I said that the 1906 earthquake didn't cause much damage in Saratoga, other than toppling some ranchers' elevated water tanks. Wrong. The earthquake damaged Charles Maclay's Bank Mills beyond repair, and that statement opens a whole chapter of Saratoga history, for the recounting of which I am indebted to Florence Cunningham's book Saratoga's First Hundred Years, edited by Frances L. Fox.

Bank Mills--and I never understood why the name was plural--was a stone structure that stood near the present entrance to Hakone Gardens. It originally had been a gristmill and also a tannery, but I'm not sure what its use was in 1906. In any event, stones from the ruined structure were used by Paul Masson in constructing his Mountain Winery, and no, I am not about to go into my usual carping over the 1852 date above the winery's entrance.

Back to Charles Maclay (1822-1890). He was perhaps the most significant figure in Saratoga's early history, with the possible exception of Martin McCarty, who really got the whole thing started. Maclay was a Methodist minister, a pioneering circuit rider who came to California in 1851 with his two brothers, also ministers. The brothers remained in the ministry, but Charles got into politics and a variety of business activities.

One such activity was Haun's Redwood Mill, which, despite the lumber-sounding name, produced high-quality wheat flour. This was at a time when the Valley was producing wheat rather than prunes and apricots. Maclay, as mentioned, used his facility as a gristmill and tannery. Politician that he was, Maclay got the name of the community changed from McCartysville to Bank Mills, a designation that lasted from Dec. 22, 1863, until March 13, 1865. The change was brought about by a vote of citizens at a patriotic gathering on Oct. 6, 1864. The new name, of course, was Saratoga.

There was good reason for the change. People in the community simply didn't like the name of Bank Mills, and there was a picturesque alternative available. This had to do with mineral springs that had been discovered about a mile and a half up the canyon, and the water's content was found to be identical with one of the Saratoga Springs in New York, namely Congress Springs. Saratoga was a natural choice for a name for the village growing up at the mouth of the canyon.

Maclay's political career was, to put it mildly, active. He was one of the organizers of the Republican Party on the Pacific Coast, but he did not stay with that affiliation. Although elected to the state Assembly on the Republican ticket in 1861 and 1862, and to the state Senate in 1864, he changed his party affiliation three times, from Republican to Independent and finally to the Democratic Party.

Despite this seeming vacillation, he was known for his integrity and for always being a man of this word. When he settled in Saratoga, he built a nine-room house on the bend of Saratoga Creek opposite his Bank Mills. He also built a general merchandise store, another stone structure near the mill, and the development was known as Maclaytown.

Maclay's prosperity here didn't last, and he eventually moved his family to Southern California. But he left his mark on Saratoga, even if it didn't remain Bank Mills.

I started this column acknowledging one error, and I'll have to admit to another slip-up. In describing the likely effects of a major earthquake, I said that I visualized Saratoga as a "refugee center." Strictly speaking, the term applies mainly to those who escape political upheaval and flee to another country. The term that has been used in regard to hurricane victims is "evacuee." Maybe I can soften the blow a bit by saying I was referring to evacuees who would seek refuge in Saratoga.