was nine oclock when we got to Bartletts. We are all well. We went to the Complexion Springs today and I got pine nuts and some gum. I got about a quart and a half of nuts. I am going to bring
Letter Page 2
some down to Carrie when I come home. I like the water here very well. You must not wait for me to write but write yourself. Write a good lot when you write. I must close by offerding you all good bye. Write soon. Your aff. son,
George Hough
[Postscript]:
N. B. I dont know whether you can read this or not for it looks worse than turkeys tracks and some of it as bad as crows tracks. — G. H.
Postal & Historical Analysis
1. The Postmark & Franking
The Origin Postmark: A circular town datestamp in a highly unusual and collectible green ink reading "BARTLETT SPRINGS / CAL.".
Postal Status (DPO): Discontinued Post Office. Bartlett Springs was a massive 19th-century luxury resort community in Lake County that featured multiple hotels and hundreds of cabins, but the post office was completely shut down in 1935.
The Route Realized: George notes on page 1 of the letter: "It was nine oclock when we got to Bartletts." This proves he visually tracked his journey, stopped at the massive Bartlett Springs resort complex, and dropped this letter in the mail slot there using a 3¢ Washington banknote stamp.
The Destination: Lafayette, Contra Costa County
The Address: Explicitly addressed to "Mrs. O. S. Hough, Lafayette, Contra Costa County, Cal.". The Hough family were incredibly prominent early pioneers in Lafayette. Ozro S. Hough (the "O. S." named here) was one of the foundational figures of the community, meaning this letter traveled directly between members of one of the town's founding families.
2. The Origin: Hough's Springs, Lake County
The Historical Geography: The letter is written from Houghs Springs (historically spelled Hough's Springs). This was a famous mineral spring resort in Lake County, California, discovered and opened by none other than the Hough family themselves in the 1870s.
The Pioneer Travel Route: George beautifully details a late-19th-century journey through Northern California's famous "Springs" country: driving through Calistoga, up over the mountains to Kelseyville, staying at Bartlett Springs, and visiting Complexion Springs. To a local California historian, reading a real-time account of traveling these exact primitive resort routes is pure gold.
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