Calaveras gold : the impact of mining on a mother lode county / Ronald H. Limbaugh & Willard P. Fuller, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Limbaugh, Ronald H.

Contributor:

Fuller, Willard P., 1918-

Series:

Wilbur S. Shepperson series in history and humanities (Unnumbered)

Wilbur S. Shepperson series in history and humanities

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gold mines and mining--California--Calaveras County--History--19th century.

Gold mines and mining.

History.

California--Calaveras County.

Physical Description:

ix, 404 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Reno : University of Nevada Press, [2004]

Summary:

Most histories of the California Mother Lode have focused on the mines around the American and Yuba Rivers. However, the "Southern Mines"--those centered around Calaveras County in the central Sierra--were also of importance in the development of California's mineral wealth. "Calaveras Gold offers a detailed and meticulously researched history of mining and its economic impact in this region from the first discoveries in the 1840s until the present. Mining in Calaveras County covered the full spectrum of technology from the earliest placer efforts through drift and hydraulic mining to advanced hard-rock industrial mining. Subsidiary industries such as agriculture, transportation, lumbering, and water supply, as well as a complex social and political structure, developed around the mines. The authors examine the roles of race, gender, and class in this frontier society; the generation and distribution of capital; and the impact of the mines on the development of political and cultural institutions. They also look at the impact of mining on the Native American population, the realities of day-to-day life in the mining camps, the development of agriculture and commerce, the occurrence of crime and violence, and the cosmopolitan nature of the population. Calaveras County mining continued well into the twentieth century, and the authors examine the ways that mining practices changed as the ores were depleted and how the communities evolved from mining camps into permanent towns with new economic foundations and directions. Mining is no longer the basis of Calaveras's economy, but memories of the great days of the Mother Lode still attract tourists who bring a new form of wealth to theregion. "Calaveras Gold is based on extensive research in manuscript collections, oral histories, and rare imprints, and includes numerous period photographs and other illustrations.

Contents:

1 The Early Placer Era 11

2 The Beginnings of Lode Mining, 1850-1885 40

3 Mining Society in the Early Years 86

4 Ancillary Industries 139

5 Preparing for Modern Mining 172

6 Lode Mining in the Golden Years 205

7 The Unstable Twenties and Thirties 251

8 A Half Century of Change 285.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [373]-382) and index.

ISBN:

0874175461

OCLC:

52311942