Nestling in the foothills of the Sierras lies the town of La Grange, from whence flow the waters that fertilized the vast valley below. The town, at one time the county seat, glories not in its history of the present or the future, but in the history of the past. Then it was a busy, lively camp, and from its shelter have gone forth stalwart pioneers who were prominent in the activities of the valley towns. In most cases, now their memory only remains and their sons and their daughters are carrying on the splendid work began by the pioneer fathers and mothers. The memory of the writer's father and mother will ever be his most sacred gift.
The first settler at La Grange was Eli Dye, who in 1852 located a rancho. The place was of no importance until the Americans began flocking into the rich diggings of French Bar in August, 1854. Then things began to boom. “Since that time the town of La Grange has been steadily on the increase, in point of mining importance, and the population within two months has taken a rapid rise. A plot of ground was laid off, substantial houses were erected, numerous mechanics and storekeepers came to the place and last, but not least, a fair sprinkling of the fair sex have arrived."
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La Grange is about 30 miles ESE by road of where I used to live, and I have crawled all through, over, and around the place. A lot of the old structures are not only still there but still in use today, including the Bates store pictured in the first photo at the link.
If you travel south on La Grange Road a couple miles towards Snelling, you can see the skeleton of one of the dredges also pictured in the link. It's been sitting in its own pond since it was abandoned back in the late 1930s.
La Grange, Snelling, Merced Falls. Talk about an area rich in history.
ReplyDeleteVery rich in history, but virtually unknown to most folks. If I only had a few hours to spare but wanted to get away, that area is where I went.
DeleteI didn't realize the Yosemite Lumber Company's sawmill was just upstream from the Merced Goldfields until I ran across a really good article on the YVRR a few days ago. It described the mill's location as being in the corner where Merced Falls Road turns north and heads towards La Grange. Then when I checked out Google Earth you could see the disturbances of the mill site and the goldfields just downstream.
DeleteMerced Falls was actually a company town owned by the sawmill during that time period. Once the mill shut down in the 1940s, all the houses in the area were destroyed. If you're on the ground, you can see the foundations of all the houses just north of Merced Falls Road where it crooks right before Hornitos Road. You have to drive past where the houses were to get to McSwain Reservoir.
DeleteThe old residents of the former town still have reunions - or at least they used to. I'm not sure any of them are still alive.
https://www.mercedcountyevents.com/steve-newvine-1/merced-falls-a-ghost-town-with-a-great-story
That's the very webpage I discovered this week!
DeleteI'll look around Google Earth again as soon as I get $324 worth of groceries put away.
Quick story: There used to be a town near the Yuba Goldfields called Hammonton that was moved twice(!) so the dredge could work where the town(s) once stood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammonton,_California
I worked with a guy that grew up there. He said it was a great place to be a kid.
If you'll get on Google Earth and go south on La Grange Rd to where the dredge is located, directly across the road to the east is an off road park. That's where the town of Patricksville stood until that dredge and its sisters churned through it in its quest for gold. The mining company completely destroyed that small village. There is absolutely nothing left of it. Even a google search turns almost nothing about the town except this:
Deletehttps://noehill.com/stanislaus/nat1971000208.asp
I couldn't find the dredge until I found a website with its Lat and Long. They must have reclaimed the ground it worked, because there's hardly any trace of tailings piles anywhere.
DeleteI think I can tell the areas they worked from the grey soil they left behind.
Sure is an odd place to find a dredge.
That whole area is covered in dredge tailings, but they're fairly small in size. Most of the tailings were dumped right behind the dredge, filling in the area it just worked, so basically the pond moved with the dredge.
DeleteNow if you'll go back to Merced Falls on GE and using the measuring tool, go due west 3.2 miles and on the north side of J16, you'll see a field of big dredge tailing piles. That's the most visible area using GE, but that entire area is loaded with them.
I could see the piles easily down by Merced Falls. To me, the only really obvious ones up north were in the area on the far side of the OHV park from the dredge, and I only noticed them because I already knew where the dredge was at.
DeleteAnyway, I found the dredge's location and monument and I could drive right to them now if I wanted to.
Don't bother. It's on private property and the gate at La Grange Rd is always closed and locked. The only way you can see the dredge is from the road with binoculars and that's only during the winter, otherwise the trees at the pond block the view of the dredge.
DeleteIf I went, I'd be going to visit the monument and see the county, which I've never seen before. Priest Grade is as far south in the Mother Lode as I've ever been.
DeleteI already know what rusty iron looks like.
You've never been down to Mariposa? They have an outstanding museum, plus the Gem and Mineral museum at the fairgrounds is worth the trip.
DeleteNope. I've never been to any of those great little historic places you speak of so often... Mariposa, Coulterville, Hornitos, Oakhurst, Chinese Camp, Jamestown, Moccasin, et al. Never seen any of them.
DeleteOn the other hand, the north end of 49 from Sonora and Angels Camp to Vinton, I've been everywhere, Man.
h/t: Johnny Cash
Man, I love the Southern Mining District, especially off the beaten path.
DeleteYou and I were lucky enough to have explored these special places when there were far fewer people around and illegal pot grows weren't everywhere like they are now, caretaken by God knows who. I'll always be thankful I saw my favorite county when I did.
DeleteYeah, back then you could still get on to private property to check out old sites. I don't think I've ever had a landowner tell me no, and usually all it took was to get him talking about what he knew about the site in question. That was a double score because not only was I allowed to trespass, but I also got much more accurate information than the books I read about the place.
DeleteRight on. Nothing like leaning history straight out of the horse's mouth. And they probably enjoyed sharing their stories with someone who was actually interested in hearing them.
DeleteYep, it was a different time.
Have a great weekend, Ken. And thanks for the fun conversation.
DeleteHave driven through La Grange many times on the way to Lake McClure (near Coulterville) to go hang gliding.
ReplyDeleteCoulterville is another small, interesting town. Their "museum" is packed with cool, historical items. On one visit the docent on hand was the same guy in a picture of two miners showing off hens' egg sized gold nuggets.
Coulterville holds an annual "Coyote Howl" contest that originated during the Gold Rush. For an entire weekend people are walking around town giving their best coyote howl. Sounds silly, but it's a ton of fun!
I spent a lot of time there too. Matter of fact, I had a gold claim on Maxwell Creek outside of town a couple miles just off Dogtown Road.
Delete