Grass Valley High School - Stray Leaves Yearbook (Grass Valley, CA)

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sisrosr or THE GRASS VALLEY MINES U jig ' r Quartz gold was discovered in Grass Valley. in of eseeg P, ieso. George ucxniget, While Walking on Qcld H111, H gig :Xl stubbed his toe on a rock and discovered it to be jk f'f Q! EX a piece of quartz. iThis discovery caused the rapid fEit?S?f'TXl.F' development of quartz mining through various stages 1rmtHnFt3 ?dEhh2Tt t in Grass Valley' The Idaho-Maryland Mine, originally known as the Eureka, is lo- cated where the very first miners came. -The Coleman Brothers-made a great deal of money out of the mine-for a while, but their success did not last long- Just as the mine was about to be wrecked, Mr- Er- rol Mac Boyle, who owned some of the stock, managed to get hold of it. Mr- Hao Boyle and-Mr. Albert Crass worked together on the mine. Mr- Albert Grass secured all the gold he could possibly getifrom the mine, and when he failed to secure enough for expenses, Mr. has Boyle bor- rowed money in San Francisco. The two'discovered the vein that re- sulted in the mine becoming very rich. The success of the mine that exists today is due to the perseverance of these two men: Mr. Errol Mac Boyle and Hrs Albert Crass. y The Massachusetts Hill Eine was an important one in its day, and there is an interesting story connected with it. Michael Brennan, an Irishman who had secured some of the stock of this mine while in Ireland, came to Auerica with his family and became superintendent in 1856. Brennan was successful at first in his attempts in the mine, and elated over this fact, he spent a hugo sum on the mine, which eventually turned out to be unprofitable- Ho had borrowed money to carry on and was greatly in debt. Brennan realized the plight that he and his family were in and was driven to desper- ation- One day it was discovered that Brennan had committed suicide, taking his family with him. ' i ,M And fate took it in hand the next day to cause t' dir discovery of the ledge for which Brennan had WM 'i r II Cl Q v x ,pg -4 s 1 . given up all hope. ,P 3,,hefj1 -'4 gl tg tree-f 1 f- hr 4: , 'I'-...lr 'g fa U I Q c ,,., ' 2 gnkgwn ' een W as -EH I 5' it .Q-1,1 lejgadf.. .Whig BLA F 1. . r HM: :h iv-rf:-zrfgizi I lewd' W o V y

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I The Empire Mine, once known as the Ophir Hill Mine, was located in 1850 by George D. 'K S Roberts The mine changed hands in 1851, and' H f later more ground we puzch sed By 1900 it ,fe . t u-....... 'K fr S ' 9, . ' ,bougpf ,,.., gp had secured the claims and lodges of various other fplwim- QW mines. oOne of the most important men contribut- 'l rh Www ' ing to the success of the Empire was William B. ' Bourne. In spite of the fact that mine experts' ' declared that the Empire was no good. Bourne reorganized the company, and he was rewarded in 1883 when the mine became rich. He then bought the North Star property. . The North Star Mine was formerly known as Lafayette Hill and' was discovered in 1851 by a frenohman, Pelletier, thus causing it , to be often called the French Lead. It was closed about forty years ago and was later reopened by public subscription by Mr. Hague, and by Mr. Arthur D.-Footeg engineer and superintendent for many years. It produced largely after that. Mr. G. W. Starr brought about a great new development in the mine which still conf tinuee. 1 Today these mines, the Empire and the North Star, are giving successful production under the general management of Mr. Fred W. Nobs. Q For years mules have been used in the Grass Valley mines. They have become accustomed to this type of living and when taken into tho mines, they are kept thoro u til they die. One of those mules, Jasper, is of particular interest. Jasper greatly-enjoys a chew of tobapco and often will not work unless it is given to him. ' 'A o s ' The North Star, the Empire, and the Idaho- .MM ix-irzrylund are the most important mines in Grass Q ' V Valley and their development has caused Grass mga! wa I nl Q Valley to grow from a meager mining camp tp a 'gi ?iwjQm42 1' ?'l33 1 -2- ey 3 bemztiful town of perria- ' H gg, git 1 M3 nent homes and happy people. 55mi5hETtQ5W't r ' 5 -.'.:Z ' , ' f - -