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 Our Streets Are Paved with Gold And so are Jacksonville's back yards. John Orth picked a piece of gold weighing about a dollar out of one of the walls of his brick building, where it was doubtless inadvertently placed by the bricklayer, being mixed with the mortar. Who knows but what some of our brick buildings are built with gold! "Local Brevities," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 30, 1876, page 3 Smith and Courtney are still boring into the bowels of the earth under our city. They have taken out as high as thirty dollars to the hand per diem, and have not struck the main lead yet. "Jacksonville Items," Ashland Tidings, May 24, 1878, page 3 Golden Nuggets.
Robt. A. Miller publishes the following in the last number of the Hesperian:
While everyone is going wild over the "prospects" of Coeur d'Alene, let me give you a few interesting bits of history that may serve to modify somewhat the present excitement. In Jacksonville, in Southern Oregon, after a hard rain it is no unusual thing to be able to pick up gold in the streets, and it is a fact known to every resident that the gravel bed upon which the town is situated is unusually rich. As an example, one party, a few winters since, by tunneling under his house "cleaned up" the neat sum of four thousand dollars. It is often said half in earnest, half in jest, that some of the old brick buildings made from the clay taken from Rich Gulch have more gold fused into the bricks than was ever inside the buildings. It is a fact, also, that there are numerous "diggins" in Southern Oregon that are immensely rich, but the scarcity of water, the lack of sufficient "dump" and many minor causes made it impossible to work the claims to advantage. The simple fact of the matter is that it would take more money to develop the claims than they are worth. As regards large specimens, it was no unusual thing to get $500 to $800 nuggets from Jackson Creek in an early day, and it is also a remarkable fact that those who found these nuggets are still hunting for more. They are not rich, those miners, but by long experience they are able by hard scratching to make a living. No, reader, I don't get the mining fever very easy, because I've lived in the mines and know that "all that glitters is not gold." Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 2, 1884, page 2 The Mail says that J. S. Howard and Sam Rosenthal each staked off a mining claim on C Street, Medford, pay dirt having been taken off the bedrock to which the new well on the corner was sunk. It is rumored the dirt was salted, however. Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 30, 1890, page 3 Last July Ted Howard dug a well on his lot on North E Street. Nothing remarkable about this fact, but as last week when working about the gravel which was taken from this well he picked up a piece of metal which closely resembles gold, there is, indeed, something remarkable connected with it. The piece of metal which he found has been tested by acid and is to all appearances solid gold. Experts have also examined it and are of the opinion that it is nothing more or less than gold. Its value, if gold, is something over $29. Another question, as yet unsettled, is as to whether it is a nugget or a relic. There are dents in it as of hammer marks, but some are positive these were caused by its coming in contact with heavy rocks. In the gravel near this piece Mr. Howard found a small nugget containing about fifty cents of gold. Both of these it is thought were dug up about six or eight feet from the surface. This fact would seem to strengthen the theory advanced by several that many parts of this valley would prove rich placer fields. A later report says Mr. Howard has sold the above relic or nugget for $60. And still another report says that where it was found is the identical point where, several years ago, a counterfeiter was killed, and this metal was a part of his stock in trade. If this story spreads out very much more it will savor of fish quite aplenty. "All the Local News," Medford Mail, October 6, 1893, page 3 How John Made a Fortune. John Hardin is a barber, and a miner as well. It was related to us this week that John made a little fortune when engaged in barbering. He being a miner knew that there was gold in the whiskers of nearly every man he shaved, as all were miners, and by saving the lather and panning out the gold he made a snug little sum. But this sum was lost, the boys tell, in experimenting in trying to make a cow give gin by feeding her on juniper berries. John is said to be now at work on an invention by which he proposes to confine a hen in a machine of the milkshake order and make her lay scrambled eggs. Medford Mail, April 6, 1894, page 3 PAVING A RAILROAD WITH GOLD
The S.P. Company Using Gravel for Ballast That Goes a Dollar to the Pan.
It has been known for some time the Southern Pacific was using gravel
for ballast from the gravel pit this side of Gold Hill that contained
more or less gold, but it remained for W. J. King of Medford to
demonstrate its true value. Thursday Mr. King secured a bucket full of
gravel from the train as it passed through town and taking a common
metal wash pan proceeded to pan out the gold; his efforts were rewarded
by his securing $2.50 worth of gold dust. The gold is of a high value
and demonstrates the fact that but few railroads ever can afford to
ballast their track with gravel that is worth $100 a ton.
Medford Enquirer, July 19, 1902, page 3 HIGH-CLASS PAVING.
Some of the Rock Used for Paving the Streets Contains Gold.
Paving
the streets with gold-bearing rock! Now, what do you know
about that? But that is just what is being done in Medford right now.
Of course it isn't $100 rock or anything like that, but there is gold in it, just the same. A few days ago some of the employees of the paving company "panned" some of the fine rock which is used for the pavement, and in every pan they found several colors--three or four to the pan. Medford Mail, November 27, 1908, page 3 Gold Is Being Used to
Pave City's Streets
"Do you know," said T. Cameron of Jacksonville, "that the newly paved
streets of Medford will be partly of gold? It is a fact, though. The
sand being used by the Clark-Henery Company comes from the cyanide
plant of the Opp Mine and carries values amounting to an average of $1
to the ton. It is impossible to get the full percentage of gold by any
process; 90 percent is the best that has ever been accomplished. Based
on a $10 valuation per ton, the sand now being used in mixing the
cement for street paving has gold to the amount of $1 in each ton. So
that Medford will have golden streets, partially at least."Medford Mail Tribune, July 21, 1910, page 2 Make "Sidewalks of Gold."
JACKSONVILLE,
Ore., Aug. 8.--It is often said that the ground Jacksonville is built
on is more valuable than the town itself. To bear out this seeming
paradox, Jacksonville is laying golden sidewalks. Not so it can
be noticed, of course, but the gold is there just the same.
The sand used in mixing the cement is composed of tailings from the Opp
mine and runs about $1 to the ton in free gold.Tacoma Times, August 8, 1910, page 1 GOLD USED ON STREETS
THIS IS A POSITIVE FACT, WHICH CAN EASILY BE SUBSTANTIATED. In Two Oregon Cities They Have Thirty Thousand Dollars' Worth of Real Gold in Sand.
Of course,
nothing like this will ever happen in Quincy, but in two Oregon cities
some of the streets are paved with gold. The reader who is inclined to
disbelieve this statement must not jump at the conclusion that nothing
but gold is used on the streets, but just the same there is $30,000
worth of pure gold buried in the sand used in the pavements of the city
mentioned. The current issue of the Municipal Journal and Engineer, received
in Quincy yesterday, is authority for the statement, which reads as
follows:
Oregon has two cities whose streets are paved with gold, and neither lays claim to being the New Jerusalem, either. Medford and Jacksonville are the towns with the expensive pavements. Sand used in the cement sidewalks of Jacksonville is taken from the tailings of the ore produce [sic], and not all the gold was extracted from them. The tailings were piled up before the construction of a cyanide plant, and not all the gold was extracted from it. The tailings will run $1 to the ton in free gold. The same material was used in paving the Medford streets. It is estimated that Medford pavements have more than $30,000 contained in them, exclusive of the cost of these improvements to the municipality. The Quincy Daily Journal, Quincy, Illinois, September 3, 1910, page 9 CYANIDE TAILINGS FOR STREET PAVING
Some Gold in the Material--Opp Plant Running Night and Day-- Stamp Mill Soon to Resume.
The
Opp mine, near Jacksonville, has been running its cyanide plant night
and day for some time. It has worked over a lot of tailings, which will
be shipped to Medford over the Barnum railway and used in lieu of
crushed rock for street paving next spring. Last summer these tailings
were brought hither and used in the paving, and as stated at the time
they contain a certain amount of gold. Thus the paving material for
next summer will still contain gold.
The Opp's twenty-stamp mill has been shut down for a time but will start up again after the holidays. Medford Sun, December 27, 1910, page 1 MEDFORD PAVED WITH GOLD
CLARK-HENERY USE OPP MINE PRODUCT ON STREETS Tailings from Quarts at 50 Cents a Ton Has Been Considered a Worthless Waste
Medford's streets are paved with gold. The words are not the title of a
popular song, neither were they lisped in husky accents by one in a
state of intoxication. It is a fact.
Five cars of the ground quartz taken out of Opp Mine while it is in operation are hauled to Medford nearly every day in the week, and the fine sandy material is used by the Clark-Henry Construction Company in making the municipal thoroughfares. After the quicksilver and cyanide processes have been applied to the quartz there still remains enough substance in the tailings to pave the streets of Medford. This sand from the Opp Mine has been piling up ever since the mine has been in operation and had been considered a worthless waste until the paving company, investigating paving materials, happened upon this rock and immediately secured a contract for some of it. This portion of Medford's pavement is purchased for 50 cents a ton. Medford Sun, June 27, 1911, page 6 A GOLD MINE IN HIS CELLAR
H. L. S. KNIFFIN OF ASHLAND MAKES RICH FIND Discovery Stirs Medford--Local Resident Pans Out Dirt and Gravel in Front Yard
The mining fever is not confined to professional mining men by any
means.
Throughout the city individuals in all ways of life are responding to
the mining talk which is in the air.
Last night a well-known resident of Medford, who resides on Ross Court, became so imbued with the spirit of prospecting and the conviction that the yellow metal was in and about the dirt in his vicinity that he went out in the front yard, scooped up a pile of gravel and soil in a stew pan, and panned it out in the kitchen sink. Although there was no appreciable deposit of the precious metal to be discovered after the operation, the prominent citizen aforesaid declares that he believes that if there were more cellars dug in this city there would be less need of tramping out in the hills for gold. There is foundation for such a statement in the experience of Henry L. S. Kniffin, vice president of the Western Bonding and Investment Company of Ashland, who has struck a gold mine in the basement of his home and intends to have the property thoroughly prospected. This discovery, which is stirring our neighboring town, is thus described by the Ashland Tidings: Henry L. S. Kniffin, vice-president of the Western Bonding and Investment Company, has struck a gold mine in his cellar. The strike was made under unusual circumstances. Mr. Kniffin has in his employ as caretaker an old California miner. A few days ago the latter was digging a hole in the cellar of Mr. Kniffin's home, preparatory to putting in an additional pillar. After having gone down a couple of feet he looked closely at the soil, which is of decomposed granite, and detected strong traces of gold. He called Mr. Kniffin and announced that there was rich gold-bearing dirt in the cellar. Mr. Kniffin was at first inclined to doubt whether the dirt had much or any gold, but he was prevailed upon to take a pan of it down to the office, where there are facilities for panning dirt out. He was assisted by O. L. Young, an old mining man, and when the dirt was washed away a substantial quantity of gold remained. It was roughly estimated that the dirt will pan out $8 or more to the ton, which is declared to be exceptionally good. Mr. Kniffin owns twelve acres at the west end of Sheridan Street, and he is so encouraged by the way the sample panned out that he is having his property thoroughly prospected. He isn't sure yet that he has a fortune, because it is considered necessary to do hydraulic mining on a considerable scale to make a placer mine pay, even at $8 to the ton. However, Mr. Kniffin doesn't like the idea of having gold on his farm and not being able to convert it into double eagles. He thinks it's worth trying at any rate and is awaiting the results of further prospecting with intense interest. Medford Sun, May 31, 1911, page 3 FABULOUS LOST CHANNEL OF JACKSON CREEK FOUND
$35 PER PAN IS RICH STRIKE
Medford, Or., Jan. 12.--What is believed to be the long-sought-for lost
channel of Jackson Creek has been located, after years of fruitless
tunneling and prospecting by A. R. Enyeart, of Jacksonville, a placer
miner, engaged in prospect work upon the Humer place, a quarter of a
mile east of Jacksonville, and adjoining the right of way of the Barnum
railroad. Saturday afternoon he struck the old creek bed at a depth of
43 feet, and it is thought to be the lost channel that yielded forty
millions in gold in pioneer days. A nugget worth $35 was taken from the
pan Saturday, and according to report the other pans washed netted $30
each in gold. If early expectations increase, a gold strike can be
expected.After Years of Search Prospector Finds Faith Rewarded by End of Golden Quest In his development work Enyeart progressed upon the theory that the original bed, or one of the forks of Jackson Creek, was to the south of its present location. He also believed that a landslide a century or so ago buried this channel and rich gold-bearing earth. The developments of last week justify in a measure this theory. Saturday Enyeart cut through the stone capping covering the channel and found bedrock, and is now preparing to pierce this section. Yellow stone was first found under the recent (geographically speaking) soil covering. Then came a streak of blue gravel, similar to the pay dirt at Yreka, that has for years yielded a golden revenue every month. For years prospectors have worked upon the theory that the lost channel was to the east. It was this channel that in early times made Jacksonville one of the world's greatest gold camps. The trend of the Enyeart findings is in a northeasterly direction. When interviewed this morning, Mr. Enyeart refused to divulge any information on his discovery, saying that he was not ready to give any details. Before beginning work on the present dump he sank a shaft on the north side of the Barnum road. This morning he was engaged in putting in a casing and has installed a gasoline engine. Three men are at work. The report of the find created but little excitement in the county seat. A half dozen old miners were out this morning surveying the ground adjacent to the Enyeart work. Enyeart has a contract for the mineral rights to the land he is working. Gold Hill News, January 16, 1915, page 1 PLANT TURNS OUT GOLD
BRICK
Precious Metal to Be Seen in Clay Used in Central Point Kilns.
CENTRAL POINT, Ore., July 15.--(To the Editor)--For the information of
those who do not know, I am addressing these few lines. Central Point,
Or., derived its name in days of yore from the fact that it is located
near the center of Rogue River Valley. Today it is the center regarding
territory and population, but like Rip Van Winkle, only Rip slept 20
years and Central Point slept twice twenty. But at last she has
awakened and shaken the dirt from her old duds and things are coming in
a run.
The Southern Oregon Clay Products Company has started up its brick factory and is running out brick by the thousands. I am informed the present run of brick is not to go on the market, but is for the purpose of improving the company's property in the way of buildings and the making of kilns for baking their finer and rarer products, such as crockery, insulators, chinaware, toys of all kinds, statues and many things too numerous to mention. Their machine started up today and performed without a single hitch. The best part of the enterprise is we have the clay right here in this valley, and one peculiar thing in this business is the quality of clay. The dirt is being hauled from the old "Willow Springs" placer mines, where millions of dollars in gold were taken out away back in the '50s. In looking in the dirt going up the elevators gold is plainly to be seen in such quantities as to make me think it a shame to waste the precious metal that way. We have often heard of the "gold brick" fraud, but this time the gold is there to show for itself. The building where the machinery is installed is very substantial, on a concrete foundation and several stories high. I am informed an elevator will be in operation in a short time, and no doubt your correspondent will have charge of the same. One more thing I would like to impress on the people's minds is this: In going to Crater Lake you don't have to go to Medford to start. From Central Point to Crater Lake is 80 miles and from Medford it is the same distance, and the five miles from here to Medford is saved. The Medford papers will tell you most any old thing. The fact is us old-timers would rather be hanged in Central Point than die a natural death in Medford. SIMPSON WILSON.
Oregonian,
Portland, July 17, 1923, page 10FINDS GOLD ON CALIFORNIA ST.
NUGGET UNEARTHED WHILE PREPARING FOR PAVING
Wednesday morning where men were digging on California Street,
preparing for the paving, a gold nugget was unearthed which is valued
at $14.75. It looked big to the Post
force, being the first we ever saw that had just
been "picked."
W. A. Bishop, who was watching the men at work, was the lucky finder. And this only proves again that "every cloud has a silver lining," for if Mr. Bishop had not met with an accident a few days before which made it impossible for him to be at work in his transfer business, he would not have been loafing and therefore would not have been there to spy that shining nugget. This was almost like getting accident insurance. We hope more may be found. The most important news in Jacksonville is that the road builders have reached town, and when the Post reaches its readers the work of paving through town will be well begun. Jacksonville Post, July 25, 1924, page 1 Some years ago while at Jacksonville I fell into conversation with a widow who had a cabin near Rich Gulch. She had a fine garden, flanked with a rather extensive gravel bar, a memento of the days when the stream was lined with rockers, long toms or sluice boxes. "Yes, I pretty well live off my garden and my chickens," she said. "After a heavy rain my chicken money brings in quite a bit extra." "What has a heavy rain to do with bringing in extra money from your chickens?" I asked. She went into the house and brought out a small bottle and, taking out the cork, said, "Hold out your hand and I will show you." She poured a dozen or more small gold nuggets into my hand and said, "My chickens range up and down the stream here and, after a heavy rain, they see these nuggets gleaming dully in the cracks of the bedrock, where the miners removed the gravel in the old days, and pick them up. I never sell my chickens alive. I sell the eggs or I sell my chickens dressed, for I frequently get from their crops anywhere from a quarter's to as high as several dollars' worth of nuggets. The nuggets you have in your hand there are worth about $5. I got those from the crops of the last few chickens I killed." Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, August 30, 1924, page 4 PANNING GOLD IN J'VILLE STREET IS
PAYING BUSINESS
Medford
Mail Tribune, September 16, 1925, page 7
Joe Langell, for 27 years a miner in these parts, is sinking a shaft
for gold on a vacant lot on California Street, Jacksonville, and
Tuesday afternoon panned out between $8 and $10 of the yellow metal at
one washing. It was the opinion of the 14 spectators that Langell had
hit pay dirt. Previous pannings netted from 25 cents to $3.
The shaft is about 30 feet deep, and the methods of extracting the gold are with hoist and an old-fashioned rocker. Two helpers and Langell do the work. Langell started the shaft a couple of years ago, and was rained out last winter. The last month he renewed activity and has plenty of vocal assistance. He was persuaded by friends to keep digging. He did, and a few $8 pans are expected. The $8 pan yesterday afternoon never ruffled the serenity of the county seat. It started a lot of stories about $60 pans in the late '70s. PAN OUT $20 IN ONE DAY AT
JACKSONVILLE
Gold worth more than $20 was the result of one panning at Jacksonville
yesterday, where gold mining operations are being carried on on Main
Street by individuals directly west of the United States Hotel. This
panning is said to be the record for the "mine" so far this season.Medford Mail Tribune, October 29, 1925, page 3 MORE DIGGING FOR GOLD ON STREETS
OF COUNTY SEAT
JACKSONVILLE, May 29.--John Renault and W. T. Bray are prospecting on
the property on West California Street which is owned by Mr. Renault
and occupied by Mr. Bray. The gentlemen have joined the list of
citizens who are looking for a "lucky strike." Justice J. L. Roe has
not reported a very big find on his mine yet, although miners report
good prospects. W. R. Kirkpatrick is also prospecting on his property
on California Street.
Medford Mail Tribune, May
28, 1926, page B3
DIG GOLD FROM UNDER CITY'S BUSINESS SECTION
Your reporter, while visiting the county seat [Jacksonville] the
other day, was attracted to a vacant lot in the business section of the
city, where there stood a good-sized group of men. Of course, being
always vigilant in search of news, we dashed over to see who had been
murdered. Having elbowed our way through the crowd, which took most all
of our rugby skill, we burst onto the scene of the excitement. Here
stooped a middle-aged man with an old-fashioned gold pan, washing
coarse gold out of the dirt which had been hoisted from a hole in the
lot, about the size of an ordinary well. In the bottom of the pan was a
very good showing of free coarse gold, among which was a small nugget
about the size of a split pea. Some of the old-timers there state that
as good a showing might be made in almost any part of the city. There
are several other operations going on there. Most of them are small,
however. That the Gold Hill bridge when completed next May will be a gold bridge in fact as well as in name is something more than a possibility. For at the present time the pier foundations are resting on gold quartz, every hole that is dug shows "color," and there is not a man on the job from lead foreman down who hasn't at least a few grains of gold in his inside pocket. The news has spread to Gold Hill, and yesterday several Gold Hill boys were out with pans, prospecting the pier holes on both sides of the river. But the big gold yield is expected when concrete pouring begins. For the gravel and crushed rock will come from the river bed just below the bridge, and all the old-timers maintain this part of the river bed is nothing short of a gold mine. Therefore not only will gold be found, but the bridge will have gold concrete for its construction.--Mail Tribune. "Local Happenings," Gold Hill News, November 4, 1926, page 3 BRIDGE TO REST ON GOLD
FOUNDATION
MEDFORD, Ore., Dec. 2.--A gold bridge is being built over the Rogue
River at Gold Hill. The pier foundations will rest on gold quartz.
Every hole dug recently showed "color," and every workman on the job is
carrying around a few grains of gold in his pocket. A big gold yield is
expected from gravel and crushed rock taken from the riverbed for the
concrete pouring.
The Bee, Danville, Virginia, December 3, 1926, page 10 REFUSE FROM MINES USED
JACKSONVILLE, Or.,
June 23.--(Special.)--Jacksonville, made famous in
the early days of the region for the great wealth of gold
which was
recovered by the pioneer miners in its
vicinity, is soon to become a
road material center of Oregon. This industry is making use of the
dumps of the old-time quartz mines in its hills, which continue to be
the center of the gold mining industry in
this region. Those dumps
already quarried are rich in limestone, argillaceous
rocks. The hard rock siliceous diorite, crushed, becomes
cemented,
compacted and smooth-surfaced in hard-surfaced road building.Rock Quarried in Quest of Gold to Be Employed on Roads. Gene Childers and C. C. Clark of Medford, and R S. Griffin of San Francisco, associated with California investors, have taken the Opp mine over at Jacksonville. They soon will be operating this famous old-time mine and propose to make the millions of tons of this rock on these dumps a big-paying byproduct of the mine and market it for highway building, ballasting railroad beds, surfacing airports and many other uses in this part of the state. This supply of waste rock from the mine will be quarried and increased daily in the further development of the mine. With the sale of this waste as a byproduct, mine development will be cut to a minimum cost. Oregonian, Portland, June 24, 1928, page 58 STRIKE PAY DIRT IN JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE, Ore., Feb. 7.--(Special.)--A. R. McIntosh and Frank
Taylor have struck splendid pay dirt in their gold mine on the A. R.
McIntosh property on 3rd Street. This is high-grade gold and running
about $60 per yard. The mine is located at the junction of Daisy and
Rich Gulch creeks.
Medford Mail Tribune, February
7, 1931, page 3
J'VILLE HAS GOLD FEVER; DIGS HOLES
Mayor Starts Revival in His Own Back Yard and Others Follow Suit-- No Boom Is Anticipated, but Pans Show Yellow. (By R. Clay Chappell)
Jacksonville bids fair to become known to posterity as the "Holy City"
if present indications mean anything. Verily it seems that every
able-bodied man in town is digging a hole or is preparing to dig one.
Those not thus occupied either haven't any holes to dig or just "ain't"
human. Even the usual salutation on the street is "Well! How's your
hole?"
But the possibility that the town may soon resemble a big Swiss cheese isn't so strange after all. These men are digging for gold! Gleaming, glimmering, glistening gold!! It all came about when the mayor [A. R. McIntosh], perhaps as relaxation from arduous official duties, decided to sink a shaft in his back lot. Two comrades joined him and the work began. The dirt flew, as with steaming brows and straining brawn they delved into old Mother Earth. Gradually the hole deepened, and, at last, they struck the solid rock. It is upon bedrock, or close to it, that placer gold is usually found. So hurriedly they filled their bucket full of dirt and scrambled to the surface to test their luck. The miner removes most of the waste material from the dirt by rocking it. The residue is dumped into his pan, and under water he kneads the turgid mess to break up all remaining lumps of dirt and clay. Then with a motion of the pan, which only experience can teach, he quickly washes away the worthless dross while the gold, if any, settles and is left behind. 'Twas thus our heroes did. Perhaps they lacked the technique of an old sourdough, but gradually the mud and dirt and rock were washed away and the heavier black sand appeared. Then, as they watched with bated breath, it too was gone--Eureka! A string of yellow nuggets lay gleaming in the pan! Since that eventful day, "each low-descending sun sees, by the mayor's crew, some mighty digging done." And each day, too, they dump more precious dust into their buckskin pouch. "How much?" What does it matter? The lure of gold is like the lure of woman. The kick is in the chase. Anyway the lust for gold is in the very air--and the inhabitants are popping in and out of holes like groundhogs on a sunny day. But wait! Hold everything! No stampedes, please, at least until we add a word or two. There is, without doubt, much gold beneath old Jacksonville. But visions of rich channels yet undiscovered are but idle dreams. The miners who rushed into the new gold camp in early days came mostly from other placer fields and knew their stuff. They gleaned the rich deposits of historic Rich Gulch and Jackson Creek, and when those channels dwindled they searched for more. The town is undermined with many tunnels, a fact not generally known. Not long ago a prospector found a maze of drifts and crosscuts near Rich Gulch. Even the owner of the place, who had lived there since 1862, was unaware of their existence. Strangely, these latter tunnels, three-quarters of a century old, seem almost as if dug but yesterday. Although untimbered, they have caved in but little. One may walk through them and see upon their walls, clear and distinct, the marks made so many years ago. No, these pioneer miners left no large deposits of pay dirt rich enough to work by drifts. But the bedrock is broken and uneven, and in the many crevices and on the rims there is yet gold. Old miners, who ought to know, agree that if the townsite could be worked by hydraulic methods, it would yield a rich reward. So, after all, there is a gleam of hope for those who are so busy digging holes. A few, if Lady Luck is by their side, may win a modest stake; many will find few colors in their pans, or more; and others still, perchance, will drop--kerplunk!--into some old and long-forgotten drift. But it's a great and fascinating game, and all its devotees will get some good exercise, at least. And now, excuse the writer, please. He must crawl back into his hole and dig. Medford Mail Tribune, February
15, 1931, page 7
BIG GOLD NUGGET IN JACKSONVILLE
CITY LIMIT MINE
JACKSONVILLE, Ore., March 6.--(Special.)--A. R. McIntosh, who is mining
on his property on South Third Street, found a gold nugget valued at
better than $11 this week. Mr. McIntosh is sinking a new shaft at his
mine.Six shafts have been sunk the past week within the city limits. Mr. Cook and son have been quite successful with their mining on the Dunford property south of town. Medford Mail Tribune, March 6, 1931, page 7 WOMEN PAN GOLD IN JACKSONVILLE
Recalling the gold rush days of 70 years ago, Jacksonville is humming
with mining activity becoming so apparent that a group of women were
busily panning gold this morning along the banks of Jackson Creek near
a shaft recently sunk by James Cantrall. While they were finding no
large nuggets, they panned sufficient colors to make the work
interesting.Many Jacksonville residents have dug holes and wells in their back yards, and quite a number are making good wages washing out gold, it is said. One man is said to be averaging $12 per day and has only a small equipment. Medford Mail Tribune, March 26, 1931, page 4 Among those still mining in Jacksonville is Tom Carrier, who is sinking a shaft on his place. "Jacksonville," Medford Mail Tribune, May 29, 1931, page 6 MEDFORD COUNCIL WILL
DISPOSE OF CITY'S GOLD MINE
Lots in Jacksonville Hold Mineral
Prospect Is Revealed
The most striking feature of last night's short and otherwise dull city
council meeting was the decision of that body to sell for $50 a
possible gold mine in Jacksonville, which the city of Medford owns, in
the shape of one of the several small lots on Oregon Street in the old
county seat town that make up a part of the old terminal of the
Medford-Jacksonville railroad.These lots have been deemed practically valueless by the city fathers, but it seems that because placer mining in any part of Jacksonville has been the fashion for a year or two, the city may get more for them than was thought. Hence when Councilman George Porter last night read a communication he had received from George N. Campbell, 815 East J Street, Grants Pass, offering to purchase the designated lot at $50 cash, and as chairman of the council's land appraisal committee wanted to know what the council's wishes were in the matter, that body at first informally exclaimed gleefully: "Sell it to him for $50." Miners Make Offer.
Then City Treasurer Gus Samuels related that some time ago several men
had come to him and offered to buy from the city these lots at $5 down
and $5 a month, and his curiosity aroused at the sudden demand for the
lots, he concluded they wanted to mine the lots.Thinking that the city council in the past had decided not to sell them, he mistakenly told them the lots were not for sale. Mr. Samuels' statement put a different light on the matter. It was thought that if it was known that the city council would sell the lots for cash, all might be sold at a better price, or at least for $50, as the Grants Pass man had offered. It was voted to leave the matter in the hands of the council land appraisal committee with power to act; only that such lots must be sold for cash, and no installment paying plan should be considered. Medford Mail Tribune, November 18, 1931, page 5 SERVICE STATION MINES PRODUCING
GOOD COLOR
The three mines grouped around the Jacksonville service station are
producing gold in moderate quantities and show indications of good pay
from the bedrock in that neighborhood.Hodges, Bartlett and Severance are operating their mine in Severance's back yard and have about 50 feet of drift on the solid rock. The past week has seen much pumping, but production continues with color in dependable proportions. Severance has been prospecting in his back yard for the past year. Perry and Moore, east of the station,were the last of the trio to get started, but have been taking out gold since reaching bedrock about two weeks ago. Up to date they have lost little time due to water seeping in. Burdell and Farley, of the "Gopher" mining company, are working in about 18 feet of drift and have found the precious metal in paying quantities with regularity. Two men are kept busy in the shaft and they are washing a quantity of dirt every day. Their mine has been paying rich dividends in publicity, for recently photographs were taken and a story written by Dick Chappel to be published in the Oregon Journal. Jacksonville Miner, January 1, 1932, page 1 LOCAL GOLD SALES DOUBLE
According to G. W. Godward, local gold buyer, the past season has seen
raw gold production more than double. Although buying in small
quantities, local delivery has amounted to at least $1000 during the
last year. This represents amounts mined by individuals who
have not
waited to send into San Francisco the minimum amount of $100 worth as
required by the government mint, and by no means represents a sizable
fraction of the entire amount mined in this district.Recent Weeks Indicate Renewed Activity and More Small Mines Gold produced within the city limits, according to Mr. Godward, is the cleanest and highest quality metal that comes to his store. Some from the nearby ledges which has been obtained from quartz contains foreign substances due to the failure of miners to completely remove quicksilver used in extracting the precious metal. This gold, although black in color, averages about $14 an ounce. The cleaner nuggets have been bringing $17 for the same weight. December Best Month
December of last year proved to be the most productive month in Mr.
Godward's years of experience as Jacksonville's gold buyer. And
indications point to another increase this month.On only one occasion has the gold purchased failed to come up to the standard which was paid. This mineral, although appearing superior to the general run of nuggets brought in, proved when minted to contain a large percentage of silver, which naturally was recorded with red ink. By buying only free gold or milled meta! and not accepting quartz, Mr. Godward has cut loss from foreign substances and low-grade ore to a minimum. For 10 years this buying has been carried on in conjunction with his retail business here. Jacksonville Miner, January 8, 1932, page 1 County's Jobless To Dig for Gold
Medford, Jan. 9.--Jackson County unemployed will start a gold rush
soon, under plans advanced by Dr. J. F. Reddy and A. B. Maxwell, mining
men, for consideration of the county court. County-owned land near
Jacksonville will be worked under expert direction, with the county
furnishing lumber for "rockers" and a steam shovel for gouging out a
channel.
Residents of Jacksonville and miners of this vicinity generally consider the proposal entirely feasible. Wages or better have been made by many who have taken up the pursuit of gold in the Jacksonville area this fall and winter. During December $978 in gold dust and small nuggets was cashed in at one store in Jacksonville, and it is said that industrious workers have found the "panning out" of a few dollars daily a great boon during the absence of other work. Oregon Journal, Portland, January 10, 1932, page 3 TO PLACER MINE IN CITY
The latest development of the most thrilling and spectacular form of
gold mining is scheduled to begin in the heart of Jacksonville in the
near future. Hydraulic operations heretofore have been confined to the
outlying districts amid the hills, but soon huge streams of water used
to move tons of earth will furnish fascinating scenes for local
residents and the ever-increasing number of visitors to his city.Hydraulic Operations to Start Newest Phase of Local Industry W. J. Canady, Klamath Falls, recently purchased the block of land on Third Street a few blocks west of California from R. H. Toft of Medford. He is installing pumps and equipment to placer mine the property and plans to work the soil in a thorough manner when preparations are complete. This is the same location that was worked last winter and spring by Arthur McIntosh, who recovered as high as an ounce of gold a day, finding a number of nuggets running from $10 to $13 each. Jacksonville Miner, January 15, 1932, page 1 A GOLD RUSH
A "GOLD RUSH" is planned for Jackson County. It is to be a project to
supply jobs to the jobless.
County-owned land near Jacksonville will be worked under expert direction, with the county supplying lumber for "rockers" and a steam shovel for gouging out a channel. Wages or better have been made this autumn and winter by many who have mined in the Jacksonville area. In December $978 in gold dust and nuggets was cashed in one store in Jacksonville. What about gold, anyhow? What about deposits of gold in the many old mining camps in Oregon mountains and in many districts in which new mines might be opened? All the world is grasping for gold, clamoring for it and clinging to it whenever possible. There is anxiety in every nation about gold and the gold supply. The gold supply has become so scarce that a dozen nations have abandoned the gold standard. Who knows what might come of a "gold rush" planned in Jackson County for the unemployed? Lost so long ago that it came to be regarded as a myth, the famous "lost mine" of Little Applegate was recently found. For more than 60 years it was sought. Hundreds of gold hunters had vainly scoured the district. When nature created Jackson and Josephine counties they were literally underlain with gold. Rogue River from its source to its mouth was apparently lined with the yellow metal. Hidden deep in the gulches and hillsides are undoubtedly lodes and veins of ore from which time and the elements have strewn free gold through gravel on almost every stream in Josephine and Jackson counties. Someday the hidden sources of gold that filtered out into the many rich placer diggings in the two counties will be found. Who knows but the "gold rush" of the unemployed may uncover some of them? Oregon Journal, Portland, January 15, 1932, page 6 COUNCIL DEFERS TO
JACKSONVILLE IN
MINING PLAN
Will Ascertain Objections to Unemployed Seeking Gold in Neighbor City Before Granting Right to Dig
The city council appraisal committee, composed of Councilmen George
Porter, C. C. Furnas and J. O. Grey, will meet at 5 o'clock this
afternoon to reach a definite decision on granting the right to placer
mine on city-owned land near Jacksonville. The committee viewed the
scene and consulted with Jacksonville officials this morning. City
Engineer Scheffel said he expected the right would be granted.
Mining Discussed
The question of letting its lots in Jacksonville be placer mined by
unemployed under direction of G. I. Maxwell was introduced by Mr.
Maxwell, with the plan endorsed by Dr. J. F. Reddy, and after these men
had well explained the plan, to which the county has turned over its
sixteen lots owned in Jacksonville for the novel employment relief
project, and it looked as if the councilmen would unanimously grant the
request, a monkey wrench was thrown into the smooth going thus far when
Mayor E. M. Wilson, who was also inclined to favor, stated that the
city officials of Jacksonville had made the request that the Medford
council do nothing in the way of allowing its lots to be placer mined
by unemployed until the Jacksonville officials had been consulted.It was not known what the Jacksonville city government had against the plan, or if such were in any way valid and justified, but both Maxwell and Reddy declared that there could be nothing valid in the intimated objections--that Jacksonville had permitted placer mining in that city for a long time past without objection--and intimated that perhaps petty jealousies might be at the bottom of the asked-for delay. Would Buy Lot
The discussion was further complicated by the fact that a young man,
Jas. R. Lillie, who stated that he was out of employment and had
borrowed the money for the venture, and with whom three other men were
banded, had made a tenure of $50 for one of the three Medford-owned
lots, the price put upon the lots some time ago when the city sold one
of four it then owned, and a request was made that the council sanction
the sale. Lillie and companions had raised $150 to equip for the placer
mining of the lot.Mr. Maxwell said at first it would not be fair for the city to sell the lot to Lillie, who sought to purchase only after the Maxwell plan for having the unemployed given permission to placer mine on county- and city-owned property in Jacksonville. He declared that the sale of the lot to Lillie might spoil the whole scheme of relieving many local unemployed, and that if the proposed plan worked out well there were a number of other creeks with gold-bearing ground alongside to which the plan might be extended and thus give remunerative relief to several hundred unemployed men. He was confident that the placer mining plan at Jacksonville would at least earn unemployed men working on it good wages. The three Medford-owned lots were especially desirable as part of the unemployment relief plan as they were directly in the wash of Jackson Creek and therefore might bring forth gold in pay quantity. Maxwell Confident
It was explained by Mr. Maxwell that the plan was to have all the
placer mining proceeds of the various unemployed men in the different
locations pooled together and divided equally among them. So confident
was he that the plan would be successful that in his objections to one
lot being sold to Lillie he declared that he would agree to lease or
purchase the three lots at $50 each, for use of the unemployed, which
after being worked by the latter for the gold in them he would turn
back to the city free of charge.A motion was finally put to vote that the city turn over the three lots to be placer mined by the unemployed under supervision by Mr. Maxwell with clauses inserted protecting the city from any accident or other liability in connection with the project. This was lost by a tie vote, 8 to 3, Councilman F. M. Kershaw and C. C. Darby not being present, W. W. Allen, J. O. Grey and C. C. Furnas voting no, as although they favored the plan in general they did not want to vote for it until the Jacksonville city officials had had a chance to be heard. C. A. Meeker, D. R. Territt and G. W. Porter voted yes. Motion Is Lost
Mayor Wilson, declaring that as a matter of courtesy he felt that the
Jacksonville city government ought to be heard, to learn whether they
had any valid objection, broke the tie vote and declared the motion
lost.Then immediately a new motion prevailed unanimously that the matter be placed in the hands of the council's land appraisal committee, Messrs. Porter, Grey and Allen, with power to act, after they had called on the Jacksonville city officials and learned what valid objections, if any, the latter had. This committee will call on the Jacksonville city officials this morning, and if no valid objections are entertained by the city government of the neighboring city will grant the turning over of the two remaining city-owned lots for the placer mining unemployment relief plan. In the meantime at last night's session Mr. Maxwell had withdrawn his objections to the sale of a lot to Lillie, and even volunteered as an experienced mining man to help Lillie and his companions get started right in their mining venture. The council then voted to sell the lot to Lillie. Medford Mail Tribune, January 20, 1932, page 1 CITY OPPOSES RELIEF SCHEME
Recent proposal that the county court and city of Medford grant
permission to unemployed residents of the district to mine lots owned
by the two bodies in this city has aroused much unfavorable comment and
caused Jacksonville officials and businessmen no little trouble and
concern.Feasibility and Results of Plan as Being Developed Doubted by Jacksonville Residents and Mining Experts Although the venture as given wide publicity over the entire coast suggests a lofty purpose, practical application is very much in doubt. Chief reasons for this are that, if enough gold lay under these lots to relieve four or five hundred men, or even a small portion of that number, it is odd that experienced miners, droves of them, who are themselves unemployed and already on the spot, have made no effort to recover the treasure. Also it was pointed out that where residents are engaged in mining operations here on similar locations, they find this merely a fascinating way to pass time that has been hanging heavy this season. In few cases has one of the gopher holes inside the city done more than offer up enough metal to add interest to the chase. In rare instances have sluice boxes, over a period of time, contained more than enough to buy chewing tobacco to spit in the gaping scars left when the shafts are mined out. To sum it all up, although backyard mining has been one of the highlights of the city, men who have worked at the mining industry for lifetimes find the local gravels barely more than a hobby and a lot of exercise. If they hadn't already homes and meals waiting for them their shriveled bones might be viewed in most any open shaft in the city. They do find it an effective way to give their wives a change of scenery during the long hours of the day, with a little color panned to pay off interest on the equipment they must have to operate. It is felt in local circles that it is unfair both to the unemployed who are induced to come here and to the city itself to publish stories that hundreds of men might just as well be earning from one to seven or eight dollars a day mining in Jacksonville. There is not, according to the most experienced of miners who have washed and rewashed dirt here, one chance in 100 for a group of men, green and uninitiated, to as much as pan out enough to buy meals and beds. They unanimously state that it is just possible for a few, say two or three, with several hundred dollars worth of equipment, to earn wages on the property in question. The city officials have been muchly worried of late about gaping holes and great piles of unsightly gravel strewn about the neighborhood. As a rule these prospects are left just as when the lure of gold died in the shafts. Many are unmarked, unprotected and filled with water. Children at play would have little chance to crawl out once they had fallen in--with the officials probably held as responsible. More of these blemishes in what is regarded as a residential community will be added by the relief plan as being developed by interested parties. On the other hand, Jacksonville as a whole is behind any charitable move or any development that would contribute in any way toward relieving unemployment but feels, after nearly a hundred years experience with such ventures, that the idea is certain to go awry and aggravate, rather than diminish, poverty and want. G. I. Maxwell, sponsor of the move, feels confident that the men can better themselves by working the ground and has already started operations on lots owned by the city of Medford near the creek bed. Several unemployed men have been digging shaft and erecting windlass the forepart of this week and uncovered what appears to be virgin mining soil. According to statement from one of the oldest residents, lots being worked have never been mined, and there is a possibility of striking fair pay. Only bona fide residents of the county have been admitted to participation in the venture, and all applicants are required to present registration cards from the county court. It is planned to deduct about 10 percent of gold obtained in cleanup for operating expenses and prorate the remainder equally among workers. There has been, to date, no very decided move either to block or encourage the undertaking, and it is predicted that the idea will work itself out within the next few days one way or the other. There is one sure thing, however, the venture will never suffer from lack of interest or discussion. Jacksonville Miner, January 22, 1932, page 1 Backyard Mining Boom Ends as
Transients Flock In.
Jacksonville Marshal Ordered to Have Holes Filled Up.
MEDFORD, Or., Jan. 25.--(Special.)--Plans for placer mining on
county-owned land at Jacksonville as a means of unemployment relief,
"on the boom" last week, were apparently abandoned here today.
Preliminary holes have been filled up and sluice boxes abandoned.
Reasons for discontinuing the project, given by George B. Maxwell,
originator of the plan, emphasize conflict of opinion and entrance of
commercial interests into the field. Much opposition to the plan was
voiced at the last meeting of the Jacksonville council, when the
marshal of the historic town was instructed to order miners to fill
vacant holes. The many transients brought to town by announcement of a
relief gold rush didn't find a welcome.
While several residents of the town were finding backyard mining profitable as a sideline before the relief plan was inspired, they would not have prospered had shelter and meals not been provided by other means, Jacksonville officials claim. Oregonian, Portland, January 26, 1932, page 18 Placer Mining on County Lots in J'ville Abandoned
After only a week of work on the county lots at Jacksonville which had
been turned over to the unemployed for an opportunity to placer mine
and perhaps eke out a dollar now and then, the plan has been abandoned.
This announcement was made Monday by George Maxwell, who had introduced
the plan, and offered his instruction to the men who came to the
county's property to mine.In contrast to this is the Josephine County case. That county has taken over some old abandoned claims for the taxes. They are located about three miles up the river from Grants Pass near the old Ament dam, and lately a tiny community has sprung up, with its members eking out a living of 50¢ or 75¢ a day--often a day 10 to 14 hours long. County officials who learned of the newcomers thought that the land was being dug up too much, so the sheriff haled the men to the courthouse. "If we can't dig gold, you'll have to feed us," one of the prospectors pointed out, and the judge finally sent them back to their diggings, where they are still located, and the county considers this phase of their unemployment problem well taken care of. At Jacksonville, of course, the problem of caring for the workers who were drifting to the town, many unskilled and unprepared in any way to feed and shelter themselves until they secured a little gold on the county property, is a situation with which the town is unable to cope. Another angle which developed through the publicity given the project was that some men came ready to buy likely lots, which brought a new angle into the case. Gold Hill News, January 28, 1932, page 1 CITY COUNCIL TO CONDEMN HOLES
Abandoned, water-filled and dangerous mine shafts which dot the town
and furnish serious menace to safety and good appearance are to be done
away with as result of action taken at a special meeting of the
Jacksonville city council held last Friday. Council members voted to
instruct the marshal to notify all property owners with idle,
unprotected holes on their lots to make provision for filling them. If
such action is not carried out within reasonable time officials will
hire the work done and charge resultant expense to the property.It was pointed out that authority for this action is provided under nuisance control laws, city officials having power to take steps to remove any public menace such as old mines furnish. Council also caused Neathamer and Campbell who, it developed, were mining on Railroad Avenue just north of Oregon Street, to stop operations and fill their shaft. J. O. Grey and George Porter, Medford councilmen, were present at the meeting, wishing to get an opinion from the local body on the Maxwell unemployment relief mining venture. They expressed their city's willingness to comply with any wish Jacksonville might express in reference to granting mining permission on Medford-owned lots. Porter and Grey even went so far as to suggest the city accept a quitclaim deed to the property, automatically releasing the neighboring city from any participation in the controversy. Mayor Hartman and various councilmen explained to the representatives that, although the city had no objections to mining, previous experience had demonstrated promoters' promises that holes would be filled were seldom kept. It also was revealed that G. I. Maxwell, proponent of the plan, had never at any time approached local officials or discussed with them his proposition, preferring to use the Medford council as a wedge into this city. No representatives of the unemployment relief plan were present at the meeting, which was crowded with miners. City council granted permission to purchasers of one lot from Medford to use a dragline shovel for moving dirt after it was stated that ground would be left in better condition after mining, gravel to be replaced on bedrock. It was suggested that council call another special session to repair the door, which has become so contrary that only jujitsu wrestlers, safecrackers and second-floor men can get through with less than a pitched battle. The only way one can enter the building quietly is by throwing rocks through a window and crawling in. It was added that the city would do well to establish a bureau of mines should present difficulties increase. Meeting was adjourned before a single miner could start sinking shaft in the middle of the hall floor. Jacksonville Miner, January 29, 1932, page 1 CAVE-IN BARES DRIFT NETWORK
Kinney and Rhoten, digging around from one water sump to another on
Kinney's property near the house, stuck their picks not in a gold mine
but an underground reservoir made up of some seven old drifts and two
or three subterranean rooms filled to the topmost crevice with water.
The two received a bath several days before the scheduled time as the
wall of their newest hole gave way under the tremendous pressure from
nearby caverns.Kinney stated that when they attempted to pump water from their workings they had to drain the entire watershed of this township. After what seemed endless days of hoisting moisture they cleaned out what appeared to be recent workings but [were] in reality more than 10 years old. Tunnels were in perfect condition, having no cave-ins or slides. All seven drifts were connected by immense rooms and probably will furnish the boys plenty of room for expansion. They also added that pay dirt on their property was found about three feet above bedrock, whereas indications in the first workings they uncovered pointed to chief activity on bedrock itself. Miners who had tunneled this location years ago evidently overlooked gold in topsoil, for which Kinney and Rhoten are duly appreciative, inasmuch as they are without virgin territory to an annoying extent. Jacksonville Miner, January 29, 1932, page 1 Jacksonville Miners Have All the
Comforts of Home
By Leonard Hall
Jacksonville, Jan. 30.--Thar's gold in them thar back yards! And
Jacksonville residents finding time heavy on their hands--things being
as they are these days--have reverted to the methods of pioneer days
when this town was a thriving center of mining industry.
Experienced oldtimers, who constitute the greater portion of the community's population, have helped in sinking shafts to bedrock, a matter of some 15 to 30 feet, in neighboring back yards, and garden plots and poultry runs have blossomed forth as full-fledged mines with small gasoline pumping plants, sluice boxes, rockers and pans in evidence. Conversation has swung from politics and the depression to "pay dirt"; the relative success of the various projects is discussed wherever men of Jacksonville gather, and the time for sluicing and panning finds interested groups waiting to view the result of the "cleanup." Returns are not high in this new outbreak of mining in old Jacksonvillem from whose soil over $70,000,000 worth of gold has been taken in bygone days. Most of the land has been mined--first by the white men and later by the Chinese. And the Chinese, oldtimers say, left little gold where they plied their picks and pans. There remains, however, the age-old lure for the miner. He may realize two or three dollars for a hard day's work--and then again he may find $50 worth of the yellow metal when the sluice box is emptied. The present-day Jacksonville miner finds life much easier than did his predecessor. At the end of his shift he retires to a comfortable home, often only a few steps away, for many are working within the limits of their own city lots. At most there is but a short distance to walk, as most of the shafts have been sunk within a few blocks of the town's center. Activity has increased to the point where nearly 40 shafts have been opened, with hundreds of feet of tunnels drifting back and forth underground. Just a block from the business district a gigantic dragline is busy scooping tons of rock and dirt into huge flumes. Some of the gold-seekers have had strange experiences in their underground delving. Recently two men working in a drift suddenly found themselves battling for life when a lustily swung pick broke through into an old water-filled tunnel, releasing a deluge into the new shaft. The city council has had its hands full regulating the rejuvenated industry. One ambitious searcher was forced to fill in a shaft which, it was discovered, had been sunk in a city street. Others have threatened to extend operations on land where owners were not present to bar intrusion. As one councilman declared, it will be a wonder if the city hall--Oregon's first brick building--is not run through a sluice box for the gold in the mortar cementing the bricks. Oregon Sunday Journal, Portland, January 31, 1932, page C6 Start Mining--Al Bliton and Keith Baughman started mining in Jacksonville yesterday. "Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, February 3, 1932, page 5 Gold Under City Lot Repays First
2 Weeks
What has proved to be an interesting and, according to J. F. Canady and
son Bill, mighty handy result of mining their property in this city was
the fact that cleanups for the first two weeks of work repaid them the
sum exchanged for the house and ground purchased from R. H. Toft about
a month and a half ago.The senior Canady is a miner from Klamath Falls who has prospected and worked in practically all the mining districts of this continent. At one time his experience was so broad and complete that a prominent Spokane, Wash. daily paper offered a cash prize to any person who could bring in a specimen rock which Canady could not tell at a glance from what locality it came. Coarse gold has been common to the workings along Daisy Creek here, and the supply has held up remarkably well. However cave-ins due to the recent heavy rains and snow caused the two to concentrate on less productive dirt while the richer diggings dry out a bit, but newer drift has been worked around again to the good pay, and confirmed skeptics may see for themselves the real stuff any day in the long sluice box which recovers the mineral. To date this has been the best-paying hole in the city limits, and the yellow metal shows practically no evidence of ever having been washed. Jacksonville Miner, February 26, 1932, page 1 ANNOYED BY AMATEURS
Brite [sic]
brothers, mining on the R. Hargis place along the bed of Rich
Gulch, were troubled with amateur panning fever Sunday, three of the
addicts approaching the unguarded premises. Names of the trio have been
withheld, but it is known they bothered the oldtimers no end trying to
learn the exact wobble to give a pan of dirt so as not to throw away
the large gold, if any. After scooping up enough gravel to change the
creek course they gave up attempts to get a color "all by themselves"
and went back to the world they knew.Jacksonville Miner, February 26, 1932, page 4 WHITNEY, KENNEY GET QUANTITY
PLACER GOLD
H. C. Whitney and Don Kenney, erstwhile miners, have returned to their
true love and are mining in earnest and with marked results the past
several days. After learning to swim they ventured into the hole which
not so many weeks since suddenly filled with water when driven into an
underground network and set to work with a gold pan prospecting the few
pillars left, prospecting that portion of the city's real estate.
Gouging into a hitherto disregarded section, they panned what promised
to be meat on the table. In a small excavation they managed to mine
nearly two ounces of the Midas curse and forthwith celebrated.Whitney is famous for his connections with the Goose Egg venture and is a muchly photographed man, while Kenney is well known for his ability to clear large areas of basketball floors by the simple process of bending anatomy. Their many friends and The Miner's subscription solicitor hope the swell diggings surrender additional wealth to the pair. Jacksonville Miner, March 11, 1932, page 4 SINKING NEW SHAFT
Wabrite [sic]
and partner, mining on the McMann property on Daisy Creek in this city,
have moved operations over to a new hole and are nearing bedrock. The
two met with moderate success in their former venture and look forward
to results in the new shaft.Jacksonville Miner, March 18, 1932, page 4 VET AND WIFE SLUICE JACKSON CREEK
BED
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Fenner, now residents of Jacksonville, have been for
the past month ground sluicing in Jackson Creek just below the city's
reservoir with somewhat favorable results payable in gold.Fenner, a disabled World War veteran, comes here from the gold fields of California with extensive experience in this work and has an inch hydraulic rigged up for washing gravel and bedrock in search of the greenish-yellow metal found at that point. Mrs. Fenner and small daughter are companions of the miner and the wife works alongside her husband, being quite an expert herself. While interviewing Fenner the Miner reporter encountered an old sourdough who had been tramping around prospecting here and there and who seemed to be in a yarn-spinning mood. He told both the newshound and ground sluicer of his several adventures in other areas and produced a comely-looking piece of glass picked up in the Klamath River country alleged to be a diamond in the rough, karating about $800. The rambler handled the specimen with unusual care and took great pride in its ownership. Jacksonville Miner, April 15, 1932, page 4 'BACK-YARD MINE' IN JACKSONVILLE
PAYING
Medford Mail Tribune, June
2, 1932, page 9
JACKSONVILLE, June 2.--(Spl.)--A report of "back-yard mining" in
Jacksonville is made by Mrs. J. A. Roche, who visited the Kenny place
this week where Whitney and Shouler are carrying on mining operations.
On Monday the cleanup amounted to two and a half ounces, one nugget being worth $7.81, she reported. The average daily cleanup is said to be about two ounces. GOLD SALES ON INCREASE OVER
FORMER YEARS
G. W. Godward, manager of the Jacksonville Mercantile Company and the
Rogue River Valley's only gold buyer, announced this week that already
gold receipts have far exceeded those for the entire year of 1931.
First five months of 1932 saw more gold weighed up in this city than
any like season in this section since the last great rush remembered by
the oldest of pioneers. More than $10,000 worth of the mineral has been
recovered by small operators nearby and delivered to the local store
already this year.As was estimated earlier in the season, Godward receives probably one-third of the gold produced in the neighboring hills, and the aggregate, coming in from 50-cent amounts up into the hundreds and in a few reported cases even greater, represents a large chunk of new wealth for Southern Oregon. As has been commented by Delroy Getchell, president of the Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank of Medford, each ounce of gold produced is like finding that much money in the district. It represents added buying power, foodstuffs and clothing that would have shown up missing had it not been for the natural mineral assets of the region. In addition to the Jacksonville gauge of gold produced, which already the first five months approximates $30,000, John Pernoll has been busy all spring and early summer buying lesser amounts of the mineral while Grants Pass banks are reported as handling huge quantities of the precious metal. Mining represents this part of the state's heaviest back-to-the-soil movement and, although many eke but the barest of necessities through the search for the standard of nations, the merest pittance recovered invariably represents that much which otherwise would have remained useless and of no value to humanity. Despite the growing shortage of water in the hills prospectors are busy as swarms of ants combing the surrounding mountains, and the back yards of Jacksonville continue to reverberate with the ceaseless putt-putt of gasoline engines as the search continues. And trim waistlines among the miners continue to be the vogue, no doubt caused in part by the eager bending process of ascertaining whether all that glitters is not gold. Jacksonville Miner, July 1, 1932, page 1 Reprinted by the Medford Mail Tribune, July 6, page 8. PAIR TO MINE LOTS
Frank Taylor and A. R. McIntosh, local backyard miners of experience,
have taken a lease on the John B. Renault property bordering on the
Jacksonville-Ruch highway near the old brewery, which is eyed with
anticipation and interest every time amendment repeal looks likely to
the pair. They plan to start mining immediately, and it is thought fair
production will be possible.The lots are situated close to the McKinney home, whereon not only has a prolific garden dropped from sight, but also colorful gold has been raised in gratifying quantities. Until McIntosh, who is now in a hospital, fully recovers, his son-in-law will take his place at the windlass and will aid in the mining operations. An old barn is being razed to furnish lumber for the needed equipment. Jacksonville Miner, July 1, 1932, page 4 Village Smithy Gets Rival on Main
Stem
"Under the spreading chestnut tree" has been modified by Henry and Mark
Wilkerson of this city to read "under the spreading walnut tree the
village gold mine is digged." The brothers, choosing the coolest spot
in town for their mining venture, have sunk shaft and proceeded to
remove gold from a lot adjoining the Johnson house on East California
Street, Jacksonville's Wall Street, Fifth Avenue and Broadway combined.The boys are down to bedrock as this paper goes to press and have already found traces of the metal they seek. Seventeen feet upwards buckets must be hoisted at this point, and the work is being carried on as fast as July temperatures will permit. This latest venture is an example of the happy combination of comfort, convenience and colors attained by the backyard mining interests of Jacksonville. Jacksonville Miner, July 15, 1932, page 1 Have You a Little Depression in
Your Home?
Has the depression hit you? Do you find it difficult to coin money
during the Hoover prosperity era? Would you like pin money; also needle
money? We thought so! The answer is--sweep off your own porch first and
dig in your own back yard.If So, Be Smart--Start a Backyard Gold Mine At least, that is what one might decide after observing activities of the John B. Renault Mines, Inc., Ltd., Consolidated and Expanded. For John B., feeling the presence of Ye Terrible Wolf in ye nearby woods, took not only to his heels, but also to his pick and shovel and a slumbering back yard bordering the Ruch highway in this city. Johnny, as the exchange merchant is spoken of, decided that Mother Earth owed him something or other, and he thought it was time an installment on the account was collected. Hence, a pair of diggin's in the Renault yard, wherein the rotund and smiling seeker of precious mineral proceeded to poke about and see what was what. Well, you may believe it or not, but the gravels which abound aplenty alongside Jackson Creek yielded treasure--there was gold in them thar holes! And not only gold at $18 per ounce, but dainty little nuggets just the size curious visitors to the city might like to acquire at so much per unit. The plot thickened . . . and Johnny smiled in anticipation of the great influx which the coming celebration will bring. Two mines in one! Not only gold, but souvenirs did Ma Earth contain--which should find ready sale at twice their weight, unless the Miner has an exaggerated idea of the treasure's appeal to us mortals. Production from the one mine, operated by Frank Taylor and A. R. McIntosh, was so satisfying that this week Johnny was bitten by the doodlebug so hard that he started another hole within a few feet of his first venture and intends to crowd Mother Nature a bit in paying up her account. Renault is down to bedrock as the Miner goes to press. Jacksonville Miner, August 5, 1932, page 3 BACKYARD HOLE PROVES BOON TO
LOCAL MINERS
A broad smile, reaching from one ear clear across to the other; lively
step with plenty of lift to boot-attired feet, and an unusually beaming
demeanor have been a few of the byproducts discovered by Johnny Renault
in his backyard mines started a few weeks ago in the center of town.
The John B. Renault Mines, Incorporated, Limited and Consolidated, as
the venture has been labeled, has prospered to the tune of several
ounces of gold daily for more than a week now, and depression has
become a lost subject among the trio working the holes.Renault Mines Produce Gold in Surprising Amount; Many See Cleanups It all started some time ago when Renault, Frank Taylor and A. R. McIntosh decided something should be done about this business of all money going out and nothing coming in. They looked to Mother Earth for help and, as proven by yellow sluice boxes, Ma came through. More than two ounces of gold have been cleaned up in a single afternoon at the mines, and it is singular that production seldom varies. Pay is found a foot or so above bedrock in a layer of gravel which seems to be a much later wash than silt and rock which covers bedrock itself, and it is thought pay lies in a rim of a former high channel adjacent to Jackson Creek. Renault and his helpers have rigged up quite an outfit for handling dirt and tailings and have appropriated a few O. and C. steel rails for two mine carts which facilitate transportation and save many a sore back. Visitors have thronged to the diggings and experience no difficulty in spotting sizable nuggets which gather in sluice boxes daily. "It sure IS a great country," admitted Johnny to a reporter this week as he panned out about $50 worth of the precious mineral. Jacksonville Miner, September 9, 1932, page 1 CITY STOPS MINERS
Monday of this week City Marshal Jim Littell advised Paul Winningham
and Ernie McIntyre, local miners, to hold up further operation of a
mine on city-owned property rented by the Winninghams until the next
regular council meeting, when an application should be made for
official permission to mine.Officials have adopted a more stringent policy concerning mining permits within the city limits so as to safeguard public safety and appearance to an extent, and to secure some sort of a guarantee that the mined lots, for the most part in the center of town, will not be left in an unsightly condition. Jacksonville Miner, December 2, 1932, page 4 JACKSONVILLE LOT HAS $10,000 IN
LOWER SOIL
Computation of averages and production of gold on the lots owned by Mr.
and Mrs. F. A. Haight in this city, which fronts on California Street,
indicates that in excess of $10,000 in placer gold will be yielded.Less Than Tenth Now Mined Produces $1000; in Heart of City's Business The lot, known as the Dip and Bail mine, already has produced with improvised, almost expenseless equipment between $800 and $900 since October 15, according to Mr. and Mrs. Haight, who collected a 20 percent royalty on all gold mined there. The lot measures 100 by 100 feet in area and covers an old gravel river channel. Beaman and St. Clair have been lessees of the property and have produced as high as several ounces of the precious metal every day. But a small part of the entire lot has been worked, and comparatively few yards of dirt have been handled, valuations having risen to as high as $50 and more per yard of gravel--the richest known placer ground on the Pacific Coast. A survey partially complete indicates that the city of Jacksonville, although a small community, has some of the most valuable property on the coast, in view of the fact that thousands of dollars in native gold lie underneath the greater part of the business district. Alaskan gold fields which produce as much as eight cents of the precious metal to the cubic yard are considered rich deposits, and what Jacksonville lacks in area it makes up for in concentration. Another favorable sidelight on the immensely rich deposits of gold which have been uncovered here--and which remain to be uncovered--is the fact that all native gold discovered at one time was in chemical combination with other metals in quartz fissures, and the erosion of ages has oxidized the mineral, broken it free from its quartz parent and washed it down into stream beds and gravel piles, where it still rests in great quantities. The fact that Jacksonville and Applegate deposits have been of such unusual concentration and value has led scientific and experienced miners to the conclusion that the parent deposits of such treasures still remain in the surrounding hills, and it is on this conclusion that Opp and Old Town and lesser properties are being developed. The Haight property alone has been producing living wages and income to more than six people, two families, and the property owners for more than six months, and indications point to the continuance of this greatest relief work in Jackson County--sponsored by old Mother Earth herself. Jacksonville Miner, February 3, 1933, page 6 LOFTY BOXES IS NEW RULE IN MINES
HERE
Who says
miners don't have high ideals?Activity in Backyard Industry Doubles Past Month; Centers Town Perhaps some of them may not, but the newest development in local back--and front--yard mining would indicate that Jacksonville miners do lean heavenward--or at least build in that direction. Three new outfits fronting on California Street have been built from eight to 12 feet above the average level of such rigging, and furnish an imposing sight to travelers who hurry past with extended necks and open mouths. It all started when Beeman and St. Clair, who erected the first stilted equipment on the downtown lot of Mrs. F. A. Haight, got gold-minded and decided Mother Earth had been holding out on them long enough. Soon another rig shot up on an adjoining lot, stilts and all, and now Beeman is across the street building a third sluice box, this time higher than ever. It seems that surprising fruition of the work on the Haight property encouraged a renewal of activity in the downtown section, and across the street, on the Dunnington property, Keen and Cotham have been earning beans and bacon--mostly beans, reminded one of the pair--and the Taylor brothers, who purchased the rear half of the lot, have been gouging out color. Canaday and Hulse have opened up an incision on the Whillock lot, and are hard at the task of fighting water and hunger, while Gaddy and Lee have been operating a mine on the property owned by Mrs. Gallup (nee Kirkpatrick). The Taylors, who work in conjunction with Slim Mero, husky veteran, found it necessary to abandon temporarily their first hole within the fight arena which was erected last summer, and have moved operations a few feet southward till the gentle rains become less irksome. It is thought this portion of the Dunnington lot sold at a premium because of the large grandstand at hand. It is hinted that, should gold production not come up to par, the trio will charge 10 cents a seat for the gallery which always gathers at cleanup time, and make a real cleanup. The latter two outfits, however, not being hampered by close quarters and the necessity for carting away tailings or settling residue water, have been satisfied to operate with surface outfits made of old chair rounds, barrel staves, box shook and bent nails. The Dip and Bail mine--on the Haight lot--has found it necessary to not only dip and bail, but also to timber heavily and fight sluice box rubber, a form of clay which makes a practice of robbing boxes when not completely broken up by water pressure before being run. Slim Mero, who is accustomed to operating windlass while the Taylors squat at the bottom of the hole chipping away at a cavern that's dimensions would shame a mole, regards with disdain the towering apparatus erected by his neighbors on the opposite side of the main stem, and avers it gives him a stiff neck looking up at them. It is laughingly admitted that a miner must be an efficient second-story man to mount the three outfits which tower heavenward, and that after ascending the lofty platform be an aerialist to escape giddiness. All in all, however, it has been demonstrated that sluice boxes built into the air provide higher gold production--one way or another. "Values per yard go higher--by almost 12 feet," concluded Beeman when interviewed yesterday regarding purpose of the towering, trestle-like structure he was working on. "Soon be so's a man'll have t'be a carpenter as well as a damn liar with a hole in the ground to qualify as a miner in Jacksonville." Jacksonville Miner, February 10, 1933, page 1 Lust for Gold
Beginning to Take Toll in Local Mines
Midas'
cursing, the lust for
treasured gold, is beginning to take its toll of Jacksonville comfort
and well-being.Just last week Homer Lontz and Nathan Smith were victims of the unruliness of nature, and limped home from their buggy ride to bedrock level on the Burdell property, formerly known as the Gopher diggin's. There were no fatal accidents, although Smith fainted from extreme pain when a huge boulder sat down in no uncertain manner on his thumb. Either Lontz and Smith were born under the wrong astral combinations, or there is a jinx on the Burdell lots. Both young miners were injured last week when boulders, which had been whereasing the laws of gravity for some time, lost their battle and tumbled further toward the inner reaches of this orb. Homer's back and Nate's thumb were unfortunate enough to be in the direct path of both boulders, which weighed nearly a thousand pounds each. Wednesday it was, when Lontz, working with Mike and Jack Burdell and L. Boone on the lower end of the Burdell property, crouched beside one of the dangerously suspended boulders to light a cigarette. He had been laboring an entire day in the tunnel, and had about come to trust the huge stone when, while he was still in a crouched position, ouch! Down came the granite weight onto the Lontz shoulders, caromed down his spine, barking skin covering each vertebra, and lodged comfortably over one of Homer's feet. The victim, fortunately, was thrust forward to a prone position and a sledge held the crushing weight from the pinned foot. Nathan Smith's trouble occurred last Saturday, on an upper corner of the Burdell homestead, where he was working a hole in conjunction with Don Dorothy. The two were attempting to pry loose a huge stone when Nate, with reckless abandon, failed to provide a safe grip for one of his thumbs and invited the imps of fate to plunge him into excruciating depths of pain. When the boulder did respond to the gasping grunts of the laboring pair it retaliated by pinning Smith's finger under its 800 pounds of solidity. When the thumb was extricated from the trap, Smith was taken uptown to the Dorothy home for first aid treatment and, as the Saturday night saying goes, "passed out cold." There were no broken bones, but Nathan appeared in town later that day with his entire arm in a sling. It seems that, however, he was given choice between ridicule and arm discomfort, and in true youthful fashion Smith chose the latter. Sympathizers have been casting about for a wheelchair for Smith lest he injure two fingers the next time. Both victims, after a weekend of hot towels, liniment and appropriate reflections on dropping rocks, were able to return to work Monday. Jacksonville Miner, February 17, 1933, page 1 Trio Digs 10x10 Hole As First
Venture Here
Displaying an unusual desire for pick and shovel work, three Medford
apprentice miners early this week started excavation on a 10-by-10-foot
shaft in the Jackson Creek tailings.Chet Webb, Leonard Christine and Clarence McCrae, the trio of human steam shovels who believe in mining in a big way, all hail from Medford and admittedly are lacking in experience when it comes to scratching Mother Earth for her yellow treasures. Still, they assert, they know gold when they see it, they believe gold is where they find it, and they are darned certain they'll at least have elbow room when they get down to bedrock. A few colors were showing up in sample pannings the other day as the oversize shaft neared the three-foot depth mark. Jacksonville Miner, February 17, 1933, page 2 Organize Mine School
in Medford This Week
A letter just received at the headquarters of the Southern Oregon
Mining Association in Medford says that Mr. Adams, of the state board
for vocational education, was to arrive in Medford yesterday to arrange
for the organization of a mining class there.By L. R. SHURTLEFF This course includes free instruction in the use of the rocker and pan, actual work and instruction in the proper way to sample a piece of ground for values, as well as many other valuable bits of instruction that will enable the man or woman contemplating doing this sort of work to proceed with a much greater degree of confidence. All persons contemplating this course of instruction should register their names with the secretary of the Southern Oregon Mining Association at the chamber of commerce in Medford, just as soon as possible. Following this period of instruction, which will be completed some time during the coming week, the mining association will hold another field day on the Southern Pacific lot opposite the chamber of commerce in Medford, in which a number of rockers, long toms and gold saving machines will be demonstrated, together with panning contests and probably a packing contest. An attempt will be made to so arrange these contests that everybody will get a chance to see every event. A number of good prizes in merchandise will be given to the contestants. These contests will be held Saturday afternoon, March 25, and will follow the hog-calling contest put on by the Medford chamber of commerce. Jacksonville Miner, March 17, 1933, page 3 'News Is News' Says
Miner Reporter As Local
Big news. Man bites doodle bug!Backyard Industry Is Eyed Closely in Jayville Or, rather, men bite doodle bug--for Donald Dorothy and Hubert DeHaas have reopened the (in)famous John B. Renault Mines, Inc. and limited (to trespassing only with permission of owner). But, like a rose, the mine by any other name still is just a lot of hard work mucking and a fine trickle of pay dirt down through riffles. The other woman, er, we mean name, is "Once in a While"--exhumed from the sod where it was placed by the Miner a few weeks ago. But this Once in a While comprises simply honest labor, clean gold and talk no more inflammatory than appropriate remarks on the weight of mine buckets, the time of day and hardness of packed gravel. "Politics is left to shift for themselves," warned the pair yesterday as they gloatingly plucked a speck of gold from atop a muck pile. The Renault Bonanza Homestake Profitable Once in a While mine, which had been inactive ever since last fall's wet season floated Johnny Renault to the surface, was discovered to not only be drying up lately, but almost too dry to furnish enough water for mining. In fact, it was pointed out, unless the United States goes wet immediately it is feared there will be nothing but cotton pumped out of the hole in another month. Not that President Roosevelt's promised beer will serve to dampen the subterranean chambers of the Renault property, but with such a necessity at hand it is believed the miners--the thirsty bums--will not notice whether they are dry mining or not, and what's more, won't give a hang if they have to spit the gravel down the long sluice box. At any rate, it was admitted by Dorothy (who is quite round but nevertheless fits in the square mine hole very well) that "the eternal struggle for existence of we humans, terrible as it might be and tiring, must go on, water or no water. Er, slurp, slurp, will you set down that canteen over yonder?" Don and Hubert, the pair now being belled, er libeled, aw, we meant described (excuse us while we gargle away the last traces of THAT affliction), for one whole week now have been flushing the bowels of the earth in their search for an old man's gold that fools sell themselves into gilded cages for, we mean, have been panning for a cold, er, the present standard medium of exchange that silver is swapped 20-to-one for. Take that, you Hemingways. We guess we'd better go off on another tantrum, er, tangent. The backyard mining industry has flourished in Jacksonville the past year as it has never flourished before, say oldtimers and Renault, who has been handling his second-hand store and slot machine jackpots on the side, in addition to his mining interests. And the surprising thing, too, it has been noted, is that backyard mining in this city has seen its most prolific production in the last few months, or else there has been a greater influx of liars than calculated. In the meantime men continue to bite doodle bugs, er, we should have mentioned it sooner, doodle bugs, among other things, are biting the Jacksonville miners, it is alleged and suspicioned, we have been reliably informed. For the windlass must go on! (Curtain, thank God!) Jacksonville Miner, March 24, 1933, page 1 RICHEST
GOLD FIND ON COAST BELIEVED HERE
The nearest many people will ever come to heaven, that is, walk on
streets paved with gold, is to tread the length of California Street in
Jacksonville.March Gold Sales Mark New High for Local Mines Says Godward This surprising fact was revealed this week by G. W. Godward, local gold buyer, who stated that the richest placer deposits on the entire Pacific Coast, including Alaska, probably lie under this city's main street. Gravel-bearing gold in excess of $50 to the cubic yard is being found in adjoining mines at the present time, and the concentrated richness of the soil is contrasted to the many gold fields which yield but six or seven cents per yard of gravel of other sections. Had it been possible to have dredged the land upon which the city of Jacksonville is built, it is estimated than an appalling fortune could have been removed within a few weeks. One huge electrically operated gold dredge, of a type developed long since the heyday of Jacksonville's prime, which is operating on Foots Creek has a daily capacity of some 80,000 cubic yards of gravel. This yardage, multiplied by from $25 to $50 per single yard, would produce a tidy sum in the short course of a day, netting more than $3,000,000 each 24 hours in such pay dirt. Of course, before a rush is made to this city by sourdoughs, it might be well to point out that several cubic yards of much leaner gravel rests securely atop the richer find, in addition to buildings and pavement. The extreme richness of the California Street gravel--the city's main thoroughfare--lies in the fact that it once was the channel of a sizable stream centuries gone by. The washed boulders of an ancient gold-laden river lie some 15 to 35 feet below the present surface, and are being uncovered by means of vertical shafts and horizontal drifts, which embody much waste labor and ground. Present efforts at recovery of this surprising treasure, however, have been limited to some 30 small gopher "backyard" mining activities, and furnish employment for more than a hundred men. Removal of a yard of gravel per day for most of them is considered fair production, and those shafts closest to the paved thoroughfare have met with the greatest success in gold production. It is not unusual, miners have learned to their disappointment, to find yards and yards of the bedrock soil which falls short of such prolific production, and then again there are places in and near the city where even tailings from early-day mining operations yield a comfortable living to workers. As concrete evidence of the fabulous wealth upon which the old city of Jacksonville rests is the fact that Godward has purchased more than $4000 worth of gold alone this month--about 20 pounds--figured at $17 per ounce, and estimates that practically all this amount came from within the city's limits. The daily average has been about $150, which makes a substantial payroll for this small city--a payroll which has been increased and enhanced by the depression. The McDonough brothers of Ruch, John Pernoll at Applegate and the J. F. Redden company of Medford also have been buying gold in increasing amounts, and it is estimated that about half the gold produced by prospectors and gopherers in this section is sent to the mint direct. In addition to this total additional thousands in values are sent to smelters in the form of concentrates from the nearby hills, and the Foots Creek dredge is reported to be working without pause day and night. More than a dozen gold mills also are busy grinding ore in the immediate vicinity, and a survey of the creation of new wealth in Southern Oregon brings surprising and appalling figures to light. Godward estimates he receives about one-third of the gold produced in the Jacksonville and surrounding mining district. An industry which had been abused, exploited and kicked about for the past 20 years, gold mining in Jacksonville is fast regaining its rightful place among the legitimate industries of the state, and has come to the aid of unemployed and destitute as no other single natural resource or charity. It has furnished sustaining employment for more than a thousand men the past year and has been the transfusion which may have saved the business life of an otherwise suffering county. Placer gold found in this city generally is of coarse dimension, indicating that it has traveled but a short distance downstream from its original abode in some quartz fissure--outcroppings of which still abound in the surrounding watershed--and gradual erosion and oxidation has deposited the native metal in bedrock riffles where later it was covered by many feet of silt, clay and gravel. Scientific mineralogy suggests that source of this rich deposit, millions of dollars worth which have been removed within stone's throw of the main street, has never been exhausted and, although the mother quartz may lock gold in combination with other minerals, that more millions in values remain for the ingenuity of man to recover. In the meantime miners continue to struggle and sweat in their effort to move a cubic yard of old channel gravel while their children play in a street which literally was paved over a foundation of pure gold. Great cities may have their almost priceless downtown street frontage, but historic old Jacksonville, dozing away peacefully at the foot of a range of mountains rich in minerals, has its California Street which actually is worth its weight in gold--or more. Jacksonville Miner, March 31, 1933, page 1 Mining School to
Start Monday in Medford
That classes in placer mining for small operation will begin Monday,
April 3, at 9 a.m. on the Southern Pacific lot adjacent to the Medford
chamber of commerce was the announcement of School Superintendent E. H.
Hedrick of Medford.The present plan is to hold classes from 9 to 11 a.m. and from 2 to 6 p.m. Each man enrolling in the classes will be entitled to 18 hours of instruction. No charge will be made, and all desiring to take the course are asked to enroll with L. R. Shurtleff at the chamber of commerce in Medford as soon as possible. Each man is to furnish his own gold pan. After the men have taken the course an effort will be made to locate them on pay dirt in this county where at least a sustenance can be made. The mining school is made possible through federal funds from the vocational education department together with $150 appropriated by Jackson County. The school is sponsored by the Medford school system in cooperation with the Jackson County Mining Association. Instructors will be George Barton, J. V. Neff and C. C. Clark. Classes will be conducted in a businesslike fashion, with definite assignments of work to be covered each day. A general outline of the entire 18-hour course is as follows: 1.--The mining pan, how to care for it. 2.--How to use the mining pan. 3.--How to trace and locate placer gold. 4--How to trace and locate quartz gold. 5.--How to build and operate a sluice box. 6.--How to build and operate a rocker. 7.--How to make a valid location of a mining claim on a public domain, both quartz and placer. Jacksonville Miner, March 31, 1933, page 4 'Kingdom for Timber' Cry Miners
as Diggins Cave in Promiscuously
"What? No timbers?" or, "Scram, fellas, here she comes!" have been
familiar phrases which have replaced the customary greeting
among
miners of "How's she payin'?" in Jacksonville.Early this week several backyard mines have decided to fold up and take a rest, notably those lining California Street, where the precaution of timbering drifts had not been taken. But, like all rules, the cave-in move of terra not so firma has its exception in the purposely caved-in St. Clair diggins on the Haight property here. St. Clair and C. Gaddy, who had been working the producer for some time, decided they wanted a slush pond without having to dig one, so they promptly drew straws to see who would go below and knock out the heavy timbers which had been seeing to it that tunnel ceiling and floor did not meet. Gaddy won--or lost--the honors, and went below. "That's one time I didn't go at things backwards, however," reminded Gaddy, still alive and whole-skinned. "I sure didn't paint, or detimber, myself into a corner. I went to the far end of the tunnel and let 'em go as I retreated toward the shaft. Lotsa fun, and didn't smash my fingers once." They now have an ample sunken garden in which they are busily planting tailings from another shaft on the same property. Nearby other miners had a similar experience, but not purposely. They had just completed pumping out of their water-filled, untimbered tunnel and were preparing to descend for the day's work when, like the proverbial stock market, the bottom dropped out of almost everything within a couple dozen feet. Their hole was filled, and a phone booth nearby tottered uncertainly on the brink of the cave-in. The hole was later filled and the lot restored to its former appearance. A new shaft will be sunk, "with timbers, you bet," added the miners. They figured the cave-in covered about $600 to $700 worth of gold-bearing gravel. Jacksonville Miner, April 14, 1933, page 1 IMPRESSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS
A few years ago, when newspaper men
wrote up Jacksonville, Or.,
they dwelt on its historic past. But Jacksonville has turned its back
on the past and is courageously facing today and the problems of today.
Though it lost the county seat to Medford, and though it is off the
line of the railway, its citizens are pointing with pride to the fact
that, in spite of the depression, there is mighty little call from the
citizens of Jacksonville upon the community chest.OF THE JOURNAL MAN By Fred Lockley When I visited Jacksonville recently I found that the men who could not get a job at their regular occupation were making jobs for themselves. All over Jacksonville you will find shafts sunk on vacant lots and in back lots and men heaving away at the windlass, bringing up dirt to be rocked or put through the sluicebox. I stopped to pass the time of day with Fred A. Haight, at 4th and California streets. "We ran a tunnel under the back porch here," he said. "It is about 12 feet to bedrock. Out of this little dab of ground, 10 by 20 feet, I have washed out $35, some of the nuggets running from 10 cents to as high as $2." Mrs. Haight, seeing my interest in the matter, brought out a small bottle of coarse gold dust and put into my hand two small nuggets, one weighing $1.37, the other $1.57, both of which had come out of her back yard. I next went to a lot that had been offered for sale at $600 with no takers. A shaft was sunk to bedrock, and $1500 in gold was taken out without any real injury to the lot, for the shaft can be filled in again, and the lot is as good as ever. I dropped in to see Fred Hoesly. He said: "I came to Oregon 37 years ago. At first I worked on the railroad, but for the past 25 years I have lived here in Jacksonville. I bought a half-acre here on which is a small house. I have leased the mining rights on my lot and I am present twice a day when they make the cleanup, to get my percentage of the gold recovered." "I bought the old Taylor hotel property about two months ago," said Charles H. Christner. "This old building is well built, but it is too large for a residence, and there is no demand for a hotel here; so I got it at a very low price. I have mined in Arizona and also in Old Mexico, and, to tell you the truth, when I bought this old place I didn't buy it with any intention of running a hotel. As you can see by the dump of gravel in the yard, I am mining on this lot. I am down 24 feet, to bedrock. We are tunneling along bedrock and striking some pretty good pay dirt. So far, I have taken out about $800. I understand that the lot across the street from me has yielded over $2000. This mining on the lots here is like eating your cake and still having it, for after you have tunneled all under the lot you can fill up your shaft and sell your lot for as much as you paid for it. Some of these days some lucky miner is going to strike some old unworked channel of a former creek bed and strike it rich. Of course, millions of dollars were taken from the vicinity of Jacksonville in the old days, but for years every time a well has been dug in Jacksonville you could pan colors out of the dirt that came from bedrock; so there's a lot of gold unrecovered within the city limits of this old mining camp." When I visited G. W. Godward, one of the merchants of Jacksonville, he showed me a number of good-sized nuggets. "I don't know how much gold is recovered in the back yards of Jacksonville," he said. "I suppose some is taken to Medford and sold to the banks. I buy about $4000 worth of gold dust a month. I pay $17 an ounce for it. Anywhere from 40 to 60 men keep busy sinking shafts and digging tunnels in the city limits of Jacksonville. Usually the owner of the lot receives about 20 percent of the gold recovered. Four thousand dollars a month doesn't seem like a great deal of money, and yet, if the taxpayers had to dig up $4000 a month toward supporting the men who are out of work it would look like a lot of money. Probably the men who are working don't make over $2 or $3 a day, but that's a whole lot better than depending on the community chest." Oregon Journal, Portland, September 27, 1933, page 8 GOLD HOARDERS SHOW UP AMONG
J'VILLE MINERS
The muchly
publicized gold hoarder is back again.$40 Gold Prospect Tempts to Hold Back Shipment; Production Up At least, that is the report emanating from gold-buying headquarters in Southern Oregon, for the sourdough producers have been hearing over the radio and reading in the newspapers that the price of the yellow metal likely will increase till it is double the former price, or more than $40 per ounce for 1000 fine metal. The greater part of the mining fraternity, however, is finding it necessary to market gold at regular intervals due to small capital--for which the average miner is famous. They are content to receive the $25 or $26 from local gold buyers and use the silver and currency rather than to watch an accumulation of gold gather in their glass bottles for any length of time. It is thought the larger producers, with several thousand dollars worth of the metal on hand, are the ones who figure to profit most by "hoarding" their metal for a month or so. There is another angle to waiting for a higher price that the gold accumulators in this section may be overlooking, however. The increase in the value of gold is intended, very obviously, as a means by which prices may be boosted on other commodities, and of lessening the purchasing power of the silver dollar. If miners should await the ultimate high of gold, they at the same time would await the dollar's weakest buying strength. It is thought by many that to market newly mined gold at current prices would result in as great, or greater, actual buying power, although the total sum of dollars received might be somewhat less. There still is some confusion in many quarters as to why such a great gap exists between the RFC price for gold and the sums miners receive. It has been explained on many occasions that this spread is made necessary in several ways, most prominent among which is the fact that raw mined gold is seldom more than about four-fifths pure gold. Then there are smelting, transportation and insurance charges, as well as a small margin retained by buyers when gold is shipped through them. Like in the marketing of any other commodity, handling and refining or milling charges are deducted from the product. Although unemployment added much impetus to the mining situation in Southern Oregon last year, this winter is expected to see even greater concentration in the mineral belt due to the higher price now offered, which is in excess of 50 percent increase. Gold returns, despite the holdouts, have been increasing steadily during the last few weeks, and with more rains an even greater gain in production is anticipated. Hardware stores report heavy increase in sales of miners' equipment and accessories. Jacksonville Miner, November 24, 1933, page 1 Profits Made Now in Jacksonville
Mining
MONMOUTH, March 10.--O. C. Christensen and V. V. Caldwell, faculty
members of the Oregon Normal School, recently visited Jacksonville in
the course of a trip to Ashland.
They reported to the Lions Club this week some interesting details about Jacksonville, where they visited the three museums in which a collection of relics relating to primitive mining, Indian strife of early days and other historical events. At present, they report, Jacksonville residents are reworking their property, which often is but a city lot or two, for gold nuggets, and recovery of from $2 to $5 per day is not uncommon. Statesman Journal, Salem, March 11, 1934, page 12 Takes to Mining--Hugh Bieberstein of Central Point has joined the mining throng at Jacksonville, it was reported here today, and is bringing gold from a backyard mine in the pioneer town. "Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 28, 1934, page 5 First Nugget Found on Stella Levy
Property
For 60 long years Miss Stella Levy has resided on the old place in the
center of Jacksonville and watched, with mild disinterest, the coming
and going of dozens of backyard mines across her fence. The lure of
gold to her was a foreign thing; she was too busy with her flowers and
pets.But early this week, while A. O. Van Galder and Screwball Turner were cleaning out the Levy well--which had gone dry for the first time in these same 60 years--the well-known lady was watching the operations when a gold nugget, probably worth about 30 cents, was found. It came up in a bucket of muck and was picked out by Van Galder, who gave it to the owner. And now, after all these years of immunity, Stella Levy has been bitten by the Doodle Bug. Her precious find discovered accidentally while cleaning out a well is being exhibited to every passerby with the enthusiastic pride akin to a veteran sourdough. Jacksonville Miner, July 13, 1934, page 1
Paul, George and Dan Pearce are working in a mine in Jacksonville.
"Forest Creek," Medford Mail Tribune, July 8, 1934, page 3 City's Largest Gold Nugget Found
Here at Pence's Saturday
Although Southern Oregon has yielded many large nuggets, placer mines
located within the limits of Jacksonville, though producing coarse
gold, have never given up particularly large chunks of the metal till
last Saturday, when Ed Pence and Walter Whitney completed a week's
digging with the finding of a $58 nugget, weighing more than two
ounces, according to gold buyer G. W. Godward. The piece was a perfect
specimen, well shaped and free from quartz.Pence and Whitney have been mining on the Pence place near the center of town on Third Street, and were cleaning up a rather mediocre week's revenue when they chanced upon the nugget, said by Godward to be the largest ever mined in town to his knowledge. Ten- and 15-dollar chunks have been frequent, however, and about 40 backyard mines are operating within city limits at present, at a profit. Jacksonville Miner, August 10, 1934, page 1 2-OUNCE NUGGET MINED BY PENCE
Ed Pence of Jacksonville, who formerly resided in Trail, has had a
nugget weighing over two ounces on exhibit in Jacksonville. The nugget
was mined by Mr. Pence on his own lot at his home in that small town.
Mr. Pence has been taking out a large amount of gold at his place,
according to reports.Medford Mail Tribune, August 19, 1934, page 5 'Barren' Ground Yield $10 a Day
Wage for Local Backyard Miner
Ground that was "given up as barren" by local miners two weeks ago
Monday started paying dividends in a big way to four local gold diggers
and Bill Hodson, owner of the property. First day this week Leonard
Osborne, Frank Taylor, Bill Bennett and Lee Smith cleaned up $51, in
rather coarse gold, to net each worker $10 for eight hours, and a like
amount to owner Hodson.Bill Bennett won two beers for his accuracy in estimating Monday's revenue in advance, and has extended his observations to wagering that the next 30 square feet of area to be mined will yield $2000 in yellow metal, a nifty sum to come from a plot of ground scarcely larger than one's back porch, It is a repetition of proof that Jacksonville's streets are literally lined with gold, which makes a nice substitute for a silver lining, say the miners. Jacksonville Miner, August 24, 1934, page 1 Van Galder Mining Ground Sold
This Week to Salemite
A. C. Van Galder's mining ground consisting of two blocks opposite the
old brewery, formerly owned by Emil Britt, was sold to William
Beardsley of Salem early this week by Van Galder and L. T. Larsen, who
have been conducting a mining operation on the ground.Beardsley will continue gold recovery on the plot, which adjoins Jackson Creek, present workings having barely scratched the pay. Jacksonville Miner, September 21, 1934, page 1 Could You Spare a Handful, Mister?
Machinery, by the time it is about paid for, generally is almost worn
out and has lost much of its money-earning capacity, but not so with
Mother Earth. Leastwise, not in Jacksonville.Bright and early Monday morning of this week A. C. Van Galder, mining together with Jack Green in the center of town, scooped up a double handful of muck from the mine hole they have been working for the past year and panned $16.80 in less than two minutes. Van Galder and Green have employed three or four men for a year at the mine and have, in addition, bought themselves new cars, paid for the property and realized a nice return to boot from the placer ground. Clouds, in Jacksonville, have a golden lining. Jacksonville Miner, September 28, 1934, page 4 Gold Buying Averages $6000 Month
for J'ville
The buying of gold over counter, cash-on-the-barrel-head, continues at
a most steady pace, said buyer G. W. Godward here this week. "We are
averaging about $6000 a month over our scales, which is a high for many
years from Jacksonville's backyard independents," explained Mr. Godward.Local gold, for the most part, is produced in small quantities from city lots and nearby claims, most of it being of the placer variety. Few small producers now ship direct to the mint, Godward said, they having decided red tape and expense more than offset the small margin on which the buyer works. Godward averages about $28 per ounce payment to the miner for raw gold, metal being about .860 fine. Jacksonville Miner, November 9, 1934, page 1 $13 Nugget Taken from J'ville Mine
JACKSONVILLE, Dec. 6.--(Spl.)--Ed Pence and Walter Whitney recently
took a thirteen-dollar nugget out of their mine. Several months ago
they took out a fifty-eight-dollar nugget from the same mine, the
largest nugget ever found in any mine in Jacksonville.
Medford Mail Tribune, December
6, 1934, page 1
'Backyard' Miners Find Placer
Gold at Skirts City Limits
For years early-day placer miners confined their activities to hills
adjoining Jacksonville and bed of Jackson Creek, which flows through
the town, but neglected to place any value on ground under the city, or
in gold flows carrying on out into the valley proper. As a result,
miners today are employed in large numbers digging out gold from under
the pioneers' beds and kitchen tables.According to gold buyer G. W. Godward, shafts sunk recently as far out into the valley as the L. M. Wakefield ranch are producing good placer gold in paying quantities, pay streak in some places running as high as $20 per yard, with a good sprinkling of values through overburden. Considered "mined out" years ago, limits of Jacksonville still continue to yield a large, steady payroll of new money, Godward himself buying an average of $1500 a week in his local grocery store. Jacksonville Miner, December 21, 1934, page 1 Miner Comes Close to Being Gold Mine
About the closest it has ever come to being a gold mine was reached this week by the Jacksonville Miner when
Sam Tryer and Fred Brandt struck bedrock at rear of the building which
houses the plant, and found plenty of good, coarse gold in decidedly
paying quantities.The newspaper office, located in the Kubli building in the heart of town, for more than three years has espoused the cause of gold mining, but did not awaken to the fact that its machinery rested solidly on ground that was to become a gold mine, too. Tryer and Brandt, Medford men, spudded in more than a week ago at rear of the building and have been prospecting the hole with rocker and pan. Bedrock was reached at about 14 feet, with color showing from surface down to below bedrock. Newspapermen generally will be skeptical when it is announced that the Miner is one country weekly which has become a veritable "gold mine." Nevertheless, the color is there to prove it, the office being plopped in the geographical center of Jacksonville's richest placer ground. Since the discovery, type lice in the office have been rechristened "doodle-bugs." Jacksonville Miner, January 18, 1935, page 1 MINE CAVE-INS TIP BUILDINGS IN
HOLE
MEDFORD, Jan. 25.--(Special)--Jacksonville is literally
"falling all
over itself," according to reports reaching here from the historic
mining center of early Oregon.Wet Weather Cause of Queer Pranks at Jacksonville No serious damage is reported yet from backyard mine cave-ins, but quite a number are settling. The largest cave-in is in the old Chris Ulrich mine near California Street, where there is a hole about 20 feet square. The mine was in operation 40 years ago and was intact until the present, wet weather. Oscar Knutzen, miner, is recovering from injuries sustained several days ago in a cave-in near the pioneer Catholic church. He was operating the mine with Lee Chatman on lease. Some side streets are settling. SOME BUILDINGS LEANING
Buildings
reported leaning are in place, with no serious damage
resulting. Dozens
of mines continue operation, with good pay dirt reported by most. One
mine is located in a garage building, under shelter.The Taylor mine adjoins the location of the pioneer Democratic Times building, just torn down to make way for more operations. The Times was Southern Oregon's earliest newspaper. [The Table Rock Sentinel was Southern Oregon's earliest newspaper.] If wet weather continues, miners say, more cave-ins may result. A network of tunnels and rooms has been dug in the last few years, but most are well timbered. The city's main street is unaffected by cave-ins. Tunnels are said to be 20 feet and deeper underground, following an old stream channel cut thousands of years ago. Gold lingers along the channel. Oregonian, Portland, January 26, 1935, page 6 J'VILLE MINES SAG, AND MAIN
STREET DROPS SIX FEET
Medford Mail Tribune, January
27, 1935, page 12
Residents of Jacksonville face a serious situation resulting from the
system of shallow mines that honeycomb the layer of gravel "pay dirt"
six feet below the surface of some 35 properties within this town. Four
cave-ins, caused by heavy precipitation during the last several weeks,
have endangered miners and equipment, and one five-foot-deep drop 30
feet in diameter caused a sag in California, or Main, Street that has
diverted traffic. No cave-ins were reported Saturday, but residents
said more might occur at any time.
This largest cave-in is on the Dave Dorn property, abandoned when the slide came. The street has been fenced off around the sag and precautions taken in other places where streets have been undermined. As yet the city council has been unable to prevent miners from digging under the streets by a ruling from the state supreme court. The highway department is also without authority to bring to a stop further excavations which endanger traffic. Other properties on which cave-ins have occurred are the Johnson property near the old Catholic church where buildings are said to have been thrown at precarious angles as the ground settled, and the Dave Dorn property. At the outset several days ago of the series of cave-ins, Oscar Knutson was seriously injured when caught by a slide he was trying to prevent with timbers. Although conditions were said to be "stable" Saturday, mines have seen little activity during the last several days, except in places where filling in or timbering work has been carried on. The surface dirt, soaked by the heaviest rains and snows Jacksonville has seen in several years, gives way in the slides as the gravel walls of untimbered mines crumble. Many of the old passageways were dug as early as 1880, according to mining men of the historic town, while most of the untimbered ones have been excavated in the recent "backyard" mining revival. STREETS CAVE IN AT JACKSONVILLE
MEDFORD,
Jan. 26.--(Special)--As the result of backyard mines causing
the
streets to settle, the Jacksonville city government is
contemplating
damage action against property owners held responsible for tunneling
under the city streets.
Oregonian,
Portland, January 27, 1935, page 1Caution signs were placed today around one or two places on Main Street that were starting to settle. It is feared tunnels underneath may develop holes. Several spots are sagging on Fourth Street and caution is being taken in traveling over it, Mayor Wesley Hartman said. The Dave Dorn residence on East Main Street and his woodshed suffered most from a tunnel cave-in. Thirty-two truckloads of dirt were used to bring his house to a normal position from a dangerous angle. A corner of the Johnson dwelling sank badly. One light pole was a victim of a cave-in. The city council in an attempt to stop street tunneling learned from the state highway commission that property owners possessed ground halfway across the street. "Backyard" Mines at Standstill in Jacksonville Area A sag in the main and only paved street of the historic town remained unchanged and traffic was being diverted around it. Scores of tunnels, some dug as early as 1880, honeycomb the "pay gravel" under 35 properties in the town and have been caving in occasionally for years, according to the miners. One entire street has been settling gradually since 1880, neighbors said, when a tunnel nearly three blocks long was believed to have been dug 30 feet beneath by Chinese laborers. Many of the backyard diggings yield from three to five ounces of gold a day, enough to surpass the value of the property with a few months' labor. Oregon Journal, Portland, January 28, 1935, page 4 Dave Dorn lives on East [California] Street in Jacksonville, Southern Oregon's history-wrapped mining capital of early days. Last week when the walls of Dave's house started to crack he was mildly interested. When the domicile commenced to tip and the woodshed assumed a crazy angle he began to suspect that something might be wrong. Dave dashed outside, took one look and hollered for help. After 32 truckloads of dirt had been hauled to his lot and tamped down the perpendicular lines of his abode again became what the builder intended them to be. Dorn was not the only Jacksonville resident who got a big surprise last week, for the pioneer town was literally falling into itself as water from recent heavy rains percolated through the surface and carried the soil into the honeycomb of tunnels which underlies the city. STREETS
DEVELOP DIPS
Had the caving-in been confined to back yards, where the phenomenon was
most pronounced, little notice would have been taken. But when chunks
started to fall out of the streets the council and citizenry in general
grew perturbed.Fourth Street had several dips in it, and signs warning the public were placed on [California] Street, where similar manifestations were indicated. The bottom fell away from light poles, leaving them suspended by the wires on the cross arms. The Chinese, who burrowed like rabbits under a section of San Francisco, as the earthquake--pardon--fire revealed, also had a part in making Jacksonville porous, according to pioneers. One whole street in the Oregon town has been settling since the '80s, but so gradually that it caused little comment. A tunnel dug by sons of Cathay 30 feet under the surface in their search for gold is held responsible for this settling. Local historians report that scores of tunnels, some of them crisscrossing, some of them diving under or zooming above when they met a crosscut, underlie Jacksonville. For years small sections of these have been caving in. GOLD
SUN RISING
Gold worth millions has been taken out of Jacksonville and nearby
districts, and new strikes worth millions more may be made any day.
Several concerns are now engaged in large-scale operations with modern
equipment.The most glamorous attractions, however, are the backyard mines manned by a couple of men equipped with pick and shovel, hand windlass and bucket. When hard times hit, dozens of men went to work in an effort to make "ham-and" wages. Then official ukase made gold worth $35 an ounce, and for many of these primitive operators "ham-and" became chicken. Some backyard diggings are said to produce from an ounce up in dust daily with a few, whose owners maintain the greatest secrecy, reported producing as much as five ounces daily on occasion. Meanwhile Jacksonville is becoming a big molehill. Sensing the situation, the town council made an effort to stop tunneling under the streets, but was informed that property owners' rights extended halfway across the streets. Now the council is considering possible damage actions as the result of the cave-ins. Arthur Jones, "The Week in the Northwest," Oregonian, Portland, February 10, 1935, page B1 'BACKYARD MINES' OF
J'VILLE YIELD
$75,000 IN YEAR
Over $75,000 in gold passed through the hands of G. W Godward, owner of
the Godward mercantile store in Jacksonville, in 1934, all mined from
the "backyard" mines of the historic old city. The golden stream is
still flowing, as evidenced by the fact that over $500 of the metal was
cashed at the little store yesterday.
The biggest day of the bunch was last year, when on one day over $1200 was brought in by various miners. Last Monday one man turned in $400, and another Friday cashed $131 worth of the yellow stuff. One of the greatest contributors to the store is the mine on Jacksonville's main thoroughfare, California Street, owned by A. C. Van Galder and J. C. Green. Averaging about $30 a yard, the mine has been worked steadily since the 10th of December, 1933. But it was Friday that the mine really paid off. When the day's work was over, and the cleanup was made, it was found that the day's "take" was $189. That was $2 better than the previous record of $187, set last year. The miners, employing three men besides working themselves, are now digging in rich pay dirt, which averages close to $150 a yard. According to Van Galder, most of the city proper had never been worked before the revival of the mining boom about three years ago. According to the stories related by a few of the "oldtimers," the city had been honeycombed from end to end, but this story Van Galder denies, and his record "take," believed to be the largest ever taken from one of the small mines, seems to back up his statement. Over 1,000 feet of tunnel has been driven on the property of the two men, over a solid half-block, and they estimate that only between one-fourth or one-fifth of the property has been worked. The two do not use the haphazard system of "drifting," but work systematically, moving every yard of "gravel"--that strata bearing the gold which lies two feet deep above bedrock. There is another layer of "gravel" about 12 feet above the base rock, but this is more difficult to work, and is not so rich, although it carries some gold. All of the tunnels in the mine are timbered, six feet high, and tracks are laid to accommodate a tram to facilitate moving of the dirt. An ingenious homemade hoist has been devised by Van Galder, operated by electricity, and employing old auto transmissions to lift the big bucket filled with dirt. Besides the mine that he is working now, Van Galder reports that he also has other mining interests, both in the city and above the town on Jackson Creek. He sees a great future in the gold mining business in Jacksonville, despite the frequent reports that the country has been "worked to death." The prospects for much more gold do not look so bright to Godward, the store owner, however, for he does not expect to even approach the $75,000 record set last year. In 1922, he said, the total amount of gold passing through his scale was less than $1,000. In 1933 it leaped up to $37,000, and last year reached the high for many years. He has been buying gold in the little city for 13 years, however, and when he says that 1935 will not touch the banner year, his word should carry some weight, it is generally conceded. Asked if it weren't dangerous to keep so much gold, and cash to pay the miners, on hand, Mr. Godward smiled and said that the men were paid by check when their gold added to more than a few dollars, and that the gold was sent to the mint every day, and was heavily guarded while in transit. Medford Mail Tribune, March
17, 1935, page 10
Jacksonville Miner Hurt in Shaft
Fall
Medford Mail Tribune, July
5, 1935, page 5
David Dorn of Jacksonville, miner, was treated at the Sacred Heart
Hospital for a fractured ankle sustained Wednesday afternoon in a
mining accident at Jacksonville. Hospital attendants reported the
accident occurred when an ore bucket on which Dorn was descending a
shaft in one of the "back-yard" mines broke, giving him a fall of about
16 feet.
CAMERAMAN PICTURING SCENES OF
SOUTHERN OREGON FOR NEWSREEL
Motion pictures of front yard gold mining in Jacksonville were to be
taken this afternoon for Universal Newsreel by P. E. Emery, staff
cameraman of Portland. Mr. Emery has been taking news and feature
pictures in Southern Oregon the past week.
Medford Mail Tribune, March
20, 1936, page 3 The
lamb and snowplow footage survives at the National
Archives; the mining film apparently does not.Mr. Emery was to be shown around Jacksonville by G. W. Godward. He was accompanied by A. H. Banwell, manager of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. After filming the mining scenes Mr. Emery was to go to the Clyde Briggs ranch to photograph 12 baby lambs that are being raised on bottles. Each of the tiny animals has a bottle and nipple of its own, and Mr. Emery planned to get pictures of them in the act of feeding. Mr. Emery planned to go tomorrow to Crater Lake National Park to get pictures of the big new plow shooting out snow from the rim road and of CCC men sawing off slabs of hard snow from the roofs of buildings. Some of the scenes Mr. Emery is taking will appear in the regular weekly Universal Newsreel, while others will appear in a monthly feature called "Stranger Than Fiction," the latter showing oddities. Find $20 Nugget in Jacksonville
Mine
Jacksonville, Nov. 25.--(Spl.)--A gold nugget worth $20.15 was found
last week by the Ravenor brothers while mining here in town.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 26, 1939, page 10 BIG NUGGET FOUND IN J'VILLE MINE
Medford
Mail Tribune, February 4, 1940, page 3
Jacksonville, Feb. 3.--(Spl.)--"Backyard mining," which had died out to
some extent here, has recently taken on new life. Will Jones, Muriel
Jones and Arthur Johnson washed out approximately $100 in a cleanup
January 31. Included in the find was a two and one-half ounce nugget,
said to be one of the largest recovered here in many years. A nugget
found in 1925 by Ed Pence and Walter Whitney had held the previous
modern-day record.
Operations on the Jones place have been under way all winter, with recovery of a few pennyweight in gold each day. 'Backyard' Mine Yields Nugget "Dooryard" mining has nearly disappeared here in late years. The Jones-Johnson diggings are bringing forth several pennyweights in gold daily, however. Oregon Journal, Portland, February 15, 1940, page 6 Gold in Backyard; Town Is
'Haywire'
Just step into the garden and pluck a
gold nugget instead of a posy.Residents of Jacksonville, Oregon have pulled up rose bushes and heaved petunias into the ash can in an excited backyard gold rush. Hardly a home in the city, that mushroomed with the 1856 [sic] dash to the Southern Oregon gold fields, has escaped the scars of the Depression-born diggings. Citizens stripped off their lawns, moved buildings, even undermined streets, trying to get a shovel into pay dirt. Many families have won bacon and beans and avoided the relief office. Since the backyard rush began about eight years ago, gardens and vacant lots have yielded an estimated $500,000 to $700,000 worth of metal. One amateur took out $25,000 and another $20,000 in six years. Two more reported producing $15,000 apiece in two and a half years. A tunnel under a downtown street gave up a $169 nugget, the largest found in three years. Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 26, 1940, page 6 Last revised July 8, 2024 |
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