Myth has it that Hornitos was founded with the dregs of the neighboring Quartzberg. When the inhabitants of Quartzberg grew tired of the crime, they booted out the criminal element. It went down stream about two miles and established a settlement on the banks of Burns Creek. The town was named for the hornos which dotted the landscape, ovens built to bake bread and cook outside. Fandango halls were popular. Crime was rampant and killings were not infrequent.
Burns Creek was named for one of the California Rangers who supposedly captured the infamous Californio Bandit Joaquin Murietta. Murietta was a frequent visitor of Hornitos and had relatives in the area. The three buttes to the south were once called the Murietta Buttes for Joaquin's cousins who had a thriving teamster business on the Stockton-Fort Millerton Road and ranched there. He also had family by marriage in the Indian Gulch area and was related to the Gonzales family.
Fraternal organizations established a foothold in the area with a Odds Fellows Hall and later a Masonic Lodge. The town became civilized and at one time boasted over 1800 inhabitants. It was once an incorporated city. The black citizens mainly occupied the southern part of town and the Chinese the north.
Late 1800's photo of Hornitos townsmen in front of Barcroft's Saloon.
