The MacKerricher's

Duncan MacKerricher (1836-1926) was born on his father's farm near Dalesvilles, Quebec, Canada. Jessie Stuart (1837–1923) was born nearby. Families were of Scottish decent.

Duncan and Jessie were married October 14, 1864 and left on the train at once for New York City on their way to Mendocino, California, where they had friends. At New York City they boarded the liner Ocean Queen and were escorted through the danger zone of the Civil War by the U.S.S. Constitution. Upon arriving at Panama they went over land by rail and boarded another vessel for San Francisco. At that city they boarded a small coastal schooner for Mendocino. The weather was so bad the passengers, could not land on the northward trip and so continued to Eureka. On the southward journey they did succeed in landing.

Duncan worked in the mill for two years and then got a job helping the Indian Agent E.J. Whipple, on the reservation near Ten Mile. After about two years the Indians were moved to Round Valley. Duncan and Jessie MacKerricher stayed and bought the Rancho de la Laguna and about half of the Indians stayed and worked for the MacKerricher's. Within two years they had 69 cows to be milked, they had the help of two Indian boys. Butter from the dairy was mostly shipped to Mendocino and then to San Francisco. Much of the money received from the butter was used to help the Indians. Potatoes were also grown in abundance on the ranch, and the MacKerrichers were also famous for their draft horses.

A wharf was built at Laguna Point to load redwood lumber schooners bound for San Francisco. Duncan MacKerricher gave permission to the mill owner located up Mill Creek to construct a gravity feed railway from Cleone to the point. Remnants of the old railway, lumber yard, and pier are still visible in the park. Jessie MacKerricher is reputed to have named the town of Cleone from the Greek word meaning "gracious" or "beautiful".

The MacKerrichers had several children and in 1950 the heirs sold the property to the State of California for park purposes. In 1952 the first campsites were opened. In 1957 an additional 50 campsites were available for use.

Mackerricher State Park

MacKerricher has a total of four campgrounds. Family Campsites and Group camps can be reserved through Reserve America. Walk-in campsites, a total of 10, are on a first come, first serve basis.

In the photograph above is an image of the trestle bridge which is a part of the historic Haul Road that joins different parts of Mackerricher State Park, from Pudding Creek to Ten Mile Bridge. The Ten Mile Coastal Trail Foundation was created to help maintain the road and trestle and is currently re-constructing the bridge. Click here to find out more about the foundation.

The Park is the only one in the park system that was at one time part of the Mendocino Indian Reservation. It is the only park unit that was part of the Union Lumber Company's vast timber and shipping holdings in northern Mendocino County. A small, independent logging and shipping operation began here, then was absorbed by the larger corporation. MacKerricher, known historically as Cleone, thus followed a pattern common to many of the small areas in the region.

The park was officially opened in 1952; land was added along the Ten Mile beach until 1977, when the park contained more than 1,530 acres.

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