The Hwy '49er Series:
This is a series of
caches meant to highlight some interesting and, maybe even, some
more obscure historical facts about California's gold mining
history. Most of these caches will be placed in the Sierra
Nevada foothills in the general vicinity of Hwy 49, the Gold
Country Highway. Highway 49 starts in the south at
Oakhurst, Madera County, and continues generally
northwest, weaving through many of the gold mining communities of
Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba,
Sierra, and Plumas counties until it reaches
its northern terminus at State Route 70, in
Vinton.
An Invitation:
All local cachers are invited to add
to this series of caches, placing and calling out new locations of
gold mining history along highway 49. New caches
can be of any type according to cache publishing guidelines.
It would be great to see this series eventually run the
entire stretch of Hwy 49. Also, please share any information
you may have about the postings in your logs. There's
bound to be some intersting facts out there that can be shared with
everyone.
A Warning - Please be careful when caching in any
areas of the foothills. These hills are home to many
creatures, including slithering ones. Please be aware
of your surroundings and keep a watchful eye, especially if you
have children with you while caching.
Pine Tree and Josephine Mines - This
famous mine was located in the Bagby Mining District in
Hell’s Hollow (the canyon between
Bear Valley and the Merced River) just west of SH 49 at a big
switchback two miles north of Bear Valley. The Pine Tree Mine was discovered
in 1849, and began production in 1850. It consolidated with the
Josephine Mine in 1859, when the mine's adits (horizontal
tunnels) and winzes (small “shafts” joining the
various adits) joined. Some of the adits are 1200
feet long.
This mining complex was
a centerpiece in John Fremont's
mining empire and was
the site of the famed
claim jumping siege by the Merced Mining Company and counter
siege by Fremont's
men. It
was very
active during the late
1940s, and up to WW II. Combined production is estimated
to have been between
$2.7 and $4.0 million
in gold through 1942. As of
April 10, 2002 there
were no remains of the mine except tailing piles and disturbed
soil. No structures or
ruins remained. The mine complex is located on the
hillside across the valley from the cache site, just below
the upper hairpin turns in Hwy
49.
This cache is located off a maintained dirt road. Travel
on this road is not recommened soon after rain with a 2WD
vehicle.
Sources: USGS Topographical Maps 1:24,000, 1973;
Wikipedia.org; Ghost Towns & Mining Camps of California, Remi
Nadeau, 1999; history.webroots. ancestory.com; Images of America -
Mariposa County, Leroy Radanovich, 2005.