Register of the Tuolumne County (Calif.) Gold Rush Papers,
1853-1861
Processed by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by
Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the
Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL:
http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 1998
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Register of the Tuolumne County (Calif.) Gold Rush Papers,
1853-1861
Collection number: Mss54
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University
Library
University of the Pacific
Contact Information
- Processed by:
- Don Walker
- Date Completed:
- September 17, 1996
- Encoded by:
- Don Walker
© 1998 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Tuolumne County (Calif.) Gold Rush Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1853-1861
Collection number: Mss54
Creator:
Extent: 0.125 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Tuolumne County (Calif.) Gold Rush Papers,
Mss54, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the
Pacific Library
Biography
During the Gold Rush Tuolumne County was arguably the heartland of the
Southern Mines. One of the original 27 counties (1850), Tuolumne has always had
Sonora as her county seat. The major mining area occupied a huge basalt mesa,
Table Mountain, that stretches some thirty miles along the Stanislaus River.
Close to the northern end lies Columbia, best preserved and most thoroughly
restored of the southern mining towns. Near it is SONORA and four miles south
lies Jamestown. On the Tuolumne River are located Chinese Camp, Jacksonville
and Big Oak Flat.
Columbia was first mined by Mexicans (1849), but they were run out by a
party of Americans in March 1850. One month later the camp had a population of
between 3,000 and 6,000 according to Gudde. Although some large nuggets were
found there (one of 33.5 lbs. brought over $7,000 in 1858), Columbia lacked
water for placer mining and began to decline (1851). This lack was remedied by
mid-1852 by means of Tuolumne Water Company's ditch, which brought the
necessary fluid from Five Mile Creek. Between 1853 and 1857 the region shipped
$100,000 of gold per week. Altogether, Columbia is estimated to have produced
$85 million.
Sonora was first settled by Mexicans (1848). The tax on non-citizen
miners soon made them leave (1851). Although Sonora was a city of 5,000 for
several years beginning as early as (1849), it was also a mining region.
Hittell states that at least twenty nuggets weighing more than one pound each
were discovered there between 1850 and 1858. By the latter date, most of the
placers were exhausted but quartz mining was continued in the vicinity for
several several years. The Sonora district is said to have produced a total of
about $11 million.
Scope and Content
This collection is particularly strong in materials relating to
Jamestown, which lay on Woods Creek and was an important early source of much
gold (1849-1850). The town declined briefly (1852-1855) when surface gold
played out, but revived again with the development of drift mine tunnels
(1856-1885). Several items in the collection are probably evidence of sales
during the period of decline. Over the years, Jamestown yielded an estimated
$30 million, according to Gudde's California Gold Camps.
List of names
mentioned in documents
1-Allen, Ethan...............................1850 census, age 50 MD;
list of Tuol. Co. Pioneers in Buckbee 2-Aspenall, William (or Aspenwall)lst
notary of Tuol. Co.; list of Tuol. Co. Pioneers in Buckbee; Trinity Co. Gold
Rush (1852); Jamestown (1852-53); moved to Vallejo when Sonora became permanent
county seat (1854); Justice of Peace of Vallejo Twp. (1856-64; 1877-?);
President, Bd. of Trustees, City of Vallejo (1865-76) 3-Baldwin,
D.P.............................list of Tuol. Co. Pioneers in Buckbee; Cal. St.
Lib. Biogr. List Sacto. Bee (6-5-86), 1-4 4-Brown,
D.P............................... 5-Clayton,
B................................. 6-Clough,
Joseph..........................Cal. St. Lib. Biogr. List Sacto. Bee (6-28-65)
7-Courtright, Milo........................ 8-Donovan,
William...................... 9-Dumphy, William.......................Cal. St.
Lib. Biogr. List G.W. Sullivan. Early days in Calif. (1888), pp. 180-82
10-Dupont, John........................... 11-Harrison,
Benjamin.................. 12-Harrison, L.A..........................
13-Hodgdon, Jeremiah.................. 14-Holden,
Joshua........................operated hotel in Sonora on grounds of old Sonora
Union High; responsible for town council buying up town lots to raise money for
a local hospital (received insider info that Sonora would be made county seat
and was supposed to pass info along to rich friends of informant, but instead
told City Council); figures in claim-jumping incident (reported in Buckbee, pp.
170-174) in which Washington Mining Co. staked claim in his vegetable garden
& refused to compensate him, upon which he may have recruited some gamblers
& toughs who, in any case, took ground by force. Three men killed. He was
exonerated of wrong-doing by mass meeting & land returned to him. Holden
died June 28, 1853 of "bronchitis" Alta (7-7-53) 15-Juane,
Francis.......................... 16-Keith, C.F................................
17-Kendale, Thomas (or "Kendall")...possibly list of Tuol. Co. Pioneers in
Buckbee 18-Long, Leonard C..................... 19-Mas,
Francis............................ 20-Moss,
H.................................. 21-Navano, Paul (or "Navarro")....1850
census, age 20 MX 22-Nichols, Thomas...................... 23-Parnell,
Edmund.......................may be same "E. Parnell" who later farmed in San
Joaquin Co. near Tracy (1867); if so, a native of Cornwall who came to
California in 1851; list of Tuol. Co. Pioneers in Buckbee 24-Ryder,
B.F............................... 25-Scawthorpe, Thomas................
26-Sloan, Fullerton........................ 27-Smith,
China............................ 28-Smith, J.A................................
29-Smith, James W....................... 30-Stuart, Jacob
S........................ 31-Summers, George.................... 32-Way,
Franklin.......................... 33-Wellington, Henry...................
34-White, Syrus........................... 35-White,
William........................possibly same "Wm. White" who met accidental
death Alta (12-18-55) 36-Woodworth, Byron.................1850 census, age 24
MA
Box 1
Tuolumne County (Calif.) Gold Rush Papers
-Deed transferring title to parcel of ground on Main
Street from William Donovan to Dr. Thomas Kendale (March 7, 1853). [formerly
MS2.T927j]
-Deed transfers title to a parcel of land in Jamestown
from Edmund Parnell to Paul Navano (September 2, 1853). [formerly
MS2.P256]
-Quit claim deed to land "nr. Woods Creek" transfers
title from Joseph Clough to Thomas Scawthorpe (September 12, 1853). [formerly
MS2.T927 1853]
-Quit claim deed to land and Longtom Saloon in Jamestown
transfers title from William Dumphy, Byron Woodworth, Syrus White, C.F. Keith,
William Aspenall and B. Clayton to D.P. Brown (November 16, 1854). [formerly
MS2.T927 1854]
-Deed transfers ownership of Columbia House from Milo
Courtright to Jacob S. Stuart and Henry Wellington (February 1, 1853).
[formerly MS2.S931]
-Quit claim deed transfers title to parcel of land at
Springfield, Columbia District from Leonard C. Long to George M. Summers (May
16, 1853). [formerly MS2.L848]
-Indenture transfers title to lot, house, tools and beer
at Santiago [less than 1 mi. SE of Columbia] from Francis Mas and Francis Juane
to John Dupont (August 29, 1853). (2 pp.) [formerly MS2.M394]
-Tax receipts for Benjamin Harrison and L. A. Harrison,
Columbia (1857-1861). [formerly MS2.H318]
-Quit claim deed transfers title to 160 acres and Irving
House from Franklin Way to Jeremiah Hodgdon (August 23, 1853). [formerly
MS2.W357]
-Quit claim deed transfers title to a parcel of land
"near Sonora" from Fullerton Sloan to William White (November 1, 1853).
[formerly MS2.S634]
-Quit claim deed transfers title to 160 acres near
Sonora from Thomas Nichols to H. Moss, J.A. Smith and B.F. Ryder (May 26,
1855). [formerly MS2.N622]
-Quit claim deed transfers title to Slater Ranch from
China Smith and James W. Smith to Ethan Allen (December 12, 1854). [formerly
MS2.S644]
-Deed transferring title to Black Springs Ranch from
estate of Joshua Holden to D.P. Baldwin (April 26, 1856). [formerly
MS2.P656]
