Mining History: Lode Mining
Lode mining. Quartz mining. Hard rock mining. Call it what you will, the practice of extracting ore from stone is one of the most difficult, dangerous, and expensive forms of mining.
Learn more about the history of gold mining and other mining events.
Lode mining. Quartz mining. Hard rock mining. Call it what you will, the practice of extracting ore from stone is one of the most difficult, dangerous, and expensive forms of mining.
While the origins of hydraulic mining could be traced to ancient Roman technology, it’s popularly recognized use came around in the 1850s with the California Gold Rush. By shooting high pressure jets of water to dislodge and direct earth, hydraulic mining brought new life to the mostly played out placer claims of the California foothills….
Tony Beets of Gold Rush fame, has made a name for himself by reviving historic dredges to mine his claims. Today, these massive multi-story mining machines are relatively rare. Back in the day, however, they were the giants of the industry.
The story of Henry Hancock is one of the few who left the California gold mines richer than when he entered and who turned his gold to even greater success which is immortalized today.
While mining may be dirty work, sometimes, there is a time for the finer things. The Crocker Art Museum has a massive collection of early California art, much of which is inspired by—and often funded by those who profited from—the gold rush. Located only a few blocks from Old Town Sacramento and the Sacramento History…
While most think of San Francisco or Los Angeles as California’s major cities, back in the days of the Gold Rush, Sacramento was not only the state capitol but a major hub, blossoming with nugget-fueled commerce. The Sacramento History Museum devotes a large portion of their displays to gold rush era Sacramento and its environs. Along with many impressive gold nuggets, visitors can view water canons, assayers scales, and the everyday equipment of miners.
This post is part three of a series about mining in the Angeles National Forest. To learn about the history of the Angeles National Forest and current concerns, read Part 1 and Part 2. Remembering A Golden History, Today While modern mining in the Angeles National Forest may be in a tenuous state, the history of…
The first authenticated discovery of gold in California is in 1842 in Placerita Canyon. Miner’s still seek rich gold veins in the Angeles National Forest.
Last week, we enjoyed taking the Gold Rush City Walking Tour through San Francisco City Guides. The tour is a great opportunity to celebrate the role of the gold rush in San Francisco. After enjoying it, we wanted to take this opportunity to write a bit about San Francisco’s position as a stage for the beginning of the…
This entry focuses on a part of our earlier discussion, Understanding Location Data. For greater context on what we will be addressing, please read that post first. One of the more confusing aspects of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the concept of “townships.” A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of…