Shingle Springs, Cal

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Shingle Springs, Cal

A cluster of cool, clear springs surrounded by oaks and sugar pines made this spot a natural stopping point for emigrants traveling along the Carson Emigrant Trail. One such traveler was David B. Scott, who left Monroe, Michigan in 1849 to cross the plains and come to California. He was so impressed with this area that when his party disbanded in Sutterville, he returned here with a group of men in 1850 and erected a shingle machine near the springs, from whence the town took its name.

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Sutter Creek

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Sutter Creek

The town takes its name from the creek; the creek takes its name from John A. Sutter. Unable to stop the tide of gold-seekers flowing over and destroying his lands, Sutter decided to follow the call of gold, trying in vain to recoup what the Gold Rush had taken. He arrived here in 1848 with a band of Kanakas and Indians, and upon finding a likely spot began mining along the creek.

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Volcano

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Volcano

Who the first men were to mine this region is not known for certain, but legend has it that among the earliest were members of Stevenson’s Regiment who chanced upon the diggings in 1848. They found the placers exceedingly rich, averaging $100 a day per man, with some spots yielding up to $500. The claims in Soldiers Gulch were paying so well that no one took the time off from mining to build any kind of permanent shelter. So when the first snows began to fly, most of the men packed up their gear and headed for friendlier climes.

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Big Bar

/ Big Bar, Cal/
Big Bar

At one time the most important camp on the Mokelumne River, Big Bar quickly disappeared when the gold played out and the miners left for the richer diggings of Mokelumne Hill. The spot was first mined during 1848, at which time it was almost impossible to cross the wild Mokelumne River. To remedy this situation, a whaleboat ferry was established in 1849, which operated until 1852 when it was swept away in a flood. A toll bridge was built to replace the ferry and it did a booming business until it was swept away by the flood of 1862. Following that disaster, a somewhat higher bridge was built which served the area for many years after.

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Chili Gulch

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Chili Gulch

The quiet, pastoral appearance of Chili Gulch today belies its early day reputation as the richest and most-worked gulch in the county. As early as 1848, three camps were located along the gulch, mostly populated by Chilean miners. It was near this site in 1849 that the Chilean War occurred.

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Jenny Lind

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Jenny Lind

This old mining town, located on the banks of the Calaveras River, started out as a rich camp back in the early 1850’s. The river received its name from Gabriel Moraga who visited the region in 1806. Believed to be the first white man to enter what is now Calaveras County, he found many skulls along the banks of the river below San Andreas, prompting him to call it Calaveras, meaning “skulls” in Spanish. The river was rich and was widely worked during the Gold Rush. Placering, hydraulic mining, and dredging all took place in this area.

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Butte City

/ Butte City, Cal/
Butte City

A shallow basin rich in gold was discovered in 1850, about one and a half miles south of Jackson. Miners flocked to the area and for a very brief time the town known as The Bute, Butte City, and Greaserville rivaled neighboring Jackson in size and importance By 1851, several hundred inhabitants called Butte City home. Numerous buildings once lined the town’s main street, housing the merchants, businessmen and miners during the camp’s brief existence, brief because the gold gave out early and the town was abandoned almost faster than it was built.

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Westpoint

/ Westpoint, Cal/
Westpoint

Gold was first discovered in the area in late 1848 or early ’49. Located in the Sierra Nevada east gold belt district, the neighboring areas of Skull Flat, Bummerville, Pioneer Station, and Buckhorn were also extensively mined during the Gold Rush.

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Railroad Flat

/ Railroad Flat, Cal/
Railroad Flat

The place was settled in 1849, and proved to be a rich placer and quartz mining area for a short while. During its popularity, the town had a three-story hotel, seven saloons, several stores, a school, butcher shop, shoe maker, restaurant, and numerous homes scattered about the hillsides.

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San Andreas

/ San Andreas, Cal/
San Andreas

The naming of this camp had nothing to do with earthquakes. A small group of Mexican miners were the first prospectors here, arriving sometime during the winter of 1848. Locating their camp on a gulch about one-quarter mile above the present center of town, they commenced mining the ravine by sinking holes down to bedrock and then washing out the dirt with batteas. The first Mass held in the new camp took place on November 30, Saint Andrew’s Day, of 1848, which may have been responsible for the camp being called San Andreas.

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PC - Volcano, Calif 1850s

/ Volcano, Ca/
PC - Volcano, Calif 1850s

Who the first men were to mine this region is not known for certain, but legend has it that among the earliest were members of Stevenson’s Regiment who chanced upon the diggings in 1848. They found the placers exceedingly rich, averaging $100 a day per man, with some spots yielding up to $500. The claims in Soldiers Gulch were paying so well that no one took the time off from mining to build any kind of permanent shelter. So when the first snows began to fly, most of the men packed up their gear and headed for friendlier climes.

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Altaville

/ Altaville, Cal/
Altaville

Also known as Cherokee Flat, Forks in the Road, and Winterton, Altaville was established on Cherokee Creek, northwest of Angels Camp in 1852. According to legend, the area was a favorite haunt of Joaquin Murieta, the bandit, who supposedly spent so much time here that a mountain northwest of the creek was named Joaquin Mountain. While rich pockets of gold, the "richest of the state," were discovered here in 1854, the gold only lasted a short time. The town was also an important point for supplies and machinery; however, which enabled it to survive even after the gold was gone. The camp eventually became a part of Angels Camp as that town continued to grow and expand into the outlying areas.

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Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge

/ Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge/
Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge

Just downstream from the confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the American River stands the Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge. Constructed in 1912, it was at that time the longest concrete arch railroad bridge in the world. The bridge was designed by John Buck Leonard and built by the Donaldson & Harrelson Company for the Mountain Quarries Company and the Pacific Portland Cement Company, at a cost of $300,000. It was built to haul limestone from a nearby quarry to Auburn, located 7 miles away. The bridge was in use daily until the Mountain Quarries shut down in 1941. The following year, the railroad track along the entire line was removed for the war effort.

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PC - Placer Mining Scars at Dutch Flat, Cal

/ Placer Mining Scars, Dutch Flat/
PC - Placer Mining Scars at Dutch Flat, Cal

This is a colorful card manufactured by the Pacific Novelty Co. of San Francisco & Los Angeles. It's entitled "Placer Mining Scars at Dutch Flat, California." Hydraulic Mining is what caused those "scars." The areas surrounding Dutch Flat were heavily mined during the Gold Rush with hydraulic methods.

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Vallecito

/ Vallecito, Cal/
Vallecito

After splitting off from the Carson party at Angels Creek, John and Daniel Murphy headed east looking for likely prospects. The brothers reached Coyote Creek in October of 1848, and after a few pans showing good color, they set up camp and christened the site Murphys Diggings. The boys worked the stream for a few months and then decided to move on and search for better diggings. They eventually settled down about six miles away, where the y founded the camp now known as Murphys, afterwhich their original camp was referred to as Murphys Old Diggings.

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Douglas Flat

/ Douglas Flat, Cal/
Douglas Flat

Before the Gold Rush, Chief Walker and a tribe of Miwok Indians occupied this placid little valley, their camp located near a fine, clear spring. After the Gold Rush, things changed. With the discovery of gold in Coyote Creek, a mining camp appeared almost overnight, a camp that included a church, post office, flour mill, blacksmith, school, two distilleries, several merchandise stores, and seven saloons. Several thousand miners, a mixture of Chileans, Italians, French, English, Irish, Welsh, Danes, Mexicans, and Americans were working the placers, as well as four major mines. And as the Indians no longer had a place to live, they left.

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Copperopolis

/ Copperopolis, Cal/
Copperopolis

Hiram Hughes was fed up with the Silver Rush. Leaving the mines of Nevada’s Comstock Lode, he returned to Calaveras County in 1860 and began prospecting for gold along Gopher Ridge. Noticing a resemblance in the rock formations here to those of the Washoe region in Nevada, he staked a claim on Quail Hill that May. Hiram worked the claim, turning up small amounts of gold and silver, and a lot of reddish colored ore referred to by the local miners as “iron rust.”

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Black Bart

/ Black Bart/
Black Bart

On August 3rd of 1877, a stage was making its way over the low hills between Point Arenas and Duncan’s Mills on the Russian River when a lone figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Wearing a long linen duster and masked with a flour scan, the bandit pointed a double-barreled shotgun at the driver and said, in a deep and resonant voice, “Throw down the box!”

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Angels Camp

/ Angels Camp/
Angels Camp

Henry and George Angel arrived in California as soldiers, serving under Colonel Frémont during the Mexican War. After the war’s end, the brothers found themselves in Monterey where they heard of the fabulous finds in the gold fields. The tales proved too strong a lure, so they joined the Carson-Robinson party of prospectors and set out for the mines. The company parted ways upon reaching what later became known as Angels Creek, with the Murphy group heading east and the Carson party continuing south. It was September of 1848.

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PC - Jackson, Cal. - Main Street

/ Jackson, Cal/
PC - Jackson, Cal. - Main Street

This one is of Main Street, in downtown Jackson, California. I don't know much about old cars, but the ones in this image would lead me to guess the photo was taken in the 1930s. It's a great shot of one of my favorite Gold Rush towns.

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