7/22/07
Today we got a big education in hard rock gold mining at the
Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley. We took a guided tour down an actual mine shaft (we went down about 20 feet) and learned that the miners actually worked mostly below 4500 feet below the surface. From about 1850-1957 they mined here, removing tons of rock to locate the quartz that held the gold veins. They worked 6 days a week, 10 hours a day for $18 an hour, by candlelight pounding a sledgehammer into rock and using gunpowder for blasting in very cramped spaces.. no thanks
The Bourn family that ran the mine also built a “Cottage House” on the property where we actually got to meet the Bourn’s and their housekeeper and they shared stories about their lives there. Katie the housekeeper spent 10 minutes alone telling us about her beautiful wood burning stove and all of it’s uses. She was delighted that the house had warm and cold running water and indoor plumbing.
1 comment:
Just returned from California and enjoyed a trip to Grass Valley and took the mine tour. Seems the workers there in the early days of working in the mine made just over $3 a day which in those days was more than most jobs.
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