For three years before Cornelius Beekman opened the gold dust office that preceded the bank we know today, he was an express rider for Cram & Rogers, carrying mail, parcels, newspapers, and gold over the Siskiyous between Yreka and Jacksonville. We’ve thought for years that Cornelius Beekman moved to Jacksonville in 1853 when he became an express rider between those 2 towns, but it seems he may have remained based in Yreka. When Cram & Rogers went belly up in 1856, he purchased his former employer’s Jacksonville horses and stable and opened Beekman’s Express. That appears to be when he moved to Jacksonville.
Why are we having this change of “heart,” or in this case “history”? Because more contemporary accounts have become available, and we have access to more facts. 1853 Yreka newspapers show Beekman advertising his carpentry and building skills in conjunction with a partner named Goldsmith. Beekman had trained as a carpenter before coming West and periodically fell back on his trade as an income source. We also have access to Jacksonville’s Pioneer Census records and Beekman’s name does not appear until 1856.
Is this sufficient “evidence” to “prove” that Beekman did not move to Jacksonville until 1856? No, but it certainly raises “reasonable doubt” and causes us to rethink our timeline. It may change the details, but it does not change either the bank’s footnote in history or the role Beekman played in turning a gold rush town into the hub of Southern Oregon.