Nevada City History of Mining
Gold was first mined in Nevada City in the Deer Creek, in 1849, was called Deer Creek Diggings. The name Nevada was adopted in May 1850 at a public meeting. The placers were rich, and the town grew fast. Hydraulic mining was first practiced in California at American Hill here in 1852, by E. G. Matteson. Hydraulic mining flourished until around 1880. Drift mining began in the 1850s, and the drift mines were continuously active until around 1900. Gold-quartz was discovered in 1850, when the Gold Tunnel vein was found. Production did not commence until the early 1860s because of difficulties in milling the ore. By 1865, the output from lode-gold mining was averaging $500,000 per year and later ranged from $300,000 to $600,000. The Champion and Providence mines were the major producers during these years. From 1933 to 1942, the Lava Cap yielded $12-million. There has been only minor activity since 1942. Nevada City is the county seat, of Nevada County. Nevada City Area Mine Yields: Lode: Alaska, Alice Belle, Alpine, Bagley, Banner $1 million+, Belle Fontaine, Buckeye, Caledonia, California Cons. $1 million, Canada Hill $1.13 million, Carter, Central South Yuba, Champion $3 million, Coan, Deadwood $300,000, Enterprise, Federal Loan $200,000, Fortune, Franklin, Glencoe, Gold Flat, Gold Metal, Gold Tunnel $300,000, Gracie, Hoge $600,000, Kirkham, Lava Cap $12 million, Le Compton, Massachusetts, Mayflower, Merrifield, Merrimac, Montana, Mohigan, Mountaineer $2 million to $3 million, Mt. Auburn, Murchie, National, Neversweat, Nevada City, Oustomah, Phoenix $200,000, Pittsburgh $1 million+, Sneath and Clay $180,000, Soggs, Spanish, St. Louis, Texas, Union, Willow Valley $130,000, Wyoming. Drift: Allison, Cold Springs, Coleman, Dean, East Harmony, Fountain Head, Grover, Hughes, Kansas, Knickerbacker, Live Oak, Manzanita, Nebraska, Nevins, Odin, Pennsylvania, Phoenix, West Harmony, Yosemite. Hydraulic: American Hill, Buckeye Hill, Canada Hill, Hirschmann. Excerpt from: Gold Districts of California, by: W.B. Clark, California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 193, 1970. |
"It is an everyday occurrence," wrote a Nevada City miner in 1851, "to see a coffin carried on the shoulders of two men, who are the only mourners and only witnesses to the burial of some stranger whose name they do not know." |
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