

For such a small speck on the map, Mith-Ih-Kwuh Valley is teeming with history. Some of these events are known facts, while others have blended into the questionable realm of legend. But even legends grow from a seed of truth.

The Miluk

The Founding of Mythic Wood

In 1792, Horace Walker captained a team of Hudson Bay Trading Company trappers and traders on a sailing expedition into the Umpqua River. When they "discovered" Mith-Ih-Kwuh, they immediately recognized its potential. The protection of the surrounding hills, fertile land, a freshwater river, and a quiet coastal cove were the perfect ingredients for a prosperous settlement. There was just one problem; a settlement already existed there.

It is largely thanks to the diplomacy of the Miluk village's Medicine Man, Hwill-dee Maktlh (Hopping Crow) and Horace Walker, that first contact was peaceful. Finding common ground as wielders of magic, the two men were able to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. The compact was sealed with the marriage of Horace to Hopping Crow's daughter, who had taken a shine to each other during negotiations.

The settlers were allowed to build homes in the southern portion of the valley, while the Miluk remained in the north. Though there were doubters on both sides and even some clashes over the years, the two communities managed to form a symbiotic union.

The original settlement, then known simply as Mith-Ih-Kwuh, was little more than a handful of homes. Horace Walker and his family had the largest house at the time and, thanks to his negotiations, had enough land to establish the beginnings of a ranch. The valley provided for nearly all of their needs: fishing in the river and ocean, hunting in the woods, and trade with the Miluk. It was a simple time, but short-lived.

The Rocklin Family Arrives

In 1847, another batch of settlers found their way into Mith-Ih-Kwuh, and they would change it forever.

A year prior, one of the settlers of the valley had returned to the east coast to fetch his fiancée, now that he had a home to provide her. While bragging in a bar about the beautiful valley, he was overheard by the eldest son of Clancy Rocklin, a businessman who dreamed of carving out his future in the west. When his son told him what he'd heard, Clancy believed it was a sign that his time had come. He purchased wagons, hired guides, and loaded up his family to find his destiny.

When the Rocklin Family arrived in Mith-Ih-Kwuh, they were initially welcomed, but that soon changed. According to documents in Clancy's possession, the Rocklins were the legal owners of a considerable portion of the land in the valley — a deal negotiated with the government back east. This led to a number of disputes, and the Walker family sent for a land assessor and a judge to come to clear things up. In the end, the law sided with the Rocklins on all accounts except two. The judge declared that the initial contract between Horace Walker and the Miluk predated the Rocklin deeds, and therefore the Miluk and Walker lands were to be considered legal claims. However, since that agreement had no specific provisions for the rest of the land, it was considered the holding of Clancy Rocklin. Horace Walker Jr. was less than pleased, despite having his own land saved, and this would prove to be just the first of a great many incidents in the Rocklin-Walker Feud.

Clancy promised to be a fair and reasonable landlord of Mythic Wood (a name that began as a misunderstanding of the word "Mith-Ih-Kwuh", but Clancy liked it so much that he made sure it was referred to that way on every official document). However, he would not win over the hearts of the people until two years later, in 1850. That spring, construction was completed on a lumber mill that provided good paying jobs to nearly everyone in the village and brought in more workers who settled in the valley. Despite the shifty beginning, the Rocklins were responsible for transforming a sleepy little village into a flourishing town.

The lumber trade meant economic growth and stability for Mythic Wood well into the mid-20th century. But nothing lasts forever.

Here Come the Hippies

The 1960s saw an influx of new faces in Mythic Wood when a hippie community sprung up overnight in the hills east of the town. They came in on a bus to protest the Rocklin Lumber Company. Rocklin had a heavy logging operation in an area harboring some of the oldest trees in Oregon. The hippies pitched their tents all over the intended logging site and refused to be moved. The standoff lasted a full two years, and in that time the hippies simply became a part of the local community.

By the time the government finally stepped in and ordered an end to that particular logging project, many of the tents had been replaced with cob houses, gardens had been planted, even wells dug. Unsurprisingly, many of the protestors had settled in and chose to remain. The hippie village became known as "Haven", a new neighborhood of Mythic Wood, and it has remained a sanctuary for those that choose to live a simpler, more naturalistic life ever since.
