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The McCloud Book Gallery is an independent, locally owned bookstore and art gallery, founded in
2004. We are located in the historic McCloud River Mercantile Building in McCloud, California at the
foot of 14,162 foot Mt. Shasta. We stock fiction and non-fiction, craft books, outdoor guides to the
Shasta region, history of the region, children's books and general literature. The Book Gallery also
features fine art, mainly painters of the Shasta region. These include oil, acrylics and watercolors.
We also carry yarn and knitting supplies, gifts and a selection of reading glasses, in a relaxing
atmosphere with a warm stove in the winter and comfortable arm chairs for reading.
them and their families, or if they were single, in hotels or dormitories. Some workers were recruited
directly from Italy to McCloud, and the town's street names - Columbero, Tucci - reflect that Italian
heritage.
The last of the working mills in McCloud closed in 2004. Largely automated, even that mill only
provided about 35 jobs at the end. The population of McCloud has dwindled in waves, with a new
group leaving for Reno, the Bay Area or beyond with the closing of each of the mills. Only seven
students attend McCloud's high school, and each year the school district contemplates closing the
school and busing the few high-schoolers to neighboring Mt. Shasta City. McCloud stands at a
crossroads between ebbing away as a community, and finding a new economic base.
About 1,300 residents remain in McCloud. Some retired from the mills, purchasing the homes they
had lived in for years from the lumber company. Understandably, many are unwilling to leave the
beautiful mountain scenery and their friends and families, even to find new jobs. And some are recent
transplants from other parts of California and beyond, drawn by the beauty of nature and the
friendliness of people in the region.
In 2004, seeking to bring new jobs to McCloud, the McCloud Community Services District signed a
contract with Nestle Waters North America to sell spring and ground water from the town's supply, and
approved an application for Nestle to build a 1 million square foot bottling plant in the town. The
merits and lack thereof are discussed elsewhere on the Internet (see the McCloud Watershed Council
www.mccloudwatershedcouncil.org for the anti-Nestle view, and Nestle Waters North America
www.nestlewaters.com for the pro-Nestle case). Let's just say that the Nestle water deal has sparked
a great deal of controversy.
impacts the environment threatens to undercut the existing economic base for the area, worsening
rather than improving the economic situation.
It is exciting to see new businesses arising in and around McCloud, based on sustainable principles.
Terra Mai, for example, recycles used wood for construction, not only from the Shasta region, but
around the world - from a base in McCloud. The Mt. Shasta Lavender Farm cultivates the fragrant
herb on a mountain slope facing Mt. Shasta. We started The Book Gallery to help create economic
activity in McCloud through another local business owned by McCloud residents. In the era of the
Internet, we believe there are opportunities for other new businesses in McCloud, as well.
Art helps us to keep in mind what is precious about the natural environment and perhaps to value it
more highly.
Art can also help to point out what is endangered, or even memorialize landmarks that are no more.
For example, the Book Gallery is proud to show the work of Anne Kincade, who painted some of the
historic McCloud mills before they were demolished. Only one of these giant wooden buildings
remains in McCloud, and its fate is uncertain due to the plans to site the water bottling plant where the
mill currently stands.
Another important ingredient of a community's identity is how it is portrayed in print - through histories,
photography, and creative writing. There is considerable writing and photography about McCloud
and the Shasta region. John Muir wrote about climbing Mt. Shasta, Joaquin Miller wrote about living
among the Native Americans of the region, and many others more recently have written guides to the
area and literature set in the region. Photographers flock to the region to document its natural
beauty, yielding such books as Mt. Shasta Camera.
Finally, even in its two short years of operation, the Book Gallery has become a crossroads for
conversation in McCloud. At any time you might find the manager of the remaining timber harvester in
the bookstore chatting with a realtor, a woodworker, a yoga teacher and a musician. They might be
debating the Nestle water plant, or just sharing their tips on where to find morel mushrooms in the
forest as McCloud's annual Mushroom Festival gets underway. A central place for conversation, in
our view, promotes community. And community is what McCloud most needs, to take hold of its own
future and move past the current economic slump.
2004. We are located in the historic McCloud River Mercantile Building in McCloud, California at the
foot of 14,162 foot Mt. Shasta. We stock fiction and non-fiction, craft books, outdoor guides to the
Shasta region, history of the region, children's books and general literature. The Book Gallery also
features fine art, mainly painters of the Shasta region. These include oil, acrylics and watercolors.
We also carry yarn and knitting supplies, gifts and a selection of reading glasses, in a relaxing
atmosphere with a warm stove in the winter and comfortable arm chairs for reading.
them and their families, or if they were single, in hotels or dormitories. Some workers were recruited
directly from Italy to McCloud, and the town's street names - Columbero, Tucci - reflect that Italian
heritage.
The last of the working mills in McCloud closed in 2004. Largely automated, even that mill only
provided about 35 jobs at the end. The population of McCloud has dwindled in waves, with a new
group leaving for Reno, the Bay Area or beyond with the closing of each of the mills. Only seven
students attend McCloud's high school, and each year the school district contemplates closing the
school and busing the few high-schoolers to neighboring Mt. Shasta City. McCloud stands at a
crossroads between ebbing away as a community, and finding a new economic base.
About 1,300 residents remain in McCloud. Some retired from the mills, purchasing the homes they
had lived in for years from the lumber company. Understandably, many are unwilling to leave the
beautiful mountain scenery and their friends and families, even to find new jobs. And some are recent
transplants from other parts of California and beyond, drawn by the beauty of nature and the
friendliness of people in the region.
In 2004, seeking to bring new jobs to McCloud, the McCloud Community Services District signed a
contract with Nestle Waters North America to sell spring and ground water from the town's supply, and
approved an application for Nestle to build a 1 million square foot bottling plant in the town. The
merits and lack thereof are discussed elsewhere on the Internet (see the McCloud Watershed Council
www.mccloudwatershedcouncil.org for the anti-Nestle view, and Nestle Waters North America
www.nestlewaters.com for the pro-Nestle case). Let's just say that the Nestle water deal has sparked
a great deal of controversy.
impacts the environment threatens to undercut the existing economic base for the area, worsening
rather than improving the economic situation.
It is exciting to see new businesses arising in and around McCloud, based on sustainable principles.
Terra Mai, for example, recycles used wood for construction, not only from the Shasta region, but
around the world - from a base in McCloud. The Mt. Shasta Lavender Farm cultivates the fragrant
herb on a mountain slope facing Mt. Shasta. We started The Book Gallery to help create economic
activity in McCloud through another local business owned by McCloud residents. In the era of the
Internet, we believe there are opportunities for other new businesses in McCloud, as well.
Art helps us to keep in mind what is precious about the natural environment and perhaps to value it
more highly.
Art can also help to point out what is endangered, or even memorialize landmarks that are no more.
For example, the Book Gallery is proud to show the work of Anne Kincade, who painted some of the
historic McCloud mills before they were demolished. Only one of these giant wooden buildings
remains in McCloud, and its fate is uncertain due to the plans to site the water bottling plant where the
mill currently stands.
Another important ingredient of a community's identity is how it is portrayed in print - through histories,
photography, and creative writing. There is considerable writing and photography about McCloud
and the Shasta region. John Muir wrote about climbing Mt. Shasta, Joaquin Miller wrote about living
among the Native Americans of the region, and many others more recently have written guides to the
area and literature set in the region. Photographers flock to the region to document its natural
beauty, yielding such books as Mt. Shasta Camera.
Finally, even in its two short years of operation, the Book Gallery has become a crossroads for
conversation in McCloud. At any time you might find the manager of the remaining timber harvester in
the bookstore chatting with a realtor, a woodworker, a yoga teacher and a musician. They might be
debating the Nestle water plant, or just sharing their tips on where to find morel mushrooms in the
forest as McCloud's annual Mushroom Festival gets underway. A central place for conversation, in
our view, promotes community. And community is what McCloud most needs, to take hold of its own
future and move past the current economic slump.
Our neighbors in the Mercantile Building include a
general store, an espresso bar and sandwich shop,
an old-time candy store and chocolatier, and a
shop with clothing and hand-made jewelry. It is
soon to be the site of a new small hotel. It is the
perfect place to spend an afternoon browsing,
summer or winter.
general store, an espresso bar and sandwich shop,
an old-time candy store and chocolatier, and a
shop with clothing and hand-made jewelry. It is
soon to be the site of a new small hotel. It is the
perfect place to spend an afternoon browsing,
summer or winter.
| The Story of The McCloud Book Gallery |
When a bookstore isn't just a bookstore. We
believe that a bookstore and art gallery can make a very
special contribution to the vitality of McCloud and the
surrounding region. Literature and art are ways for a
community to become clearer about its identity, and to
share its history and sense of community with others.
When we look at art from a region, we see its beauty in
new ways; perhaps we even enjoy this beauty hanging
on a wall indoors on a rainy day, or enjoy it back home
in Redding or Portland or San Francisco.
believe that a bookstore and art gallery can make a very
special contribution to the vitality of McCloud and the
surrounding region. Literature and art are ways for a
community to become clearer about its identity, and to
share its history and sense of community with others.
When we look at art from a region, we see its beauty in
new ways; perhaps we even enjoy this beauty hanging
on a wall indoors on a rainy day, or enjoy it back home
in Redding or Portland or San Francisco.
The past is prologue, and reading about the area's history
is a way to understand our evolving economic base and
future prospects. From ranching to mining to timber to
hopefully a more broadly based economy created
through our own efforts, literature related to the region
and the issues it faces can help us and others to
understand the challenges and find solutions.
And of course, we also carry bestsellers and a wide
variety of other books and magazines, for your general
reading pleasure.
is a way to understand our evolving economic base and
future prospects. From ranching to mining to timber to
hopefully a more broadly based economy created
through our own efforts, literature related to the region
and the issues it faces can help us and others to
understand the challenges and find solutions.
And of course, we also carry bestsellers and a wide
variety of other books and magazines, for your general
reading pleasure.
The Book Gallery was started and is owned by a
group of women including Janet Connaughton,
Gloria Duffy, Darlene Mathis and Melissa
Rickard. Collectively, we're referred to around
town as "the bookstore ladies."
So "the bookstore ladies" invite you to drop in,
chat with some of the locals, learn more about
McCloud and the surrounding area, and enjoy!
We are pleased to order any book we don't have
in stock - just drop into the store or inquire by
phone, fax or online.
group of women including Janet Connaughton,
Gloria Duffy, Darlene Mathis and Melissa
Rickard. Collectively, we're referred to around
town as "the bookstore ladies."
So "the bookstore ladies" invite you to drop in,
chat with some of the locals, learn more about
McCloud and the surrounding area, and enjoy!
We are pleased to order any book we don't have
in stock - just drop into the store or inquire by
phone, fax or online.
Why we started the Book Gallery. The town of
McCloud faces challenges, as do so many small
towns where the previous industrial base - be it
textile mills in New England or the timber industry in
the Pacific Northwest - no longer sustains the
community that grew up to provide the labor pool for
that very industry. Through most of the 20th
Century, McCloud had a huge forest logging
operation - the largest in the US - and eight
operating lumber mills. Several thousand skilled
lumber industry workers lived in the town of
McCloud, in company houses provided for
McCloud faces challenges, as do so many small
towns where the previous industrial base - be it
textile mills in New England or the timber industry in
the Pacific Northwest - no longer sustains the
community that grew up to provide the labor pool for
that very industry. Through most of the 20th
Century, McCloud had a huge forest logging
operation - the largest in the US - and eight
operating lumber mills. Several thousand skilled
lumber industry workers lived in the town of
McCloud, in company houses provided for
Now, for the reasons we started the McCloud Book
Gallery. The debate over the water bottling plant
dramatized how seriously McCloud needs new sources
of economic activity. And it needs businesses started
and run by McCloud residents, that are sustainable and
appropriate for the area. The current lifeblood of
McCloud is tourism based on skiing, fishing, hiking,
camping, mountaineering, water sports and other
activities that rely on the beauty of the natural
environment in the region. Any business that negatively
Gallery. The debate over the water bottling plant
dramatized how seriously McCloud needs new sources
of economic activity. And it needs businesses started
and run by McCloud residents, that are sustainable and
appropriate for the area. The current lifeblood of
McCloud is tourism based on skiing, fishing, hiking,
camping, mountaineering, water sports and other
activities that rely on the beauty of the natural
environment in the region. Any business that negatively