 |
|
|
|
Mammoth Lakes, CA
|
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mammoth Mining Company |
|
|
Friday, 13 June 2008 |
By Evanne Jardine
June 20, 1877. Four men searched the mouths of canyons south of Mono Lake, looking for gold bearing quartz outcrops, perhaps inspired by tales of the Lost Cement Mine, a fabulous ledge of “reddish, rusty-looking cement, thickly spangled with flakes of purest gold.” They found a promising ledge 800 feet up the side of Mineral Ridge, called Red Mountain today. The quartz occurred at a contact zone between old volcanic rock and granite. Gold occurs in such zones, carried from the molten depths of the earth through cracks in the earth’s crust. The contact zone that attracted attention in 1877 can easily be seen today from many parts of the Lakes Basin.
The men staked out the Alpha claim and brought ore samples to Bodie for assay. According to newspaper reports of the time, the ore assayed between $86 and $200 a ton. The Lake Mining District was formed with James Parker as Recorder; in 1870 Parker had co-founded Bishop’s newspaper, the Inyo Independent, with P. A. Chalfant. One of the early claimants of the Mammoth was one Al Jardine.
The following spring, 1878, the Lake District attracted the attention of San Francisco investors. General George Dodge arrived to negotiate the purchase of the Mammoth claims. He and his consortium paid $100,000 for the claims, even though tales suggest that he didn’t even care to examine the ore specimens offered. As the story unfolds we will see whether these prospectors made a good deal.
Within a year $385,000 had been raised through stock sales, mining and mill equipment had been laboriously hauled by twenty mule teams from the Mojave stop of the Southern Pacific. Tunnels and shafts had been dug, and a mill and tramway erected. A flume was excavated to bring water from the Twin Lakes outlet to the mill site.
All this activity brought to the diggings more than 600 people, of whom 146 were women. Four mining camps sprang up, spaced a half mile apart, each associated with a part of the mining operation. Mineral Park, site of the saw mill, stood where Snowcreek Condos and golf course are today. Mill City, just below the site of the forty stamp mill, was home to the district headquarters; Mary Townsend’s grave is located nearby and a trail, beginning across the road from the grave site, leads to the remains of the mill’s flywheel. Mammoth City, situated at the base of the four mine shafts on Mineral Ridge, is marked by an E Clampus Vitas plaque and the remains of miners’ dugouts. Pine City was situated nearLake Mary, on the toll trail to Fresno Flats. It was called Lake City on some old maps.
August 9, 1879, shares in the Mammoth Mining Company were selling for $12.50. By November 19, 1880, share price stood at $0.06. The mill was shut down, the people departed. What had happened?
$200,000 in bullion had been produced, but $385,000 had been expended. Had the whole thing been a stock swindle? Had there been misjudgment of the severity of the winters which caused the failure of such expensive improvements as the tramway and the flume? Was Mineral Ridge hoarding its lode, yet to be extracted?
When the Mammoth Mining Company failed, it joined hosts of others, bankrupting investors and throwing men out of work. The newspapers of the time questioned the motives of the promoters. A few defended their efforts. Up the canyon Dr. Doyle from Bishop and a few others continued to work the area on a small scale well into the 20th century.
You can drive up to see the remains of the mines, marked by tailings piles at four different levels. Gary Caldwell, in his thoroughly researched book, Mammoth Gold, tells the tale in fascinating detail. He includes an auto tour guide to all the sites with excellent explanations of what to look for. The book is available at the Southern Mono Historical Society’s Hayden Cabin Museum and other local outlets. The museum also has a fascinating collection of early photos including shots of the mill, a mule train on the Fresno Flats toll road, and many more. Tours of the historic mining area are planned by the Museum this summer. Check this newspaper for announcements.
The Historical Society welcomes volunteers to help with the Museum and other activities.
Evanne Jardine is a Mammoth resident and member of the Southern Mono Historical Society Board. She teaches a local history class, Settling the Eastern Sierra. For more information contact her at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 June 2008 )
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2008 The Mammoth Times All Rights Reserved
|
|
