Historical Clippings Book (HC-04) (198 pages)

Sunday, June 16, 1968 ie A bulldozer, left, fills in the y ; } i entrance of the old Golden th LPRLIPR . Center Mine in downtown <i 4 Grass Valley, smoothing the pats way for a new freeway. The ’ Golden Center was one of a “4 4 . group of Grass Valley mines 1) oo) from which $15 million in ore was taken, > +. 4+ cos ~ Be =} Construction in center of photo : » 1} at right is a diversion tunnel . which will carry Wolf Creek EAR hee 2s under the new freeway, GenWag! erations of residents have ys panned for gold in the creek. te In foreground is the filled-in entrance to the Golden Center Mine. Z tase > $got: Leonard Sauer, below, Nevada City takes advantage of a last chance to pan for gold in Wolf ) , f i : aN, : Y t RK , Creek, just behind a shopping s Qs % i>: : > am Ei center in downtown Grass Valick Feed \ > 5 = OY bs Segoe ley. Concrete for a diversion 4 Ka , 4 ys tunnel soon will cover the site. {9 ~s. = Oe” tee S Cree Modern Freeway Will Be Monument To Old Gold Mine By Melvin W. Sylvester alarmed over this unexpectediknowledge of mining to such a Special fo The Bee richness and feared it could'fine degree the 1924 issue of GRASS VALLEY—Except forjlead only to devaluation of goldjLardner & Brock’s History of rotted timbers and long unusedlitself. Placer and Nevada Counties structures teetering in the wind, many gold mines of early California history would attract Of the many mining companies that finally grew out of this first discovery, the largest and little attention today. Old gold)most important gold producer mines just slowly fade away intojis the present Empire Star historical oblivion. group. From 1851 to 1948 the But this sad ending will notiEmpire has yielded approxihappen to the Golden Center. mately $120 million from its 200 Mine of Grass Valley. This fa-. miles of tunnels, according to mous California white-quartz. the 1948 Division of Mines Remine will soon have a multi-jport. This report also suggests milion-dollar tombstone to mark. that Nevada County’s huge outits grave, put of gold hastened the ac. Ai oe . bs Py, + { L € Within a few months a free-. ceptance of California as a State way linking Nevada City and. Without going through the usual Grass Valley will be built diperiod of Territorial status, rectly on top of the main enAlthough the. Golden Center says: “There is no one living in \Grass Valley, or vicinity, who has done more to develop the mineral wealth of the country than Charles A. Brockington.” About this time in Brockington’s career, he met and married Lucy E. O'Donnel of Grass Valley. Twice, after huge successes in mining ventures, his wife Lucy managed to get her husband to retire. Each time the red-headed man of soft heart and iron will returned to his beloved mining in Grass Valley. Collected Claims It was after one of these retrance to this inactive yet still. mine did not join this magnifi-jtums to mining that Brockingcent effort until 1912, its colorfuljton secretly started the collecowner did arrive on the scenejtion of claims he needed to orin 1867 as a boy of 10. With his. ganize a mining venture his wife rich gold mine. Local residents quickly realized the highway construction would destroy the Golden Center entrance and all its aboveground treasures. They formed the Grass Valley Historical Society as a means of salvaging whatever they could of their valuable history. Bob Gates as president and Arlie Hansen as chairman, directed volunteers in moving the Golden Center treasures to nearby Boston Ravine where the society hopes to assemble a hardrock mining museum with the help of donations and assistance from everyone. At roughly $20 an ounce, Grass Valley mines yielded approximately $200 million in gold since 1850 from underground quartz veins. A 1948 Division of Mines Report shows that quartz-type gold was first discovered in Grass Valley on Gold Mountain in 1850 by a man named McKnight. was so heavily laden with gold it netted $2 million within a few feet of the surface, even This first outcropping of ore/was considered very profitable. underground operations at the North Star Mine, young Charles A. Brockington started a 60year mining career as a tool nipper at the age of 13. Gained Reputation After eight years with the Empire, young Brockington switched over to the Idaho Mine: to work another five years, By then the future owner of the Golden Center had gained the secrets might lie just beyond tunnel wall. Several outstanding events transpired during Brockington’s 60-year history as an expert hard-rock miner. In 1886, as his two brothers, Ed and A. J.; Brockington, Charles organized] the WYOD (Work Your OwnDiggings) mine. From the very first, itiis reported, the WYOD Mine paid 10 per cent an Later, after Brockington sold reputation for knowing wha t)!"& E 5 aisembling these same claims father already the foreman ofjnamed the Golden Center. The nucleus to this adventure was purchased in 1910 near Hills Field. Along with the acquisition of the small Dromedary property he intended to use as the entrance to the Golden Center, Brockington acquired approximately 20 choice acres directly beneath the heart of Grass Valley. His life-long dream was coming true. He had dreamed of organizhis own company and aswhich he knew would be rich. For years he had studied mine reports and ore samples until he had drawn a mental picture where his Golden Center tunneling would Jead him below the icity. The heart of his Golden Center property was known as Hills Field, directly in back of his q/Auburn Street home. Today it is the location of the Brockington shopping center. As the years passed, many his interest in the WYOD, he became a partner in the Orleans. °! Brockington’s predictions before tunneling started. The. Mine with Mrs. Susan Mills, gold was so thick, according to. founder of Mills College. As cocame true. One of his predicted veins, named the Garage Vein, reaches up beneath the new the report, it served as an ad-jowner and superintendent of the hesive in holding the rock to-/Orleans for 13 years, Brockinggether. Miners became instantly!ton demonstrated his keen Wells Fargo Bank on Mill Street. Another gold ledge was uncovered when Mayor John Hodge directed excavation for er Sullivan steam-driven power plan Bob Gates, president, and Arlie Hansen, chairman, of the Grass Valley Historical Society, study a twoone of a pair used to operate the stamp mill of the Golden Center Mine, The society hopes to preserve some of the old mine equipment in a museum in nearby Boston Ravine. ae a swimming pool. J Brockington was quoted as saying: “The gold is still there,” but at the current $35 an ounce, even these rich signs are not worth working commercially, When the shopping center was under construction, gold colors were easily identified and as the freeway construction got under way, gold again was being found. During evenings and weekends, young and old furiously dug and panned. One doubter collected about $5 worth of gold from a large bucket of creek bed. The excitement was great. The Golden Center was operated by Brockington from 1912 to 1918. This man of intense activity and remarkable insight was never discouraged, He knew much gold never will be touched beneath the streets of Grass Valley. Brockington sold the mine in 1918, a year after his wife, Lucy, died, Brockington made several fortunes in Grass Valley, but the Golden Center Mine was his most fabulous property, Many residents of the area believe the highway which will serve aus a monument to his favorite mine should be named “The Golden Center Freeway," as another California historical site,.

Sunday, June 16, 1968 ie A bulldozer, left, fills in the y ; } i entrance of the old Golden th LPRLIPR . Center Mine in downtown <i 4 Grass Valley, smoothing the pats way for a new freeway. The ’ Golden Center was one of a “4 4 . group of Grass Valley mines 1) oo) from which $15 million in ore was taken, > +. 4+ cos ~ Be =} Construction in center of photo : » 1} at right is a diversion tunnel . which will carry Wolf Creek EAR hee 2s under the new freeway, GenWag! erations of residents have ys panned for gold in the creek. te In foreground is the filled-in entrance to the Golden Center Mine. Z tase > $got: Leonard Sauer, below, Nevada City takes advantage of a last chance to pan for gold in Wolf ) , f i : aN, : Y t RK , Creek, just behind a shopping s Qs % i>: : > am Ei center in downtown Grass Valick Feed \ > 5 = OY bs Segoe ley. Concrete for a diversion 4 Ka , 4 ys tunnel soon will cover the site. {9 ~s. = Oe” tee S Cree Modern Freeway Will Be Monument To Old Gold Mine By Melvin W. Sylvester alarmed over this unexpectediknowledge of mining to such a Special fo The Bee richness and feared it could'fine degree the 1924 issue of GRASS VALLEY—Except forjlead only to devaluation of goldjLardner & Brock’s History of rotted timbers and long unusedlitself. Placer and Nevada Counties structures teetering in the wind, many gold mines of early California history would attract Of the many mining companies that finally grew out of this first discovery, the largest and little attention today. Old gold)most important gold producer mines just slowly fade away intojis the present Empire Star historical oblivion. group. From 1851 to 1948 the But this sad ending will notiEmpire has yielded approxihappen to the Golden Center. mately $120 million from its 200 Mine of Grass Valley. This fa-. miles of tunnels, according to mous California white-quartz. the 1948 Division of Mines Remine will soon have a multi-jport. This report also suggests milion-dollar tombstone to mark. that Nevada County’s huge outits grave, put of gold hastened the ac. Ai oe . bs Py, + { L € Within a few months a free-. ceptance of California as a State way linking Nevada City and. Without going through the usual Grass Valley will be built diperiod of Territorial status, rectly on top of the main enAlthough the. Golden Center says: “There is no one living in \Grass Valley, or vicinity, who has done more to develop the mineral wealth of the country than Charles A. Brockington.” About this time in Brockington’s career, he met and married Lucy E. O'Donnel of Grass Valley. Twice, after huge successes in mining ventures, his wife Lucy managed to get her husband to retire. Each time the red-headed man of soft heart and iron will returned to his beloved mining in Grass Valley. Collected Claims It was after one of these retrance to this inactive yet still. mine did not join this magnifi-jtums to mining that Brockingcent effort until 1912, its colorfuljton secretly started the collecowner did arrive on the scenejtion of claims he needed to orin 1867 as a boy of 10. With his. ganize a mining venture his wife rich gold mine. Local residents quickly realized the highway construction would destroy the Golden Center entrance and all its aboveground treasures. They formed the Grass Valley Historical Society as a means of salvaging whatever they could of their valuable history. Bob Gates as president and Arlie Hansen as chairman, directed volunteers in moving the Golden Center treasures to nearby Boston Ravine where the society hopes to assemble a hardrock mining museum with the help of donations and assistance from everyone. At roughly $20 an ounce, Grass Valley mines yielded approximately $200 million in gold since 1850 from underground quartz veins. A 1948 Division of Mines Report shows that quartz-type gold was first discovered in Grass Valley on Gold Mountain in 1850 by a man named McKnight. was so heavily laden with gold it netted $2 million within a

few feet of the surface, even This first outcropping of ore/was considered very profitable. underground operations at the North Star Mine, young Charles A. Brockington started a 60year mining career as a tool nipper at the age of 13. Gained Reputation After eight years with the Empire, young Brockington switched over to the Idaho Mine: to work another five years, By then the future owner of the Golden Center had gained the secrets might lie just beyond tunnel wall. Several outstanding events transpired during Brockington’s 60-year history as an expert hard-rock miner. In 1886, as his two brothers, Ed and A. J.; Brockington, Charles organized] the WYOD (Work Your OwnDiggings) mine. From the very first, itiis reported, the WYOD Mine paid 10 per cent an Later, after Brockington sold reputation for knowing wha t)!"& E 5 aisembling these same claims father already the foreman ofjnamed the Golden Center. The nucleus to this adventure was purchased in 1910 near Hills Field. Along with the acquisition of the small Dromedary property he intended to use as the entrance to the Golden Center, Brockington acquired approximately 20 choice acres directly beneath the heart of Grass Valley. His life-long dream was coming true. He had dreamed of organizhis own company and aswhich he knew would be rich. For years he had studied mine reports and ore samples until he had drawn a mental picture where his Golden Center tunneling would Jead him below the icity. The heart of his Golden Center property was known as Hills Field, directly in back of his q/Auburn Street home. Today it is the location of the Brockington shopping center. As the years passed, many his interest in the WYOD, he became a partner in the Orleans. °! Brockington’s predictions before tunneling started. The. Mine with Mrs. Susan Mills, gold was so thick, according to. founder of Mills College. As cocame true. One of his predicted veins, named the Garage Vein, reaches up beneath the new the report, it served as an ad-jowner and superintendent of the hesive in holding the rock to-/Orleans for 13 years, Brockinggether. Miners became instantly!ton demonstrated his keen Wells Fargo Bank on Mill Street. Another gold ledge was uncovered when Mayor John Hodge directed excavation for er Sullivan steam-driven power plan Bob Gates, president, and Arlie Hansen, chairman, of the Grass Valley Historical Society, study a twoone of a pair used to operate the stamp mill of the Golden Center Mine, The society hopes to preserve some of the old mine equipment in a museum in nearby Boston Ravine. ae a swimming pool. J Brockington was quoted as saying: “The gold is still there,” but at the current $35 an ounce, even these rich signs are not worth working commercially, When the shopping center was under construction, gold colors were easily identified and as the freeway construction got under way, gold again was being found. During evenings and weekends, young and old furiously dug and panned. One doubter collected about $5 worth of gold from a large bucket of creek bed. The excitement was great. The Golden Center was operated by Brockington from 1912 to 1918. This man of intense activity and remarkable insight was never discouraged, He knew much gold never will be touched beneath the streets of Grass Valley. Brockington sold the mine in 1918, a year after his wife, Lucy, died, Brockington made several fortunes in Grass Valley, but the Golden Center Mine was his most fabulous property, Many residents of the area believe the highway which will serve aus a monument to his favorite mine should be named “The Golden Center Freeway," as another California historical site,.