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Illinois Mine

Illinois Mine

Lead-silver and gold ores were first discovered here in 1874, and the little camp of Lodi was formed. The town had at least 100 residents by 1878. By 1880, the boom was over, and the mine had produced over $400,000. Things were quiet until the mine came to life

Wyler Spring Cabin

Wyler Spring Cabin

In February 2011, my friend Ed and I did a long walk out to the Wyler Spring Cabin. The cabin is in a lesser-visited corner of Eureka Valley in the BLM’s Piper Mountain Wilderness. The area had a minor amount of mining, and I suspect the cabin was built

Eden Creek Ranch

Eden Creek Ranch

Eden Creek Ranch was a small family ranch and the center of the community for the mines up in the hills above it. According to Helen Fallini, Giovanni Fallini employed Abe Arigoni to build a stone ranch house at Eden Creek around 1910. The Fallini family lived there and supplied

Fields Gollab Cabin

Fields Gollab Cabin

I met up with Dan, Bill, and a few friends to see if we could find an old cabin and do some mine exploration just outside of Death Valley in a seldom-visited area. The mines around here are small, and I couldn't find much information on their history.

Millspaugh

Millspaugh

Millspaugh was a small family mining camp settled in the late 1890s. According to the writings of Elizabeth Mecham, the first mill burned in 1902 but was immediately rebuilt with metal siding. Most of the buildings were hauled off in 1914. These days, the site is deep within China Lake

South Gold Mill

South Gold Mill

Clyde Terrell started the South Gold Mining Company, which bought the South Gold mine around 1926 from Frank McMullen. The mine was developed along a 1,000 ft adit (which is now caved), a 500 ft adit, and a 300 ft one. The mill itself was hand-built by millwright Guy

Emigrant Canyon Petroglyphs

Emigrant Canyon Petroglyphs

What is truly amazing about this small petroglyph site in Death Valley is that it is in plain view, and people pass by it every day. I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me; it is so well hidden in plain sight. It is just off