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E Clampus Vitus dedicates plaque honoring Woodland's Gibson House
By Jim Smith Created: 04/05/2014 11:26:37 PM PDT
More than 100 members of the John A. Sutter 1841 E Clampus Vitus, an organization that works to preserve western history, dedicated
the plaque they paid for and built.
Russell "Christ" Holder, Noble Grand Humbug, led the ceremonies to recognize the home of one of Woodland's founding families.
Members of E Clampus Vitus were primarily dressed in colorful red and black shirts, vests, hats and other
garb.
The fraternity is not sure if it is a "historical drinking society" or a "drinking historical society," according to some accounts.
At Saturday's ceremony, Holder noted the historic significance of both the Gibson House and William Byas Gibson.
Executive Director of the Yolo County Historical Museum and Gibson House, Dave Flory - who is himself a member of E Clampus Vitus - worked with Bob Farrell of the Sutter 1841 group to get the necessary county permits to install the plaque.
During the ceremony, Flory was also recognized as an honorary member of Sutter 1841, even though he is a member of the James Marshall No. 49 chapter.
The plaque reads: "William Byas Gibson came to California from Missouri by mule team in 1830 at the age of 19.
In 1856 he started construction of the Gibson House which became the nucleus of his subsequent 3,000-acre estate.
He married Mary Cook and they had 3 sons. The family specialized in breeding cattle and large scale farming.
The Gibson House itself was originally a small wooden homestead house, built somewhere around 1849. It was bought by Gibson in 1857.
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