Old Sugar Mill :: History
The construction of the Old Sugar Mill: 1934 - 1936. Photos provided courtesy of The Friends of the Clarksburg Library.
Picture date: November 17, 1934
Old Sugar Mill History:
The Old Sugar Mill is located in Clarksburg (formerly Clarksburgh), an unincorporated community in Yolo County, California, eight minutes south of Sacramento.
Picture date: November 30, 1934
Old Sugar Mill History:
Clarksburg is on the Sacramento River, in the extreme southeastern corner of the county. It has an elevation of 10 feet.
Picture date: December 8, 1934
Old Sugar Mill History:
Clarksburg settled in stages dating back as early as the 1850s when Merritt Island was first cleared and developed for agricultural uses.
Picture date: December 15, 1934
Old Sugar Mill History:
Postal authorities first established a post office in 1876, under the name "Clarksburgh" and changed the name to "Clarksburg" in 1893. The town was named after Robert C. Clark who settled at the place in 1849.
Picture date: February 16, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
In the 1920s the New Holland Land Company began subdividing the tracts in the area and formally established Clarksburg as an unincorporated community. Clarksburg is unique among small California towns in that many of the families who initially settled the area are still present, thus lending a small-town and almost East Coast charm to the community.
Picture date: March 9, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The Old Sugar Mill was originally owned by the Amalgamated Sugar Company which was founded in 1897 in Logan Utah and is now located in Boise Idaho.
Picture date: March 16, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
Because of blight and drought, only four of Amalgamated sugar factories operated in 1931. One of those factories, “The Smithfield” Utah factory, closed permanently in 1933 and moved to Clarksburg California.
Picture date: March 20, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The factory was brought to Clarksburg piece by piece via railroad.
Picture date: April 18, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The factory in Clarksburg began its operation on July 31, 1935. Amalgamated sold the Clarksburg factory to American Crystal Sugar Company in 1936.
Picture date: April 20, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The American Crystal Sugar Company sold the Clarksburg plant in 1982 to the Delta Sugar Company.
Picture date: April 26, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The Delta Sugar plant closed in 1993
Picture date: June 22, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
The Yolo Shortline Railroad Company had a railroad that ended at the Old Sugar Mill and would have sacks of sugar loaded onto the cars to be transported.
Picture date: June 22, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
It took over a year of negotiations with Union Pacific to acquire the Shortline. It stopped running when the Old Sugar Mill closed in 1993.
Picture date: July 8, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
Plans were made to renovate the building and create a facility for wine tasting and a wine crush in 2000.
Picture date: August 1, 1935
Old Sugar Mill History:
Renovation of the Old Sugar Mill building lasted a span of two years.