“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 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.
Read More“One morning in January - it was a clear, cold morning; I shall never forget that morning - as I was taking my usual walk along the race after shutting off the water, my eye was caught with the glimpse of something shining in the bottom of the ditch. There was about a foot of water running then. I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold”
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
