DUNNIGAN, CA. (ANTELOPE)
As Compiled by Nancy Hatcher McCullough
02/96

The first settlers in the Antelope (Dunnigan) area were John Wilson and J. S. Copp 
who moved here when flood waters from the Sacramento River to the east forced them 
to leave in 1852.  In October of 1853, Anthony Wayne Dunnigan came to the area and 
settled on 700 acres he named the Dunnigan Ranch, known today as the Decker/Allen 
place.  In the same time period many other early settlers began to arrive in the 
small settlement.  In 1855 Mr. Dunnigan built a hotel known as the Dunnigan House on 
what would later be Main and Railroad Streets.  At the same time Mr. Dunnigan build
an large barn that became the Antelope Stage Depot (1855); the stage made daily runs 
between Knights Landing and  Colusa on what was known as "Tule Road", carrying passengers, 
cargo and the mail.  The Dunnigan House (hotel) would accommodate the food and rest 
need of the passengers.  The stage depot/barn was torn down about 1945 to make way 
for "modern day farming" and the hotel was occupied until it was destroyed by fire 
in the mid-1950's.

The next ten to fifteen years was a time of rapid growth for the settlement of Antelope: 
George Lewis built the first general store, later owned by William Earll;  Joe Gray 
opened a saloon; Z.T. Haines started a drug and notion store which was later inherited 
by  G. W. Gray; another building owned by Mr. Dunnigan was known as the Lodge Hall 
which he rented to various organizations, The Grange, I.O.O.F., Good Templars, United 
Workmen and others of that period;  James Johns opened a meat market and from his home 
ranch on Johns School Road in Colusa County, brought fresh meat each day that was cut 
and prepared the night before; Tom Mitchell and Henry Yarick owned and operated a 
blacksmith shop on the south side of Main Street just west of First Street; a couple 
of other saloons and a barber shop were opened and four homes were completed, two of 
these historic homes are still here today and are an asset to Dunnigan.  The Antelope
Brick Yard was about two miles north of the settlement on Buckeye Creek, so bricks for 
foundations and buildings were always available.  In the late 1860's a school was 
located on the George Lewis property now the Fletcher ranch; a new and larger school 
was constructed near the older one in the 1890's, this one having nine grades.  A 
large grain warehouse was owner and operated by William Earll, later owned by Ward 
Hunt and now Adams Grain.

In 1876 the Northern Railway later known as the Southern Pacific Railroad, completed 
its roadbed through the community and the Antelope Stage Depot became the railway 
station with Burnell Wilkerson being the first depot agent.  On November 1, 1876 
the community of Antelope became the Town of Dunnigan and the Town Plat was recorded 
at the Yolo County Seat at 3:00 P.M. in Book V, page 98 of the Yolo County Records.  

A church was completed in 1894 and was called the Dunnigan  Community Church.  
The land was donated by Mrs. Kate Laugenour, an early resident of Dunnigan, and the 

contractors were the Gruing Brothers of Knights Landing and the builder was Marsh Peart 
of College City.  The architectural lines are of a transitional style popular at that 
time in the western United States, it resembled churches built in New England during 
that period. At some time in the late 1960's, a group of interested persons worked on 
having the church designated as a historical site either locally or statewide.  

In the early 1900's a company called the Yolo Hardwood Subdivision I, II, III and so on, 
planted eucalyptus trees on large tracts of land northwest of Dunnigan with the intention 
of making furniture with the wood.  Surprise!  They found out the furniture should have 
been made the day the wood was cut!  As a result of this failed venture, most of the 
land and trees were abandoned. Then in the 1930's along came the "Dust Bowl" refugees 
in search of anywhere to call home, many of them settled in the hardwoods, building 
shelters with whatever was available to give their families a home.  As the economy 
improved, many of these people were able to own the land by paying the back taxes 
and others just stayed and claimed the land as theirs.  After World War II, several 
people from the Bay Area purchased hardwood lots (again, many for just the back taxes) 
to build their retirement homes. Some of those people and/or their families are still 
there today. 

The first Dunnigan Fire Truck was purchased in 1926-27 and Bill Morris was hired as the
 driver/fire fighter/maintenance man and a small tin building was constructed to house 
the new truck.  The Dunnigan Volunteer Fire Department Was formed in 1941 with John Case 
as Fire Chief, driver and maintenance man with a salary of $100.00 for three months in 
the summer during fire season.  The Dunnigan Volunteer Fire Department has had many 
changes since its beginning:  Today, there are 25 active non-paid Volunteer Fire Fighters, 
6 fire/emergency vehicles-adequate but old-the newest engine being a 1978 model.  
A large percentage of calls are now medical-aid, both local and freeway/business related.  
The hill grain fires during the summer are not very common today, but there are several 
freeway related grass fires.

On an old copy of a hand drawn plat map there are seven streets and perhaps, one or two 
more not shown, that make up the 1876 recorded Town of Dunnigan.  This small community 
has so much history being one of the early settlements in what is now Yolo County; the 
information above just touches on that historic value.  

Dunhstry.2/96
By Nancy Hatcher McCullough