Baldwin Mine Traditional Cache

It is good idea to have a Forest Adventure Pass when visiting the National Forests.

It is belived that gold was first discovered in Bear Valley in 1855. This is when reports first began to surface of gold discoveries near Bear Lake, today called Baldwin Lake. (Big Bear Lake would not exist for another 30 years.) The Gold Rush of 1849 was fresh ineveryone's mind and California was ready for another rush. The only passage to the valley was a long and very difficult Indian trail up the Santa Ana Canyon and down into the valley. Originally only Placer gold was discovered. This is gold that is found in streams. These streams would freeze over in the winter and start up again in spring. A few hardy miners that stayed through the winter of 1859 named their camp "Starvation Flat". The area was soon flooded with prospectors, adventurers, speculators, merchants, gamblers and all the others typically drawn to a "boom".

By 1873, Bear Valley and the surrounding areas had been well searched and staked out. Finding a new and profitable claim was becoming difficult at best. Two hard-luck miners, brothers Charley and Barney Carter, were were looking for exactly that when they discovered gold on the ridge of a mountain just east of Holcomb Valley in July of 1873. They filed four claims on this ridge, two of were called the Rainbow and Moonlight Mines. In December of that year they sold these (on what was now called "Carter's Mountain") claims to Elias "Lucky" Baldwin, a multimillionare who made his fortune in Nevada silver mining.

Initial surveyor reports had stated that the "gold/quartz ore ran two miles across the mountain from west to east, ranging in width from 50 to 100 feet and as high as 85 feet." One local paper reported that "the crown of the mountain is a mass of gold bearing rock!"

Baldwin was pouring money in the mine on now what was called "Gold Mountain". By the end of 1874 he had 150 miners working the claims. The ore they mined was being stockpiled for processing in the stamp mill he was building (see "1875 Stamp Mill" Cache). A 5-mile flume was constructed by Chinese laborers to supply water for the mill (see "Flume Tunnel" Cache). Chinese laborers were also cutting roads from the mine northeast to Cactus Flat (Forest Road 3N61)and west to Holcomb Valley (Forest Road 3N16). A road was also constructed that ran down to Bairdstown (see "Doble" Cache).

It all came together in March of 1875. The mine was being worked by 180 miners, the roads were open and the 40-stamp mill started operation. The boom lasted 2 months. The quality of the ore was nowhere near expectations and 20 of the forty stamps at the mill were shut down in May. By November of 1875, the mine and mill had ceased operations. The mill was used to process ore from other mines in the summer of 1876 and then closed.

The mine remained idle for the next 17 years. In 1893, Budd Doble, Baldwin's son-in-law, invested $25,000 of his own money to start up the mine. The quality of the ore remained low and the mine was closed again in 1895.

In 1899, Captain J. R. LaMar tried his luck at the mine. He belived that he could recover a profitable amount of gold from the ore using a new technolgy. This was to use cyanide to dissolve the gold in the ore and recover it from the cyanide. He constructed a new 40-stamp mill since the original mill had burned to the ground in 1878 (see "1900 Stamp Mill" Cache). His run lasted until 1903.

From then on, series of people tried to make a profit from the mine. The final attempt was just after World War II. This time a ball mill was set up just below the mine. The remains of the timbers which supported the hopper that fed ore to the mill are still there (though it appears that it will colaspe at any moment). The ball mill was removed in 1952.

The mine never made much of a profit for the people who invested in it, except maybe for the Carter's who sold their claims to Baldwin for $30,000.

To get there take Hwy 18 to the north side of Baldwin Lake and turn north onto Holcom Valley Road. Just before you get to the gate of the refuse tranfer station you will see where the unpaved section of Holcomb Valley Road (3N16)begins off to your right. Note: There is a service road that goes off to the right just before Holcomb Valley Road. An abandonded mine can be found behind a berm. Holcomb Valley Road is passable in higher clearance vehicles. I went up in a subcompact once, but it was slow going in a couple of places.

If you want to explore the area below the road, look for an old access road. It turns off Holcomb Valley Road about 100-150' east of the mine.

This photo, taken in 1922, shows the "glory hole" in the foreground and the 1900 Stamp Mill on the left. What is there today that you do not see in the photo are the timbers that supported an ore hopper. That was not added until 1947

By the time his mine was opened Elias “Lucky” Baldwin’s interests were turning to real estate. He purchased 35,000 acres of land in Southern California including an 8,000 acre ranch. The lands included what is now Arcadia, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Pasadena and San Marino. He named the ranch Santa Anita, after his daughter. At its peak his ranch had 300 workers, 500 horses, 33,000 sheep, and 3,000 head of cattle. Agriculture was also a part of the ranch with vineyards, 3,000 English walnut trees, 500 acres of orange groves and numerous other types of fruit trees.

Balwin raised and raced horses on his ranch also. Today, the Santa Anita Racetrack is located here. He subdivided his land holdings creating Arcadia (he was the first mayor), Baldwin Park and Monrovia. Some of the buildings from his ranch can be seen at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. There you can see the elaborate stable he constructed for his race horses. You may recognize it, it was used in the television show Fantasy Island as the outside shot of the main house.