Pugh, John M.

John M. Pugh was born on May 9, 1839, in Carroll County, Ohio, and worked as a farmer in Missouri before crossing the plains to Marysville, California, in 1856. Returning to Missouri in 1867, he married Ruth Sallee and brought his family back to California, settling first at North Butte in Sutter County to raise grain and stock. In 1874, he relocated to Stonyford in Colusa County, expanding a 160-acre claim into a 4,500-acre ranch along Stony Creek where he pioneered local alfalfa cultivation.

Moving to Fresno County in June 1888, Pugh bought 160 acres in Central Colony to engage in viticulture, farming, and stock raising before later farming near Fowler. Following the death of his wife in 1904, he purchased 140 acres in Kutner Colony in 1905, establishing vineyards with his sons until his death in 1913. A founder and Master of Snow Mountain Lodge F. & A. M. in Stonyford, he was survived by seven children: Hannah, Edward M., James V., John S., A. U., Perley, and Ina.