History of the Morrison family ranches on Bear River. The article contains a photo of the old 1870 ranch house. Silas Morrison is reported to have arrived at Bear River in 1851 & may have been one of the first white men to view the valley. He went back to Weaverville, reported his findings, came back to Humboldt and secured land in the Bear River area. So did Seth Kinman, Si Heaglin and George Williams. The 4 men ran their cattle together.