OREGON
Oregon had been rather heavily traversed by settlers on their
way to the more populous coastal
communities long before gold was discovered in the State. Fear of
hostile Indians no doubt discouraged many from prospecting the
promising-looking mountain ranges and stream channels at any
distance from the main immigration routes. It was not until 1852
that gold placers were worked at Rich Gulch in Jackson County and
Josephine Creek in Josephine County. The more widely publicized
discoveries of placer gold at Griffin Gulch in Baker County in
1861 and at John Day and Canyon Creek in Grant County slightly
later triggered an avalanche of prospectors and
miners of sufficient magnitude to eventually establish the gold
mining industry in the State.
Other early placer operations were in the Willow Creek country in
Malheur County, where several
districts were organized. After the initial period of high
production during which the richer placers were exhausted,
discoveries of auriferous quartz veins helped stabilize the
mining economy. Lode mining began as early as 1859 on the Gold
Hill vein in Jackson County; gold-bearing quartz veins were also
worked in the 1860's in the Canyon Creek district, the Eagle
Creek district, the Mormon Basin district, and the Baker
district. The first boom in Oregon expired about 1870, but it had
been strong enough to attract people with diversified talents so
that other industries such as farming and cattle raising
cushioned the shock. In addition, the gold rush was responsible
for the early entry of railroads into the State, and this
hastened the growth of cities and provided a more stable economy.
Although mining of gold in Oregon was at an all time low in 1965,
mining of nickel, uranium, mercury, and a host of nonmetals was
flourishing as one of the important industries in the State.
Total production of gold in Oregon from 1852
through 1965 was 5,796,680 ounces. This total includes estimates
of production before 1900 and data from the U.S. Geological
Survey (1904-24) and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (1925-66) for the
years 1902-65. Production data for districts are fragmentary,
especially where production of several districts was combined in
the reports, thus the totals for districts are minima.
BAKER COUNTY
Gold was first discovered in eastern Oregon in 1861 in Griffin
Gulch in the Baker district, Baker
County. The town of Auburn was soon established as the first
settlement and base for exploration. By about 1870 the richest
placers were exhausted, but quartz lodes were discovered and
developed, although slowly, and by 1900 were substantially
productive in the Cracker Creek, Cornucopia, and Sumpter
districts. As placer production decreased, Auburn declined, and
Baker became the most important town in the county. Production
data for Baker County before 1880
were not found. From 1880 to 1899, the county produced $8,958,073
(about 434,850 ounces) in gold. From 1904 through 1957, it
produced 747,548 ounces of lode gold, 402,490
ounces of placer gold, and 11,626 ounces unidentified as to
source. Total recorded gold production through 1959 was about
1,596,500 ounces; from 1954 through 1959 only a few hundred
ounces was produced. Placer mining revived after 1912, and after
World War II it was more productive than lode mining. Most of the
county's gold production in recent years was from the Sumpter
district placer mines, which were closed in 1955.
BAKER DISTRICT: Production in the Baker district has been chiefly from the placers in Griffin Gulch but this was in the early years and was unrecorded. After 1900 more than half of the gold produced in the district came from lode mines. Production of gold from 1906 through 1959 was 19,825 ounces from lode mines, 10,890 ounces from placers, and 5,437 ounces undifferentiated--a total of 36,152 ounces.
CONNOR CREEK DISTRICT: The Conner Creek district is along the west drainage of the Snake River between lat 44021' and 44044' N. and long 117"03' and 117018' W. Placer mining began in this district in the 1860's along Conner Creek, and in 1871 lode gold was discovered at Conner Creek mine. After an estimated maximum production of $2 million in gold, the mine was closed in 1910 and was reopened only briefly in 1915-18. Small amounts of placer gold were produced from the district until 1942. From that time through 1959 there was virtually no production. The district produced about 97,000 ounces of lode gold and about 6,100 ounces of placer gold through 1959.
CORNUCOPIA DISTRICT: The Cornucopia district, between lat 44057' and 45005' N. and long 117000' and 117015' W., reported very little activity until 1880-85 . Its gold production to 1903 was valued at $1,008,000 (Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, 1939, p. 25). Production was fairly steady from 1903 through 1941, but it was only a few ounces from 1942 through 1959. Recorded production from 1907 through 1959 was 255,698 ounces of lode gold, 2,441 ounces of placer gold, and 5,800 ounces undifferentiated as to origin.
CRACKER CREEK DISTRICT: The
Cracker Creek district is between lat 44048' and 44"54' N.
and long 118"03' and 118017' W., north of Sumpter. The most
important lode in this district and
in Oregon, the North Pole-Columbia, was discovered in 1887, and
it produced about $9 million in gold (Oregon Dept. Geology and
Mineral Industries, 1939, p. 34). From 1907 through 1959 a total
of 189,389 ounces of gold was recorded from the district.
EAGLE CREEK DISTRICT: The Eagle
Creek district is between lat 44049' and 45005' N. and long
117000' and 117045' W., in the southern end of the Wallowa
Mountains. The boundaries of this district overlap those of the
Cornucopia district, and rightly so, for the gold- bearing
gravels of the Eagle Creek district were derived from the
Cornucopia stock. Mining began in this district in the early
1860's when placers along Eagle Creek were worked. Those along
Paddy Creek were worked also, but most of the gold production was
from lodes and some was a byproduct of copper ore. The Sanger
mine, the largest producer in the district, yielded an estimated
$11/2 million in gold from auriferous quartz veins. The total
early production of the district was estimated at $1,687,400
(about 82,000 ounces) in gold. Total recorded production from
1931
through 1951 was 5,782 ounces of lode gold and 69 ounces of
placer gold; from 1952 through 1959, no production was recorded.
:
GREENHORN DISTRICT: The Greenhorn
district is between lat 44033' and 44044' N. and long 118025' and
118032' W. in Baker and Grant Counties. Both silver and gold
veins were mined in the district before 1910. The Bonanza, the
chief mine, produced $1 3/4 million in gold before 1904; it
operated only sporadically from 1904 through 1916. After 1930 the
bulk of production was from placers The total gold production of
the district through 1959 was 89,200 ounces from lodes and 10,382
ounces from placers.
LOWER BURNT RIVER VALLEY DISTRICT: The
Lower Burnt River valley district, which includes Weatherby, Gold
Hill, Durkee, Chicken Creek, and Pleasant Valley, is between lat
44"17' and 44043' N. and long 117010' and 117041' W., along
Burnt River in southern Baker County.
The lode mines in this district were worked in the early 1880's,
and the placers probably were worked earlier. Small production
from the Weatherby area was maintained until 1955; however, most
of the production was in early days, when no accurate records
were kept. Some of the major lode mines were the Gold Ridge,
Gleason, Little Bonanza, and Little Hill. Estimates of early lode
production total $928,000 in gold (about 45,000 ounces). Total
production for the district through 1959 was at least 50,000
ounces of lode gold and 3,500 ounces of placer gold. Production
data for placers are reliable only for the period since 1932.
MORMON BASIN DISTRICT: The Mormon
Basin (Dixie Creek, Rye Valley, Malheur) district is between lat
44022' and 44"31' N. and long 117023' and 117"40' W. in
southern Baker County and northern Malheur County. As early as
1863 placers were mined in the Rye Valley area and were credited
with a production of $1 million in gold. Although quartz veins
were known in the district in the early days, their gold
production was not significant until after 1900; it was valued at
about $21/4, million for the period 1906 to 1916. About half of
this was from the Rainbow, the
largest gold mine in the district, and, from 1913 to 1915, the
most productive in the State. The district reported only small
production from 1915 through 1948, and it was idle from 1949
through 1959. Total gold production through 1959 was about
177,500 ounces from lode mines and 56,200 ounces from placer
workings.
ROCH CREER DISTRICT: The Rock
Creek district is between lat 44049' and 45003' N. and long
118000' and 118015' W., 10-15 miles northwest of Baker. The
district, discovered in the late 1880's, was a steady gold
producer until 1914, after which activity declined; it was idle
in 1959. The principal mine, the Baisley-Elkhorn, produced an
estimated $950,000, chiefly in gold.
Estimated early production of the district was $1 million, mostly
in gold. Production from 1934 through 1959 totaled 3,282 ounces
of lode gold and 193 ounces of placer gold. A conservative total
for the district would be about 51,000 ounces of gold.
SPARTA DISTRICT: The Sparta
district is between lat 44036' and 44057' N. and long 117002' and
117"23' W. Although placer deposits were known in the area
at an early date, it was not until 1873, when the Sparta ditch
was completed, that enough water was available to exploit the
gravel-filled gulches which yielded about $157,000 in gold before
1900. Quartz veins were discovered a few years after the
discovery of the placers, and from 1889 to 1892 they yielded
$677,000 in gold. Shortly thereafter the district declined
rapidly, and from 1952 through 1959
it was idle. Total production from the district through 1959 was
about 35,200 ounces of lode gold
and about 7,700 ounces of placer gold.
SUMPTER DISTRICT: The Sumpter
district, between lat 44037' and 44"48' N. and long
118"00' and 118018' W., is predominantly a placer district,
but there has been a small gold production from quartz veins that
cut argillite. Placer deposits were discovered here in 1862, and
production was almost continuous until 1955. Records of
production before 1932 have not been found, but from 1932 through
1955 the district produced 129,004 ounces of placer gold and
2,206 ounces
of lode gold. No production was reported from 1955 through 1959.
UPPER BURNT RIVER DISTRICT:
The Upper Burnt River district, which includes Bridgeport, Bull
Run, Unity, and Hereford, is in southern Baker County, between
lat 44015' and 44"36' N. and long 117035' and 118"20'
W. It is a large district and includes many localities that have
produced small amounts of both placer and lode gold. Early
production data are scant, but apparently some placers were
worked before 1900. Total gold production through 1959 was about
9,300 ounces from all sources.
VIRTUE DISTRICT: The Virtue district
is between lat 44043' and 44057' N. and long 117022' and 117045'
W. This is predominantly a lode district; placer operations
consisted of small-scale diggings in some of the gulches below
the veins. The Virtue mine, discovered in 1862, was one of the
largest gold producers in eastern Oregon .
Other mines in the district that have produced significant
quantities of gold are the Brazos, Flagstaff, Hidden Treasure,
and White Swan. The latest production reported from the district
was in 1956. Early production of the district was about
$2,500,000 in gold (about 121,000 ounces); about $2,200,000 came
from the Virtue mine, which had its best years before 1900.
Yearly production data for the district go back only to 1935. The
total for the period 1935 through 1957
was 4,837 ounces from lode mines and 288 ounces from placers.
Total gold production for the district through 1959 was about
126,000 ounces.
GRANT COUNTY
Grant County covers much of the southwestern part of the Blue
Mountain region of northeastern
Oregon where pre-Tertiary gold-bearing rocks are exposed. The
geology of the county, as summarized by the Oregon Department of
Geology and Mineral Industries (1941, p. 14-15), includes rocks
that range in age from Paleozoic to Tertiary. The oldest rocks
are greenstone, argillite, and chert containing small lenses of
Permian limestone. Several tens of thousands of feet of Upper
Triassic and Jurassic rocks, mostly tuffaceous sandstone, shale,
and some limestone, are exposed in the southwest part of the
county. The Paleozoic rocks were intruded by peridotite, gabbro,
and diorite, and all, including the Mesozoic rocks, were intruded
by granodiorite. Tertiary rocks cover much of the county. These
are the Clarno and John Day Formations (tuff, lava,
and agglomerate of Eocene age), the Columbia River Basalt
(Miocene age), Mascall Formation
(tuffs that overlie the Columbia River Basalt), and Rattlesnake
Formation (tuffs and lavas of Pliocene age). Soon after the
initial discoveries of placer gold at Griffin Gulch in 1861,
discoveries were made at Sumpter and Canyon Creek, and by 1864
nearly all the mining districts of the Blue Mountains area were
known. The important gold-producing districts in Grant County
were the Canyon Creek, Granite, Greenhorn (partly in Baker
County), North Fork, Quartzburg, and Susanville. From 1880 to
1899, Grant County produced $3,022,564 (about 146,000 ounces) in
gold. From 1904 through 1957 it produced 77,840 ounces of lode
gold, 226,835 ounces of placer gold, and 19,967 ounces
undifferentiated as to source. Approximate total gold production
through 1959 was 470,600 ounces.
CANYON CREEK DISTRICT: The Canyon
Creek district, which is between lat 44011' and 44030' N. and
long 118045' and 119"33' W. and includes most of the
drainage area of the
John Day River in Grant County, is noted chiefly for its gold
placers along the river Estimated early production from these
placers was about $15 million in gold (about 725,000 ounces).
Hydraulic operations were conducted in the 1880's, and dredges
were in operation sporadically after 1900. Recorded gold
production for the district from 1904 through 1959 was 899 ounces
from lode mines, 91,711 ounces from placers, and 504 ounces from
undifferentiated sources. Total production was about 818,000
ounces.
GRANITE DISTRICT: The Granite district is between lat 44045' and 44054' N. and long 118018' and 118033' W., in eastern Grant County. As early as 1862 placer gold was mined from the gravels of Granite Creek, Clear Creek, and Bull Run; in 1874 lode mining became commercially important when the Monumental and La Belleview mines, the most productive lode mines in the district, were discovered. Much of the early placer mining was done by the Chinese, who at one time outnumbered the Americans. From World War II through 1959 the district was virtually idle with the exception of the Buffalo mine which supplied nearly all the lode gold mined in eastern Oregon during that period. The total lode production of the Granite district to be $1,800,000, most of which was in gold and in small amounts of silver. This would represent, conservatively, about 75,000 ounces of gold. Recorded lode production for the district from 1904 through 1959 was 37,250 ounces. Placers yielded $1,033,000 in gold through 1914. Recorded placer production from 1904 through 1959 was 34,080 ounces and total gold production for the district was about 160,000 ounces.
GREENHORN DISTRICT: The Greenhorn
district straddles the Baker-Grant County line. The western part
of the district, in Grant County between lat 44"33' and
44045' N. and long 118018' and 118043' W., will be discussed
here. The mines in the Greenhorn district reached their peak of
productivity between 1895 and 1910. From 1910 until 1942 there
was only sporadic activity, and from 1942 through 1959, almost
none. Only fragmentary records of early production are available.
A total of the estimates of early production of individual mines
is $346,000
(about 16,800 ounces) in gold. Recorded production from 1932
through 1959 was 4,829 ounces from lode mines, 4,612 ounces from
placers, and 425 ounces undifferentiated as to source.
NORTH FORK DISTRICT: The North
Fork district includes the drainage area of the North Fork of the
John Day River and Desolation Creek between lat 44045' and 45000'
N. and long 118015' and 118055' W. This is a placer district that
dates back to the early 1860's. The total minimum production to
1914 at $893,000 in gold (about 43,000 ounces); since then, only
1,336 ounces have been reported from the district. The principal
mines were the French Diggings
and the North Fork. At the French Diggings both moraine and
stream gravels were mined, and at the North Fork a gold-bearing
terminal moraine was mined .
QUARZBURG DISTRICT: The
Quartzburg district is in eastern Grant County between lat 44028'
and 44"36' N. and long 118035' and 118047' W. In 1862,
placers at Dixie Creek were discovered, and shortly afterward
lode mines were producing in the district. After the initial boom
of placer mining, in which estimated production ranged from
$600,000 to $6 million, the
district slowed down to sporadic small-scale activity stated the
production from lode mines to 1900 did not exceed $100,000. From
1904 through 1959, the recorded gold production from the district
was 954 ounces from lodes, 8,534 ounces from placers, and 624
ounces undifferentiated as to source. Total production through
1959, using the $600,000 figure for the early placer production,
was about 45,100 ounces.
SUSANVILLE DISTRICT: The
Susanville district is between lat 44041' and 44047' N. and long
118"41' and 118"52' W.. in eastern Grant County. Most
of the production from this district was
from placer mining before 1900. The placers were discovered in
1864, and those along Elk Creek and along the north side of the
Middle Fork of the John Day River yielded 9600,000 in gold .
These placers were inactive in 1930 . The Badger mine, discovered
in the late 1860's, was the most important lode property in the
district, but after several years of successful operation it was
closed in 1905, reopened briefly in 1922, and closed again. Most
of the recent production from the district was from dredging
operations. From 1932 through 1959 the district produced 937
ounces of lode gold and 17,809 ounces of placer gold. Total
production through 1959, including the estimated early placer
production, was about 48,750 ounces.
JACKSON COUNTY
The first gold mining in the State was in Jackson County. In
1852, placers along Jackson Creek were worked. Soon afterward
placers were discovered along other creeks in the vicinity, and
mining of these deposits became a major industry in the county
(Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, 1943, p.
11). Lode deposits were discovered as early as 1859, but the
chief gold production has come from the placers. The major districts in the county are Ashland, Gold Hill, Jacksonville, and
Upper Applegate. Much of the gold production from the county was
before 1880, when there were no reliable records of the output;
however, combining estimates and recorded data, reported gold
production worth $7,110,333 from 1852 through 1912. From 1904
through 1959 the county produced 35,067 ounces of lode gold,
136,030 ounces of placer gold, and 16,787 ounces undifferentiated
as to source. Total gold production from 1852 through 1959,
including estimates, was about 495,000 ounces.
ASRLAND DISTRICT: The Ashland district is between lat 42001' and 42011' N. and long 122"31' and 122"48' W., in south-central Jackson County. Mining began here in 1858 when placers were discovered at Forty-nine Diggings. These were highly productive for about 20 years. Lode deposits were worked as early as 1890, and the chief producer was the Ashland mine which yielded about $150,000 in gold from 1892 to 1899. The total production of this mine was estimated to be worth $1,300,000. There was sporadic activity in the district up to 1942, but only a few ounces have been reported since that time. Production of the district from 1933 through 1959 was 1,764 ounces of lode gold and 163 ounces of placer gold. Total production through 1959, including estimates of early production, was about 66,400 ounces of gold. At Forty-nine Diggings, the major placer mine in the district, Quaternary gravels were originally mined, but productive channels were also found later in conglomerates of the Cretaceous Hornbrook Formation . Other placers were in the quaternary gravels along Bear Creek and its tributaries.
GOLD RILL DISTRICT: The Gold Hill
district is between lat 42023' and 42043' N. and long 122047' and
123"15' W., in northwestern Jackson County, and includes the
Foots Creek area.
Placers were worked in the district as early as 1853, but the big
strike occurred in 1859 when lode
gold was discovered; an estimated $400,000 was mined from the
Gold Hill pocket in the first year. The chief lode mines in the
district were the Braden, Sylvanite, and Whitney. The lode
deposits were important in the early days, but, with the
exception of the Sylvanite mine, they were small though rich and
were quickly mined out. The placers on Foots, Sam, Galls,
Sardine, Evans, and Pleasant Creeks were worked on a fairly large
scale for many years. Dredges and hydraulic methods were in use
from the early days until as late as the early 1940's (Oregon
Department of
Geology and Mineral Industries, 1943, p. 42). The district was
active on a small scale as recently as
1957. Complete early production data could not be found. Parks
and Swartley (1916, p. 109, 193) reported that total production
from the Gold Hill pocket was at least $700,000 in gold, and the
Revenue pocket is said to have produced $100,000 in gold. From
1908 through 1959, scattered production data totaled 2,847 ounces
of lode gold and 35,021 ounces of placer gold. Total gold
production through 1959, including the estimated early production
from the Gold Hill pocket, was a minimum of 80,000 ounces.
JACRSONVILLE DISTRICT: The
Jacksonville district is between lat 42011' and 42023' N. and
long 122045' and 123003' W., in the Bear Creek valley. Medford is
the chief town in the district.
The initial gold discoveries in Oregon were made in this district
in 1851 on Jackson Creek, and mining began the following year.
The placers were profitable until about 1870, after which the
Chinese worked the lower grade gravels that remained. In the
1930's the old placer workings were dredged (Oregon Department of
Geology and Mineral Industries, 1943, p. 132). Quartz veins were
discovered in the 1860's; the chief mines were the Town and the
Opp. The lode deposits of this district are similar to those of
the Gold Hill district in that they are extremely rich pockets of
auriferous quartz which can be mined out in a short time. With
this type of activity it is difficult to keep production records;
consequently, estimates must be accepted in lieu of factual data.
Early placer production from the Jacksonville district is also
unrecorded. J. T. Pardee credited the Town pocket with a
production of at least $100,000 in gold, and Winchell credited
the Opp mine with production of at least $100,000. The district
was fairly active up to 1942; thereafter, production decreased
and remained very low through 1959. Production of the district
from 1904 through 1959 was 7,090 ounces of lode gold and 9,172
ounces of placer gold. The district probably yielded a minimum of
26,000 ounces, including the early estimates of the Opp and Town
mines, and possibly twice that much, if the early unknown placer
production is included.
UPPER APPLEGATE DISTRICT: The
Upper Applegate district is in southwestern Jackson County
between lat 42001' and 42020' N. and long 123000' and 123015' W.
This was predominantly a placer district. Placers first were
discovered along Forest Creek, and the
district was organized in 1853. The original discoveries were
soon worked out, but other rich placers were found along Ferris
Gulch, and Althouse, Humbug, Keeler, and Sterling Creeks.
Hydraulic methods were introduced in the early 1880's; the
Sterling mine, with an estimated
early production of $3 million, was one of the most successful of
the hydraulic mines. Other large producers were the Layton,
Pearce, Spaulding, and Old Sturgis mines. More recently draglines
were used in this district. Only one lode mine, the Steamboat,
was commercially important; before 1869 it produced $350,000 in
gold from gold-quartz veins in altered andesite. Early production
data are fragmentary, but the estimates from the Oregon
Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (1943) give a
minimum of 165,000 ounces of gold before 1905. From 1904 through
1959 the district produced 2,135 ounces from lodes, 45,900 ounces
from placers, and 779 ounces undifferentiated as to source. Total
production through 1959 was about 210,000 ounces.
JOSEPHINE COUNTY
Josephine County has been one of the leading producers of gold
in Oregon and has yielded significant amounts of the State's
chrome and copper output. Gold was found on Josephine Creek as
early as 1852, and the following year additional discoveries on
Althouse Creek precipitated a rush during which prospectors
spread throughout southwestern Oregon. Hydraulic methods were
introduced as early as 1856 to mine the placers. As in many other
mining camps, the depletion
of the placers in Josephine County led to the search for lode
deposits. By the early 1860's quartz mines were active in the
Grants Pass district, and some-what later, in the Galice,
Greenback, and Waldo districts. From 1852 to 1900 the annual
production of gold in the county exceeded $450,000, or a total of
about $21,600,000 (about 1,048,000 ounces) for those years. From
1901 through 1959 the county produced 187,913 ounces of gold.
Total gold production from 1852
through 1959, including Diller's estimate, was about 1,235,000
ounces. The major gold-producing districts in Josephine County
are the Galice, Grants Pass, Greenback, Illinois River, Lower
Applegate, and Waldo.
GALICE DISTRICT: The Galice
district is between lat 42028' and 42044' N. and long 123028' and
123054' W., in the northwest corner of Josephine County, and
includes the Mount Reuben district in this report. Placer mining
began in this district along Galice Creek in 1854. By the 1880's
the richer deposits were mined out and Chinese took over many of
the operations (Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries, 1942, p. 16). The Old Channel and the Benton mines
were among the important gold producers in southwestern Oregon.
The Old Channel mine, about 1 mile west of Galice, was first
worked in 1860 and was one of the largest, if not
the largest, hydraulic mine in Oregon (Oregon Department of
Geology and Mineral Industries,
1942, p. 48-59). The workings were in a gravel terrace about 600
feet above the Rogue River. The
Benton, a lode mine in the Mount Reuben area, was located in 1893
and was worked until 1905. It was reopened in 1936 and closed
again from 1942 through 1959. During 1940 and 1941 the Benton was
the largest underground mine in southern Oregon (Oregon
Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, 1942, p. 17). Other
important mines in the Galice district were the Almeda, Gold Bug,
Oriole, Black Bear, and Robertson. The periods of greatest
production from the quartz mines were from 1900 to 1910 and from
1939 to 1942. The district was practically inactive from 1951
through 1959. The Galice district produced about $5 million in
gold to 1913. From 1914
through 1959, gold production included 16,600 ounces from lode
mines, 7,258 ounces from placers, and 1,941 ounces
undifferentiated as to source. Total production, including
estimates of
GRANTS PASS DISTRICT: The Grants
Pass district is in east-central Josephine County between lat
42024' and 42035' N. and long 123015' and 123035' W. Included
within this district are the Jump off Joe Creek, Rogue River,
Winona, and Merlin camps. The earliest mining was along Picket
and Jump off Joe Creeks several years after the discoveries along
Josephine Creek in 1852. Although records are scanty, apparently
this district was not important until lode quartz mining began in
the 1890's. The major lode mine was the Daisy or Hammersley. Some
of the important
placer mines were along Jump off Joe Creek, the Rogue River, and
the Dry Digging at the town of
Grants Pass. The district was sporadically active through the
1930's, but only a few mines were in
operation in 1942 (Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries, 1942, p. 66). From 1951 through 1959 only a few
ounces was reported from the district. Estimates of early lode
production credit the Granite Hill mine with $65,000 in gold, the
Daisy with $200,000, and the Baby with $20,000. Incomplete
production data for the district from 1904 to 1932 total 5,218
ounces. From 1932 through 1957 the district produced 540 ounces
of lode gold and 6,087 ounces of placer gold. Total production
through 1959, including the estimates of early production, was
about 22,000 ounces.
GREENBACR DISTRICT: The Greenback
district, which includes Graves, Wolf, and Coyote Creeks, is in
the northeast corner of Josephine County, between lat 42037' and
42043'
N. and long 123016' and 123028' W. The date of gold discovery in
this district is unknown, but placers along Graves and Wolf
Creeks probably were discovered in 1860 and were productive
through the 1940's. In the late 1890's and early 1900's, lode
mines such as the Greenback, Dorothea, and Livingston were
discovered, and they exceeded the placers in production. For some
time in the early 1900's the Greenback mine was regarded as the
largest producer in southwest Oregon. After the 1930's, however,
production from placers was much greater than that from the lode
mines. From World War II through 1959 the Greenback district
produced only 100 to 200 ounces of gold annually. Records of
early production in the Greenback district do not exist and
estimates are fragmentary. The Dorothea mine produced $50,000 in
gold, and the Livingston, $20,000 (Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries, 1942, p. 101, 110). reported early
production of $400,000 from placers along Graves Creek. Total
recorded production for the district from 1904 through 1959 was
37,062 ounces--2,001 ounces from lode mines, 28,853 ounces from
placers, and 6,208 ounces undifferentiated. Total gold production
through 1959, including Winchell's estimate of early placer
production from Grave Creek, must have been at least 55,000
ounces.
ILLINOIS RIVER DISTRICT: The
Illinois River district is along the west boundary of Josephine
County between lat 42013' and 42"29' N. and long 123038' and
124005' W. Placer mining was reported as early as 1852 in the
gravels of Josephine Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River,
but
records of early production are so fragmentary that the early
output from the district is uncertain. Scattered data attribute
2,006 ounces to the district from 1904 to 1932 (U.S. Geological
Survey, 1904-24; U.S. Bureau of Mines, 192532). From 1932 through
1959 the district produced 327 ounces of lode gold and 3,670
ounces of placer gold. Total recorded production through 1953 was
6,003 ounces, but the unrecorded early production must have been
at least 5,000 to 10,000 ounces. There was no recorded production
from 1954 through 1959.
LOWER APPLEGATE DISTRICT: The
Lower Applegate district is in southeastern Josephine County
between lat 42007' N. and long 123015' and 123036' W. The
recorded production of this district from 1904 through 1959 was
only 4,180 ounces and does not warrant its inclusion in this
report; however, as placers were mined along Williams Creek soon
after 1852 and through the 1870's, it seems logical to assume a
total production of well over 10,000 ounces. Most of the
production was from placers, but lode mines were discovered as
early as 1860 and were
active on a small scale until 1950. The major lode mines were the
Humdinger, Oregon Bonanza, and Porcupine. The most productive
placers were along Williams, Slate, and Oscar Creeks and Missouri
Flat.
WALDO DISTRICT: The Waldo
district is in southern Josephine County between lat 42"00'
and 42"10' N. and long 123"30' and 123"50' W.
Placers have been the mainstay of this district;
however, there are a few lode mines, and some gold is produced as
a byproduct from some of the copper mines. Placers were
discovered along Althouse Creek in 1853 and were
developed mainly by a group of sailors who constructed a long
ditch to carry sufficient water to
work the placers. By 1901 production declined, but the district
was rejuvenated shortly afterward when hydraulic mining enabled
substantial economical production from lower grade gravels. The
district was active until 1942, but from then until 1959 it was
virtually idle. Shenon (1933b, p. 179) estimated a total minimum
placer gold production of $4 million (about 194,000 ounces) up to
1932. From 1932 through 1959 the district produced 1,228 ounces
from lode mines and 18,614 ounces from placers. Total production
through 1959 was about 213,800 ounces. The principal placer mines
were the Llano de Ore, Deep Gravel, and Platerica mines. The
Queen of Bronze copper mine, whose total production was valued at
more than $1,350,000, yielded ore containing from 0.04 to 0.44
percent gold and 5.16 to 16.33 percent copper .
LANE COUNTY
Lane County has been a relatively small gold producer even
though mining of the precious metals
began as early as 1858 and continued in a desultory fashion
through the 1940's. Most of the gold has come from veins in the
Bohemia and Blue River districts. Total recorded gold production
of Lane County from 1880 through 1959 was slightly more than
46,000 ounces. Considering that mining began in 1858, it seems
reasonable to assume that at least 50,000 ounces of gold was
produced.
BLUE RIVER DISTRICT: The Blue
River district is in Lane and Linn Counties, between lat
44"10' and 44"20' N. and long 122"10' and
122"25' W. The Lucky Boy mine, the only large producer in
the district, was discovered in 1887. Gold production from the
district was estimated to be worth
$50,000 to $100,000 before 1896, and it was 7,728 ounces from
1896 to 1924. Only 44 ounces was reported from the district from
1924 through 1959. The total production, using the lower estimate
of Callaghan and Buddington, was about 10,200 ounces.
BOHEMIA DISTRICT: The Bohemia
district is 35 miles southeast of Cottage Grove between lat
43035' and 43045' N. and long 122035' and 122045' W. on the
divide between the Umpqua and Willamette drainage systems. The
district was discovered in 1858, and some ore was mined until
1877, when the mill closed and the district became inactive. In
1891 there was a revival of activity that continued until about
1912. Since then, activity has been somewhat sporadic. There was
no recorded production from 1952 through 1959. The entire gold
production of 14,591 ounces in
Lane County from 1880 to 1900 is credited to the Bohemia district.
From 1902 through 1930 the district produced 13,695 ounces, and
from 1931 through 1959 it produced 10,270 ounces of lode gold and
81 ounces of placer gold. Total recorded gold production through
1959 from the district is 38,637 ounces.
MALHEUR COUNTY
Considerable gold has been produced from the Malheur district,
in northern Malheur County, and
from the Mormon Basin district which extends into Baker County.
As might be expected, early production from such
border-straddling districts was reported with little
consideration for geography; however, it is fairly certain that
the bulk of the Mormon Basin output was from the part of the
district in Baker County. Gold production data for Malheur County
are complete from 1904, but data on district production before
1932 are fragmentary. From 1904 through 1959 Malheur County
produced 13,522 ounces of lode gold and 13,860 ounces of placer
gold. More than one-third of this came from the Mormon Basin
district.
MALHEUR DISTRICT: The Malheur
district is about 10 miles west-south-west of the Mormon Basin
district in northern Malheur County. Information on this district
is fragmentary. The district's greatest production was in 1875,
just after the completion of the Eldorado ditch which pro-
vided sufficient water to mine the gulch gravels on a fairly
large scale. Production for that year was
$150,000 in gold. No further mining was reported until the late
1930's and early 1940's. From 1932 through 1942, the district
produced 36 ounces of lode gold and 2,277 ounces of placer gold.
From 1942 through 1959 no production was reported. The minimum
total production for the district through 1959, including
Lindgren's report of $150,000 for 1875, was about 9,600 ounces of
gold.
MORMON BASIN DISTRICT: The Malheur County part of the Mormon Basin district produced 4,133 ounces of lode gold and 5,199 ounces of placer gold between 1904 and 1959, but before 1932 not all the annual production was reported. from 1952 through 1959, no gold production was reported from the district
[Oreg.] [Ariz.] [N.M.] [S.D.] [Tenn.] [S.C..] [N.C..] [Penn.]
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