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Showing posts with label Tower House Historic District. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tower House Historic District. Show all posts
Saturday, June 7, 2025
The Historic Camden House Property.
Monday, May 26, 2025
FROST & BLOOMFIELD'S BLACKSMITHING SHOP
Filmed on location on May 24, 2025.
This was the site of Frost & Bloomfield’s Blacksmith shop, which was located in the Tower House District, of Shasta County, California, and was erected between: 1853 and 1864. This is where Frost and Bloomfield conducted their wagon making and blacksmith business at the corner of Trinity Mountain Road to French Gulch and Highway 299 West to Weaverville. It was situated near the Tower House, a former hostelry which formerly operated in the area, next to the existing historic Camden House.
Most of the building stood standing as a prominent feature in the area, which was deteriorating overtime, and eventually it led to its demise about 1930 when it was demolished. However, the rock foundation was preserved from demolition and in later years a storage shed was erected on this historic site connecting to the original rock foundation of the blacksmith building. Then in 1973, the site became protected upon the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.
Arson destroyed the storage shed in 2014, and again it was threatened by the 2018 Carr fire, just four years later. Today, the rock foundation of this historic structure still remains intact and is over-seen by the National Park Service. Come see what remains of this historic site.
1850 U.S. Census
1860 U.S. Census
The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 15, 1864
1866 California U.S. Voters Registration
1870 U.S. Census
The National Park Service
Blacksmith Shop marker photo detailing the history of the Frost & Bloomfield 's Blacksmithing Shop. Courtesy of Noah Everett.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
(OLD) HIGHWAY 299 EAST & WEST ALLIGNMENT BETWEEN WHISKEYTOWN AND THE TOWERHOUSE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
Filmed on location November 2, 2024.
Come explore the following sections of (Old) Highway 299 east and west alignment between Whiskeytown and the Towerhouse Historic District, of Shasta County, California. This highway route was formally a stage road established in 1854, and later a toll road called the Shasta to Weaverville Road or Weaverville to Shasta Road pre-1872 or after the establishment of Redding it was called the Redding to Weaverville Road or Weaverville to Redding Road. In 1934 this historic route became Highway 299 east and west and parts of this route were later decommissioned about 1963.
Resources:
Shasta - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, April 13, 1852
Shasta - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 14, 1852
California Legislature - Fifth Session - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, April 15, 1854
Trinity River Correspondence - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 20, 1854
From Weaverville - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 6, 1855
Trinity River Correspondence - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, February 17, 1855
Trip To Weaverville - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 13, 1855
Report of the Wagon Road Committee - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, June 20, 1857
Organization Of The Wagon Road Co. - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, June 27, 1857
Wagon Road Meeting And Report Of Survey - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, July 25, 1857
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors - Aug. Term - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, August 8, 1857
Wagon Road Meeting - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, August 15, 1857
The Wagon Road - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, August 15, 1857
The Trinity Wagon Road - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, August 22, 1857
Weaverville Wagon Road - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, September 1, 1857
Hurrah For The Wagon Road - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, October 3, 1857
Wagon Roads - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, October 16, 1857
The Sacramento Valley And Weaverville Wagon Company - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, October 16, 1857
Shasta And Our Neighbors - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, November 7, 1857
The Wagon Road - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, November 28, 1857
Progress Of the Wagon Road - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, December 26, 1857
Trinity Wagon Road - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, February 6, 1858
Wagon Road To Weaverville - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 27, 1858
Improvements As We Go - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, March 27, 1858
The Trinity Wagon Road - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, January 2, 1858
The Road - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, January 16, 1858
The Louden Road - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, March 13, 1858
Increased Travel To The North - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, September 11, 1858
Staging To Weaverville - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, April 24, 1858
Trail To Weaverville - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 24, 1858
To Weaverville - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, May 1, 1858
Teams To Weaverville - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, May 15, 1858
A Bad Road - The Shasta Republican newspaper of Shasta, November 20, 1858
Bill Lowden declares... - The Trinity Journal newspaper of Weaverville, December 18, 1858
The Redding And Weaverville Stage - by May H. Southern, January 22, 1933, sketch by Mabel Lowden Moores, 388 - P. 1086; VF 388.0 Roads/Trails Misc., Roads/Trails 1086, available at Shasta Historical Society in Redding.
My Playhouse Was A Concord Coach, an anthology of newspaper clippings and documents relating to those who made California history during the years 1822-1888, by Mae Hélène Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942
Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949
Historic Resource Study Whiskeytown National Recreation Area by Anna Coxe Toogood, May 1978, Denver Service Center, Historic Preservation Team, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, by Al M. Rocca, Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 3, 2010) ISBN10: 1451568533,ISBN-13: 978-1451568530
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Tower House Historic District Abandoned Mine: A Stope & An Ore Pass
Ever climbed up an ore pass of an abandoned mine before? Not too many people have. An ore pass is a vertical or inclined passage for the downward transfer of ore connecting to a lower level of a mine connecting with an ore chute/ore shoot. We were expecting this mine to be plugged or gated within the boundaries of the Tower House Historic District near Whiskeytown, California, but it was wide opened, so we didn't bring a hard hat. This mine is one of those abandoned treasures which don't appear on any topography maps of the region and doesn't have a recorded history of it. Inside the mine you'll see a small stope as well which my friend Ryan Hammon and I discovered.
Filmed on location December 16, 2023.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
The El Dorado mine on Mill Creek
The entrance to the El Dorado mine along Mill Creek. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
The El Dorado mine is located along Mill Creek in the Tower House Historic District, which is included in the boundaries of the French Gulch Mining District. A prospector by the name of William Paul, a native of England, located this mine in 1885. That year, Paul dug a 500 foot shaft on his property and he began toiling away in it in hopes of striking valuable ore. Since it was located the mine yielded lucrative results during its production of ore.
According to W.B. Tucker, a mining engineer, the El Dorado mine was actively producing between the years 1912 and 1919, the ore was free milling. During the interim, in November of 1915, this mine was yielding $40 per day, while a man by the surname of Connor owned and operated it. He was busy improving the mining property with new developments.
At that time, the El Dorado mine included several tunnels on the property and a two-stamp mill which was in operation 24 hours a day. When the rock was crushed at the stamp mill, the ore was collected and it was alloyed together using mercury. A brick valued at $400 was the final result of Connor’s clean up that month.
It wasn’t a major producer of gold but it was a relevant mine. Production notes state that during these years the mine produced a total of $25,000. This mining property consisted of 40 acres of land which was patented. Then in, 1967 the National Park Service purchased this mining property from a man named Frank Bickford.
Many relics were preserved at the mining site by the National Park Service which are original to the property and were used in the mine. Old long tom's, ore cars, sluice boxes, gold pans and other equipment are locked inside the tool shed and scattered around the bunk house at this mining site. The stamp mill remains there today as well as a quartz crusher that was used. It's an easy .03 miles to the El Dorado mine on the Mill Creek Trail near the historic Camden House for those with children.
Aditional pics:
The Stamp mill. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
Ore cars, long tom's and sluice boxes mixed with other equipment is visible at the El Dorado mine. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
Mining equipment with pipe and bricks are located at the El Dorado mining site. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
A rocky staircase leading up a slope at the El Dorado mine. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
A quartz crusher beside the tool shed at the El Dorado mine. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2015.
RESOURCES:
Mining In California, January 1922, published by California State Bureau. District Reports of Mining Engineers by W.B. Tucker. Page 405
Trail Guide: Clear Creek Vista Trail by National Park Service, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Sketches of Levi and Charles, Tower House Historic District: A Field Trip Journal Teacher’s Edition.” National Park Service
Small Quartz Mill Averages $40 Daily - The Sacramento Union newspaper, November 22, 1915
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