Gold Hill | |
---|---|
Location | Jenkins Street and Hocking Avenue Grass Valley, California |
Coordinates | 39°12′47″N 121°4′9″W / 39.21306°N 121.06917°W |
Built | 1850 |
Architect | George Knight |
Official name | Site of one of the first discoveries of quartz gold in California |
Reference no. | 297[1] |
Gold Hill in Grass Valley, California, was the site of one of the first discoveries of quartz gold[2] in California. While quartz gold was also found in other areas of Nevada County, California during the same time, it is this find near Wolf Creek that led to quartz-mining frenzy and subsequent creation of the Gold Country quartz-mining industry. The location is honored as a California Historical Landmark.
History
[edit]George Knight (sometimes known as McKnight) was a California Gold Rush miner. In October 1850, he was on a Grass Valley hillside when he came across an outcropping of white quartz rock laced with yellow. He pounded the rock with a cast iron skillet and hammer, then washed out the gold. Searching for more gold in the same spot, he dug down into the outcropping and found a 4 inches (10 cm) gold vein. His find was announced by another miner, George Crandall (1825–1908), who ran down to Boston Ravine, a small settlement nearby, with the news.[3][4]
Knight named the location Gold Hill and his claim became the Gold Hill Mine. He and friends constructed a crude stamp mill made out of the local forest's pine tree logs and equipped it with metal boots. The contraption was propelled by Wolf Creek's rushing water.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Gold-130327.jpg/220px-Gold-130327.jpg)
By March 1851, there were 150 buildings in the area, including hotels, saloons, stores, and even the first school.[5] Before the end of the year, thousands of people had moved to Grass Valley and neighboring Nevada City, California.[6] A fire struck Grass Valley on September 13, 1855, destroying the entire town of over 300 wooden buildings, but it was soon rebuilt with safer materials.[5]
While Gold Hill Mine produced $4,000,000 between 1850–1857, it "pinched out" by 1864 and closed.[7]
A 1940 geological survey of the Gold Hill Quartz Mine reported the host rock to be Diabase and Granodiorite and the mineral list showed gold, pyrite, and quartz.[8]
Historical landmark
[edit]The site is honored as California Historical Landmark number 297.[1] The plaque, located on the southwest corner of Jenkins Street and Hocking Avenue in Grass Valley reads:
This tablet commemorates the discovery of gold-bearing quartz and the beginning of quartz mining in California. The discovery was made on Gold Hill by George Knight in October 1850. The occurrence of gold-bearing quartz was undoubtedly noted here and elsewhere about the same time or even earlier, but this discovery created the great excitement that started the development of quartz mining into a great industry. The Gold Hill Mine is credited with a total production of $4,000,000 between 1850 and 1857.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Discovery of Gold at Gold Hill". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
- ^ Hittell, John Shertzer (1861). Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco: J. Wiley. pp. 124. ISBN 0-665-16737-7.
quartz gold.
- ^ Walker, Dale L. (2002). Eldorado : the California Gold Rush. New York: Macmillan. p. 255. ISBN 0-312-87833-8.
- ^ Minch, Patricia L. (2008-07-28). "The search for George Crandall". The Union. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ a b "Town History". Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ "Mining". grassvalleychamber.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ Baumgart, Don (2002). "Empire Mine Evolves From Accident to Prominence". ncgold.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ Logan, C.A. (1941). "Gold Hill Quartz Mine, Grass Valley, Nevada Co., California, USA". Journal of Mines and Geology. 37 (3, PL. 3). Mindat.org. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ "No. 297 Site of One of the First Discoveries of Quartz Gold in California". California State Historical Landmarks in Nevada County. California Environmental Resources Evaluation System. Retrieved 2008-12-16.