Golden Eagle Mine, 1894. Courtesy of Del & Diane Poole
In days of yore, before Prohibition, it was the County Board of Supervisors who granted liquor licenses. At times it was a contentious issue. In 1907, the County Board granted Ed Driskell’s application to operate a saloon at Hayden Hill. The two largest mine operators there, the Golden Eagle and Lassen Mining Company objected, but the County Board ignored their plea. In retaliation, Golden Eagle, shut down their mine. It should be noted that the Golden Eagle was Lassen County’s largest and most productive mine.
One of the problems that stymied development was water, or specifically the lack thereof. Efforts were made to bring water from Willow Creek, but that was fraught with problems—litigation over water rights. Then there was another dilemma, of finding water in all the wrong places. In the tunnels miners experienced a tremendous amount of water seepage, compounding an already difficult task. The author can attest first hand having had explored the Golden Eagle mine with water dripping everywhere.
Hayden Hill, 1909. Courtesy of Dallas & Joyce Snider
In the 1892 California Mineralogist report on Hayden Hill, it was duly noted that over $2,000,000 in gold had been extracted. It was noted there was a good quality kaolin deposit there as well. However, since it was so far removed from any rail transportation service, that the deposit was deemed worthless. Kaolin historically was used in porcelain, but the majority of it is used in paper manufacturing that gives the glossy paper its sheen.
One of the most interesting enterprises around the region was the Buffalo Salt Works in the Smoke Creek Desert. It is so easy today to take many things for granted, but back in the early days of settlement of the mid-1850s, those hardy souls did not have that luxury.
First of all, it boggles my mind, how B.F. “Frank” Murphy and Marion “Comanche George” Lawrence discovered and claimed the salt marsh in the summer of 1864. For most of its existence Murphy was the main operator of the Buffalo Salt Works. Two types of salt was produced. The first being table salt that 99.8% pure. A lesser grade was sold to mining operators with a smelting plant that utilized the salt. The salt was obtained from wells, the brine pumped into vats, and left to dry. In 1888, it was reported that 200 tons of salt was produced annually. Continue reading Buffalo Meadows Salt Works→
One of the mines not located on top of Hayden Hill, 1910
One misconception of Hayden Hill was that all the mining took place at Hayden Hill proper where the town and some of major gold mines were located. However, there were small satellite mining communities surrounding Hayden Hill, such as Franktown and Lewiston. Take for instance the California State Mineralogist 1892 report concerning the Juniper Mine. It stated the three miles from the mine, on Willow Creek, the company own a water power and four arrastras eight feet in diameter.
A subscriberwanted to know about an old abandoned flume at Willow Creek near Hayden Hill. According to the 1938 adjudication report of Ash Creek and its tributaries had this information:
”Diversion 87 is that of the Lassen Mining Company Ditch on Willow Creek. This diversion has a low rock dam which is used to divert to the south side of Willow Creek into an earth ditch and wood box flume three-fourths mile in length. The ditch is used to transport water to a small power plant. Power is generated to pump domestic water to the Hayden Hill mine. The ditch has a capacity of 3.5 cubic feet per second which is the average available operating head during the summer months when the entire stream is diverted into the ditch.”
Lassen County’s mining community of Hayden Hill went through many boom and bust cycles. The school closed for the last time in 1925 for lack of students. The fate of the school building is conflicted. On April 18, 1931, long time Hayden Hill resident J.S. Owens offered to purchase the two-story building from Lassen County for $125. It appears the county did not accept the offer, but it did raise awareness. On June 1, 1931 the county placed the school on the market. Fred Bunselmeier and Lloyd Walsh purchased it, but the records did not disclose how much they paid for it.
First of all, it is a view of the Amedee Mountains. Gold was discovered there in 1906.
Secondly, one is also looking at the Tommy Tucker Cave. This was a significant archaeological site excavated by archaeologists from the University of California from 1949-195 1. The cave is located 200 feet above the valley floor.
Throughout the American West most every region has some sordid lost gold mine tale, and the region around here is of no exception. Of course, over the years the story takes on a life of its own. Holden Dick was a Pitt River Indian who in 1885 was tried for the gruesome murder of Samuel Shaw on the Madeline Plains. Some attribute that it was not actually a mine, but loot from a freight wagon loaded with gold that was robbed when it traveled through Modoc County. Whether Holden Dick was perpetrator is not clear. Whatever the case may be, the gold was hidden in a cave in the South Warner Mountains. Anyhow, from time to time, Holden Dick would show up in the streets of Alturas and Susanville with gold. Where it came from he never said, and he took his secret to grave when he was lynched in 1886. To add more intrigue there is his lost map. Some sources indicate Holden Dick had a map where his bounty was located and he gave it to defense attorneys, Ephraim Spencer and John Raker. What became of the map is pure speculation. The bottom line, to this day, there are people still looking for the elusive mine.
A reader asked about the current status of Hayden Hill. When Lassen Gold shut down in 1997, they began their reclamation process. As a member of the Lassen County Planning Commission we are briefed from time to time as to the status. It should be duly noted that the Lassen County Planning Department is the lead agency in the reclamation process. It should also be duly noted that there is no public access to the site and the property is fenced.
