History of the Mother Lode
Information Stops #8, #9, and #10 |
Information Stop #8, Merced Falls
Left photo: From 1912 to 1943 the Yosemite Lumber Company had a large mill located at Merced Falls. Great amounts of lumber were kiln dried and open-air dried before being shipped via rail from Merced Falls. There were hundreds of residents, a company store, and a school! Right photo: The shell of the building in the background is all that remains of Merced Falls which was first known as California Ranch Crossing, then Bill's Ferry. On September 4, 1854, the town opened a Post Office. Because of the plentiful water supply, many flour, barley, and woolen mills were built from 1854 through 1867. In August of 1895, fire destroyed the town. You'll hear on your tape recorder, Bill Keeler tell about working in the lumber mill.
Information Stop #9, "The Old Grey Goose Dredge"
Left Photo: Bill Keeler and Jim Trapp stand looking at the "Old Grey Goose" dredge, a very effective tool man invented to claim gold from the soil. Built in 1938, at a cost of $500,000, this dredge operated near La Grange, California until 1949. It operated three shifts a day for 7 days a week, and recovered nearly $3,000,000 worth of gold. Right Photo: The dredge's digging ladder had 100 digging buckets. Twenty-four buckets of dirt were dumped into a tumbler screen each minute. Water flushed the fine gravel through the screen, and it then flowed over plates covered with quick silver. The larger rocks and gravel were taken via a conveyor belt to the rear of the dredge and dropped overboard.
Above Photo: Dredge "tailings" can be seen throughout the Mother Lode. During its last week of operation, the "Old Grey Goose" recovered $10,000 worth of gold. Dredging caused great enviormental damage.
Information Stop #10, La Grange, California
The above photo is of the late Bill Keeler, a wonderful friend to our teachers. Bill is standing next to one of the "Old Grey Goose's" digging buckets. In the immediate area of the digging bucket are located several original historic buildings.
Teachers: This concludes your tour of the ten Information Stops which you will visit as you take the Fresno Pacific University course, History of the Mother Lode, SOC 900. We hope you enjoy your actual visit. BK
If you have questions, please contact the instructor via email below.
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