The Three Sisters Mine

Situated upon Dutch Gulch near the townsite of French Gulch is the Three Sisters mine, a gold mine which was located during the year 1894 in the boundaries of the French Gulch Mining District of Shasta County, California. Historical records relate that this mining property contains a main haulage tunnel of an adit which measures to 1,350 feet and contains 800 feet of drifts, and an open shaft also known as a winze measuring at 120 feet, including a stope of 200 feet as well. Production notes for this mine states it was a lucrative producer of gold, yet the following minerals were also found on this mining property as well: arsenopyrite, pyrite and quartz. This mine has gone through various ownerships and bonds (or leases) through the years. 

The mine was owned and operated by Elias Ellery and his brother James Ellery. Production at this historic mining property ended in 1906. Presently, one of the adits on the property that Ryan and I found is covered in thorn-thick vines and is hard to get into, but it’s flooded with clear water. Water drains from the portal of the adit. Nearby this flooded adit are a couple of prospects with small tailings and a massive tailings pile which can be viewed from the main road looking up the ridge line of the gulch, but we couldn’t find the adit this waste rock came out of suggesting it may have been taken out or collapsed. On the property there is a squared stone structure of a small four corner building mixed with mortar as well. This is where my friend Ryan found a lonely square nail after shifting through the rock on the land near this stone structure. In one mine we found the bones of a dead animal as well. Filmed on location on November 17, 2023.

RESOURCES:

Mines and Miners - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 2, 1895

French Gulch Gleanings - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 16, 1895

French Gulch Gleanings - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, April 30, 1895

French Gulch Gleanings - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, March 3, 1896

Trouble About A Mine - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, September 12, 1896

Mines and Miners - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, September 29, 1896

The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, February 2, 1897

Mines and Miners - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, August 31, 1897

Successful Mining Lease - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, October 2, 1897

Mines and Mining - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, May 17, 1898

Ore From French Gulch - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, August 13, 1898

Proofs Of Labor - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 24, 1898

The Free Press newspaper of Redding, July 8, 1899

Miners Who Have Done Work - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, January 3, 1901