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Wilseyville

Wilseyville is a relative newcomer to Calaveras County, established in 1941 as a lumber town in the area known as Sandy Gulch. It was laid out by Howard Blagen for Associated Lumber and Box. Blagen also designed the company’s lumber mill. The town was named for Lawrence Wilsey who was manager at the Blagen Mill in White Pines, near Arnold. Wilseyville consisted of company-owned homes and store as well as the mill buildings. Mill workers purchased or rented homes built by the company in the 1940s. Blagen Hall, the community center, served as a meeting place for residents. It burned twice in the short history of the mill town. The company sold interests in the town and mill in 1962, due to mill automation of American Forest in Martell, CA. Today Wilseyville is privately owned.

From interview with Pat Blagen, 2002