Sylvanus Leach or Leech, as it is sometimes spelled was born about 1834. He was known as "Sylvian." Leach was married on May 28, 1874 to Cora Belle Tuggle, a daughter of pioneers William Harvey and Melinda Ferrel (Johnson-Tuggle.) The Tuggle family came to Shasta County in 1862.

Sylvanus was a millwright, and a business partner of Rudolph Klotz, another major figure in Shasta County history. Leach and Klotz were one-time owners of the Dry Mill in Shingletown. John W. Dinsmore and Mariman Ferrel built the mill in 1853. It was the second oldest mill on Shingletown Ridge.

The founder of the mill was a man by the surname of Dry. It is recorded that Sylvanus Leach was a close friend of Dry. Mariman Ferrel the coworker of John W. Dinsmore is the brother of Melinda Ferrel (Johnson-Tuggle.)

Sylvanus and Cora Belle Tuggle Leach were also the founders of the Eureka Mill located on Battle Creek in Shingletown. This mill was a combination steam and water powered mill and possibly the first of its kind in Shasta County. A railroad track/tramway was near this mill and was named the Eureka Mill Railroad, and the area of the mill was one of the four starting points of the Blue Ridge Flume.

Sometime after the establishement of the Eureka Mill, Sylvanus and Cora Tuggle Leach divorced. Cora married a second time to an Edward Dietze. After the divorce "Sylvian" traveled to Yreka, California. There he stayed and it is possible he was never heard from by the Tuggle family again. Leach supposedly died in Yreka and is buried there.

Contributed by Jeremy M. Tuggle
Resource: "Rooted In Shasta County" by Jeremy M. Tuggle published by Preserving Memories in 2003, 2nd Edition 2004; "Our Pioneer Ancestor William Harvey Tuggle and His Descendants - A Collection of Tuggle Family Memories and Genealogical Data" Written and Compiled by Jeremy M. Tuggle Copyright 2003, available at the Shasta Historical Society.
"The Dictionary of Early Shasta County History" by Dottie Smith, Second Edition