Volume 026-1 - January 1972 (6 pages)

GRANITEVILLE 1895 From Mining Journal of that date. submitted by Eliza Kilroy of Nevada City Today Graniteville is the liveliest town in the upper part of Nevada County. It is Situated near the summit of the mountains, twenty-six miles above Nevada City. The town was the first settled in the town-ship and was known as Eureka for many years. Mining was first done in the ravines in the spring of 1850, and the next year saw the deep gravel mines opened. The surface was very rich, but about 1866 was nearly worked out, causing a large decrease in population. By the revival of quartz mining a year or so later, the town rapidly grew and today enjoys more prosperity than any other town in that section. Graniteville is the distributing point for the reservoirs and ditches above. There are good hotel accommodations here and the town contains several stores, saloons and a livery stable. The quartz mines of the district include the Gaston Ridge, formerly known as the California, the National and the Rocky Glen Mines. The Gaston Ridge is’ located four miles southeast of Graniteville and has produced $15,000. The average width of the ledge is from six to eight feet. The mine has only been worked to a depth of between two hundred and three hundred feet. The National Mine is situated on the Backbone Ridge and is opened by a tunnel, making the cost of mining and milling but $1.50 per ton. The mill crushes about twenty tons of ore per day. The Rocky Glen Mines are idle at present although there is a good ten-stamp mill on the property. There are many other mines in this district which are being worked and promise good results. The English Mountain Mine is situated in theextremenortheastern part of the county. It was opened in July, 1894, by the English Mountain Gold Mining Company, with 0.0, Howard as Supt. The extent of the claim is 3000 by 600 feet, and the ledge varies in size from four to twelve feet. Three tunnels have been opened on the vein a distance of three hundred feet. Some of the ore is high grade, assaying $300 to the ton. A crushing of 1200 tons an average yield of $15 per ton. Thereisa 20stamp mill on the mine, and the ore is conducted from the tunnel to the mill by means of a wire rope tramway. Chris Mallon is the present Supt. of the mine. A company of North Bloomfield and Graniteville gentlemen are at work running a tunnel under Bald Mountain, to strike the immerse gravel deposits, with good prospects ahead, The Sweet Ledge from which very rich ore has been extracted, is under bond, together with the Iowa, Birchville and Commercial Mines, to a San Francisco Co., The Erie Co,, Mr. Singer, Supt; is running a tunnel to strike the ledge several hundred feet below the old workings, and a good mine will doubtless be opened up. Philip Hippert has light four-stamp mill on the Dillon Mine, and the rock averages well. The Shepp is a small vein, but the ore has averaged nearly $40 per ton, It is owned by Eastern Mines to C.D. Easton & Co, Among the most promising and best conducted mines is the Culbertson, owned by Eastin, Moore and Boonemart, This mine is in slate, and is working full-handed with a 10 stamp mill, hoisting and pumping machinery of latest patterns. Some other mines, which may develop into good properties, are the Liberty and Booth Mines, The Big Ditches and Canals furnish employment to many men in this section during the entire year, and. the capacity of the lakes locatednearhereis over two billion cubic feet. Graniteville has two first-rate hotels, the Golden State kept by William McLean & Co., and The Allison, conducted by P, Allison. C.D. Eastin has a large general merchandise store, and J.M. Ballard, a veteran of the Mexican War, is Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, Elijah and Genevieve Poage. Now let us introduce his parents. Elijah Poage came to Graniteville from his native Kentucky and his mother, Genevieve Pfister, was born in North San Juan, one of three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Pfister, brewer who came to LESTER POAGE TELLS HIS STORY Lester Poage of Graniteville is a man who was born there and returned to stay. He said, ‘I shall return” and did. Lester is one of three brothers. born October 18, 1897 to North San Juan from Barvaria. They were married at Snow Point, not far from Graniteville in 1980 in the Lindsay Hotel. Lester’s two brothers also born in Graniteville were Levi Poage, later a professional engineer, and Theodore Morris Poage, later a Standard Oil employee at Richmond, both are deceased. Their grandmother, Genevieve Eggeley on his father’s side, a native of Switzerland, is buried in the Graniteville Cemetery. Lester attended Graniteville Grammar School for his first six grades from 1905 until 1911 and then the family moved to Trinity County, At the age of 14 he went to work for the Grange Mine in Trinity County as a ditch tender until the mine closed in 1918, Lester and his widowed mother moved to Oakland and he went to work for the Pullman Company as a storekeeper where he lived and worked for the following 26 years. On October 13, 1945, alone, Lester Poage returned to his home town of Graniteville and had this to say, ‘I always wanted to get back to Graniteville and I made it. I’m the only one that made it of all the 33 kids that I went to the Graniteville School with.’? From memory only, Lester recalls his teacher and his school mates, “The teacher was Miss Carmichael and the students were Art, Dewey, Millie and Bertha Culligan; Ammi Colt (a red head); Donald Staples; Eva and Earl McLean; George, John, Myrt and Leo Foley; Laura and Margarite Curtis; Hazel, Harold and Another girl Hibbert; Alta, Dorothy, Mervin and Bert Flynn; Lyle, Clara, A Boy, and Mary Foss; Myrtle, Kile, Bill, Janet, ‘‘Bahe’’ a girl, Coombs; plus three more I can’t remember and of course me.’? (Editors Note: After listening to Lester and his amazing memory perhaps some reader can name the other three as Lester says, “I can’t remember’. Who could do better. C,H. Lee) Asked about his boyhood, Lester continues. ‘I remember all the activity was mining for gold and lumbering, many mining operations and I recall three sawmills, the Bell Sawmill, the Dondon Sawmill and the Landsburg Sawmill, the latter operated by Archie Landsburg of North Bloomfield. At that time there were five Lester Gratten Poage Age 7 1904 and Today The Mountainman of Eureka. saloons, where whiskey was10 a shot and three for a quarter, beer was 5 cents a glass. I was too young to even go in a saloon and the women wer’nt allowed either--except certain kinds, you know. We had a shoemaker by the name of Frederick who was called ‘‘ShoeMake”. He like his liquor and insisted on a two-bit deposit on any job and generally used the deposit to buy a half-pint of whiskey before he would work on your shoes,

GRANITEVILLE 1895 From Mining Journal of that date. submitted by Eliza Kilroy of Nevada City Today Graniteville is the liveliest town in the upper part of Nevada County. It is Situated near the summit of the mountains, twenty-six miles above Nevada City. The town was the first settled in the town-ship and was known as Eureka for many years. Mining was first done in the ravines in the spring of 1850, and the next year saw the deep gravel mines opened. The surface was very rich, but about 1866 was nearly worked out, causing a large decrease in population. By the revival of quartz mining a year or so later, the town rapidly grew and today enjoys more prosperity than any other town in that section. Graniteville is the distributing point for the reservoirs and ditches above. There are good hotel accommodations here and the town contains several stores, saloons and a livery stable. The quartz mines of the district include the Gaston Ridge, formerly known as the California, the National and the Rocky Glen Mines. The Gaston Ridge is’ located four miles southeast of Graniteville and has produced $15,000. The average width of the ledge is from six to eight feet. The mine has only been worked to a depth of between two hundred and three hundred feet. The National Mine is situated on the Backbone Ridge and is opened by a tunnel, making the cost of mining and milling but $1.50 per ton. The mill crushes about twenty tons of ore per day. The Rocky Glen Mines are idle at present although there is a good ten-stamp mill on the property. There are many other mines in this district which are being worked and promise good results. The English Mountain Mine is situated in theextremenortheastern part of the county. It was opened in July, 1894, by the English Mountain Gold Mining Company, with 0.0, Howard as Supt. The extent of the claim is 3000 by 600 feet, and the ledge varies in size from four to twelve feet. Three tunnels have been opened on the vein a distance of three hundred feet. Some of the ore is high grade, assaying $300 to the ton. A crushing of 1200 tons an average yield of $15 per ton. Thereisa 20stamp mill on the mine, and the ore is conducted from the tunnel to the mill by means of a wire rope tramway. Chris Mallon is the present Supt. of the mine. A company of North Bloomfield and Graniteville gentlemen are at work running a tunnel under Bald Mountain, to strike the immerse gravel deposits, with good prospects ahead, The Sweet Ledge from which very rich ore has been extracted, is under bond, together with the Iowa, Birchville and Commercial Mines, to a San Francisco Co., The Erie Co,, Mr. Singer, Supt; is running a tunnel to strike the ledge several hundred feet below the old workings, and a good mine will doubtless be opened up. Philip Hippert has light four-stamp mill on the Dillon Mine, and the rock averages well. The Shepp is a small vein, but the ore has averaged nearly $40 per ton, It is owned by Eastern Mines to C.D. Easton & Co, Among the most promising and best conducted mines is the Culbertson, owned by Eastin, Moore and Boonemart, This mine is in slate, and is working full-handed with a 10 stamp mill, hoisting and pumping machinery of latest patterns. Some other mines, which may develop into good properties, are the Liberty and Booth Mines, The Big Ditches and Canals furnish employment to many men in this section during the entire year, and. the capacity of the lakes locatednearhereis over two billion cubic feet. Graniteville has two first-rate hotels, the Golden State kept by William McLean & Co., and The Allison, conducted by P, Allison. C.D. Eastin has a large general merchandise store, and J.M. Ballard, a veteran of the Mexican War, is Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, Elijah and Genevieve Poage. Now let us introduce his parents. Elijah Poage came to Graniteville from his native Kentucky and his mother, Genevieve Pfister, was born in North San Juan, one of three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Pfister, brewer who came to LESTER POAGE TELLS HIS STORY Lester Poage of Graniteville is a man who was born there and returned to stay. He said, ‘I shall return” and did. Lester is one of three brothers. born October 18, 1897 to North San Juan from Barvaria. They

were married at Snow Point, not far from Graniteville in 1980 in the Lindsay Hotel. Lester’s two brothers also born in Graniteville were Levi Poage, later a professional engineer, and Theodore Morris Poage, later a Standard Oil employee at Richmond, both are deceased. Their grandmother, Genevieve Eggeley on his father’s side, a native of Switzerland, is buried in the Graniteville Cemetery. Lester attended Graniteville Grammar School for his first six grades from 1905 until 1911 and then the family moved to Trinity County, At the age of 14 he went to work for the Grange Mine in Trinity County as a ditch tender until the mine closed in 1918, Lester and his widowed mother moved to Oakland and he went to work for the Pullman Company as a storekeeper where he lived and worked for the following 26 years. On October 13, 1945, alone, Lester Poage returned to his home town of Graniteville and had this to say, ‘I always wanted to get back to Graniteville and I made it. I’m the only one that made it of all the 33 kids that I went to the Graniteville School with.’? From memory only, Lester recalls his teacher and his school mates, “The teacher was Miss Carmichael and the students were Art, Dewey, Millie and Bertha Culligan; Ammi Colt (a red head); Donald Staples; Eva and Earl McLean; George, John, Myrt and Leo Foley; Laura and Margarite Curtis; Hazel, Harold and Another girl Hibbert; Alta, Dorothy, Mervin and Bert Flynn; Lyle, Clara, A Boy, and Mary Foss; Myrtle, Kile, Bill, Janet, ‘‘Bahe’’ a girl, Coombs; plus three more I can’t remember and of course me.’? (Editors Note: After listening to Lester and his amazing memory perhaps some reader can name the other three as Lester says, “I can’t remember’. Who could do better. C,H. Lee) Asked about his boyhood, Lester continues. ‘I remember all the activity was mining for gold and lumbering, many mining operations and I recall three sawmills, the Bell Sawmill, the Dondon Sawmill and the Landsburg Sawmill, the latter operated by Archie Landsburg of North Bloomfield. At that time there were five Lester Gratten Poage Age 7 1904 and Today The Mountainman of Eureka. saloons, where whiskey was10 a shot and three for a quarter, beer was 5 cents a glass. I was too young to even go in a saloon and the women wer’nt allowed either--except certain kinds, you know. We had a shoemaker by the name of Frederick who was called ‘‘ShoeMake”. He like his liquor and insisted on a two-bit deposit on any job and generally used the deposit to buy a half-pint of whiskey before he would work on your shoes,