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Historic

Historic places

52 posts

Jefferson Ghost Town

Jefferson Ghost Town

Jefferson is a very scenic area and usually has a nice little creek running down through the trees. Once an old mining town, mainly in the 1870s, it is split into two sections – Upper Jefferson and Lower Jefferson. The lower part of town had stores, houses, and two mills: the

Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

In 2006, Dan and I hiked out to this petroglyph site we’ve wanted to check out for a while. It was a bit of a hike, but we were well rewarded. We were very surprised to find historical inscriptions by cowboy and miner Bill Keys (of Joshua Tree fame)

Roode Rock

Roode Rock

While wandering around in the wilds of Death Valley National Park, we found a historic inscription by William Roode (also Rood or Rude), who was one of the Jayhawkers who escaped Death Valley in 1849. There is some debate as to if the inscription was really made in 1849 or

Crescent Mill and the Rosey Mine

Crescent Mill and the Rosey Mine

There isn’t too much known about the Crescent Mill or the Rosey Mine. This part of Nevada first boomed in early 1865 when promising silver deposits were located in the Mount Irish area. The Pahranagat Mining District was quickly formed. One of the early mines was the List mine.

Dana Ghost Camp

Dana Ghost Camp

I did a little solo hike up to the old townsite of Dana, which is high up on Tioga Hill in Yosemite National Park. It was a great short hike along the crest of the Sierras. The views were fantastic, even if the mosquitoes were thick. Dana was the first

Bodie Ghost Town

Bodie Ghost Town

Empire Mine State Historic Park

Empire Mine State Historic Park

Back in 2003, we took a trip up to the Sierra Nevada, and our group gained special permission from the California State Park service to explore a small underground portion of the massive Empire Mine inside the appropriately named Empire Mine State Historic Park in beautiful Grass Valley, California. Doug