“In the days of old, in the days of gold, in the days of ‘49”
California State Highway 49, the “Mother Lode Highway,” can truly take you back to the days of ’49. The road connects gold rush mining camps, ghost towns and historic sites from Oakhurst in the south, to Sierra City in the north. It’s three hundred miles of beautiful country along the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. Twisting mountain roads, sheer granite walls, precipitous drops to swiftly moving rivers. Old buildings, gold mines, forgotten cemeteries. Let’s go see what we can find.
A man by the name of Mandeville Shaw planted an orchard here on the eastern slope of Table Mountain in November of 1849. Gold was discovered in the area at about the same time and by early 1850 a sizable camp had been established, which was christened Shaws Flat in honor of the popular merchant and fruit grower.
Read MoreFirst settled in the summer of 1848 by a party of miners from Sonora, Mexico, the place was logically named Sonorian Camp, later shortened to Sonora. The area was one of rich placers; contemporary reports tell of three Frenchmen who took out three and a half pounds of gold in less than three hours work. At a spot known as Holdens Gardens, a party of eight men unearthed the famous Holden Chispa, a gold nugget weighing over twenty-eight pounds. The owners turned down an offer of $4,500 at the time of the discovery. When all the mining was panned and done, the placers had produced over $11 million in gold.
Read MoreOn November 9 of 1849, William Knight was killed in the streets of the town he founded, gunned down by a man whose name is now lost to history. James G. Fair was in town the day it happened. He called it, “one of the most cold-blooded murders” he had ever witnessed. Knight was buried where he fell, in front of the Masonic Hall, on a low hill overlooking the plaza.
Read MoreThe first mining camp in this area was known as Camp Salvado, named for a group of Salvadorians working the placers. It was located on a flat at the top of Shawmut Grade, less than one mile east of present Chinese Camp. In 1849, some thirty-five Cantonese miners arrived at Camp Salvado and began prospecting. Where they came from is somewhat of a mystery; some say that a ship’s captain left his vessel in San Francisco Bay, bringing his entire crew with him to the mines; another version claims they were employed to search for gold by a group of English speculators. No matter where they came from, what they found when they arrived was gold. The claims were rich.
Read MoreNamed for the Montezuma Tent, a trading post belonging to Solomon Miller and Peter K. Aurand, the camp’s early history begins with violence. A group of Mexican miners, enraged by the recently enacted Foreign Miners Tax and thirsting for blood, attacked the Tent in June of 1850. The proprietors fought the good fight but were outnumbered by the ambushers. Aurand was killed during the encounter, Miller escaped, and the Mexicans were never caught.
Read MoreJames W. Kerrick arrived here in 1853, coming over the Emigrant Trail with nine covered wagons. He built and operated the Crimea House, a combination restaurant, saloon, boarding house, and stable. It was an important stop for freighters and travelers from the San Joaquin and Bay regions who were heading into the Southern Mines. The buildings were destroyed by fire on October 8 of 1949.
Read MoreAlthough originally known as Poverty Hill, the name must have come from a miner with a sense of humor, as the area was extremely rich, eventually producing over $15 million in gold. Founded as a placer camp in the early 1850’s, Stent later turned into a prosperous hardrock mining center, competing with its twin camp to the north which was known variously as Quartz, Quartzburg, or Quartz Mountain.
Read MoreDescribed by one historian as “a vicious and abandoned character, low, brutal, and cruel, intrinsically and at heart a thief and a cut-throat,” Joaquin Murieta may have been all those things. But who was Joaquin Murieta, the man? And who was Joaquin Murieta, the legend?
Read MoreWhile prospecting the gulches between Deer and Moccasin creeks in 1849, James D. Savage and his party camped one night on a wide flat beneath a large oak tree. The next morning’s panning uncovered rich placers and the prospectors decided to stay. Savage employed a large number of friendly Indians (he reportedly had several Indian wives) to work the streams and surrounding gullies, paying them in merchandise from his trading post.
Read MoreWas the man hanged from a tree or merely choked to death by a strong miner? Stories conflict. Was he executed for stealing $200 in gold dust, or someone’s horse; for jumping a claim, or killing a fellow miner? Stories conflict. Originally known as “First” Garrote (to avoid confusion with nearby Second Garrote), the name appeared in contemporary newspapers as: Garote, Garotte, Gerote, and Garrotte. Spellings conflict. About the only thing that didn't conflict was the meaning of Garrote; which is Spanish for execution by strangulation.
Read MoreGeorge and Margaret Coulter came west from Pennsylvania in a covered wagon to make their future. Traveling along the Overland Trail, with a stop in Santa Fe for the birth of their son, the Coulters arrived in Stockton in 1849. After a short stay with Charles M. Weber, the founder of that town, the small family left for a place of rich placers known as Solomons Gulch, located on the Merced River. There they pitched a canvas tent and opened a trading post, providing the miners with supplies and provisions.
Read MoreA group of French sailors jumped ship in San Francisco Bay, commandeered a small whaleboat, and set sail for the gold mines. Upon reaching a promising location on the Tuolumne River, they commenced mining and were rewarded for their desertion by discovering rich placers. The sailors sent word to friends and relatives and their small camp grew into quite a sizable settlement, known throughout the region as French Bar or French Camp. The year was 1849
Read MoreIt was written: "Gamblers, girls and roughnecks...they were a tough lot,the worst in the southern mines. They reverenced nothing but money, cards and wine...blood was upon nearly every doorstep and the sand was caked in it." Hornitos. Gold Camp.
Read MoreThe early history of Bear Valley is similar to that of many other gold camps of the Southern Mines. The placers were discovered by Mexican miners in 1850, who took out near $250,000 worth of gold in just a few weeks. It wasn’t long after the arrival of the white miners that the Mexicans were forced out of the camp, made to begin their search for gold anew. A short boom occurred and the camp grew quickly, but within a year’s time the placers had been exhausted and many of the miners left for better diggings.
Read MoreThis location was originally known as Ridleys Ferry, for Thomas E. Ridley who operated a ferry here from 1850 to 1852. Around 1860, the name was changed to Benton Mills, after Frémont’s father-in-law, Senator Benton of Missouri. A report published in 1859 stated that a sixteen stamp mill was crushing 130 tons of ore every day and a forty-eight stamp mill was under construction.
Read MoreThe white, quartz-capped mountains is the prominent landmark of Mount Ophir, whose site is easy to miss as it is no longer on Hwy 49, but on a bypassed segment of the old road. The first gold in this area was discovered by Mexican miners in 1848, who reportedly took out $217,000 worth in one week.
Read MoreFirst established as a rich placer camp in early 1850, the town's later importance came from the fact that it was located on the rich quartz veins of the Mother Lode. This allowed the camp to survive even after the placers were worked out and gave the town an extended lease on existence.
Read MoreThe poetic name Mariposa, Spanish for "butterfly," was first applied to this region by members of the Moraga Expeditiion, to a small stream at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The party had left the Mission San Juan Bautista on September 21st of 1806, on an expedition to locate suitable sites for a proposed string of inland missions to parallel those located along the coast. Led by Alferez Gabriel Moraga, they crossed the San Joaquin River on September 27th and during that afternoon encountered "myriads of butterflies, of the most gorgeous and variegated colors, perched about on the surrounding trees."
Read MoreIt's difficult to imagine what Agua Fria must have looked like during its peak, when a dozen stores, numerous monte and faro banks, a billiard room, bowling alley, and hotel provided for the needs of the hundreds of miners who once swarmed over the land in their search for gold. According to an eyewitness, miners were "camped in every direction for five miles from the common center...in tents and huts of every description."
Read MoreThe town of Oakhurst, originally known as Fresno Flats, was never much of a mining town; rather, it prospered as a lumbering and farming community. As the town marks the southern terminus of Highway 49, it is a great starting point for a tour of the Gold Country.
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