Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 048-1 - January 1994 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-05 06:42:22 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:05:59 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:05:59

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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six years later by Gwendolyn, who died in San Francisco at the age of 74. The curtain descended on the last act of the fe “Golden Lady” when her personal collection of some 128 pieces of jewelry, “ranging from a $70 brooch to an $11,000 diamond bracelet,” were sold at public auction for a total of $140,000 on October 30, 1963. Today, MacBoyle’s legacy in Nevada County is scarcely noticeable. Harold Berliner, the former district attorney of Nevada County who presently resides in MacBoyle’s Loma Rica house, was instrumental in having MacBoyle Way named for the world-famous mining engineer. Except for that thoroughfare, there is no monument, plaque, or structure dedicated to the memory of the man who contributed so much to Grass Valley and Nevada County. In the words of Deborah Haas, author of Historically Significant Features of the Loma Rica Ranch, Grass Valley, California (published by the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission in 1992): “The sad irony is that Errol MacBoyle’s legacy could be lost forever unless steps are taken to honor his contributions and life, soon.” On November 3, 1992, Nevada County residents were asked to vote on Measure J, which proposed that the county purchase the Loma Rica Ranch property for use as a regional park. Value of the property was estimated at $9.5 million by the county assessor, and it was estimated that it would cost each taxpayer $27 per year for 20 years. Measure J failed to e™ get the necessary majority, but even if it had been approved, yit was advisory in nature and would have required action by the board of supervisors, acceptance by the present owners, and approval of a bond measure to result in a park. In any case, the present owners, Teachers Management Investment Corporation (TMI), actively opposed the measure and spent money to defeat it, because this southern-California-based land developer had submitted a plan to the City of Grass Valley for annexation and rezoning of the entire Loma Rica Ranch. If approved by the city, the land will be rezoned to accommodate an industrial park, a shopping center, an office complex, outdoor recreational facilities, highdensity housing and a large number of medium density residential lots. MacBoyle’s dream was that the community could share in his good fortune, which after all had resulted from the permanent removal of irreplaceable precious resources. For 90 years the Glenbrook basin contained an abundance of parks, and recreational facilities. Today, except for MacBoyle’s lake and park, none remain, and their future remains in doubt. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the following persons who helped ~ us in providing information for this article: the late Downey Clinch, Jim Rose and the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission, Jack Clark, Bob Paine, Tom Arden, Cal Palmer, Harold Berliner, Bill Roberts, Charles V. Litton Jr., Peter van der Pas, and Ed Tyson of the Searls Historical Library. SOURCES CONSULTED Haas, Deb. Historically Significant Features of the Loma Rica Ranch, Grass Valley, California. Nevada City: Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission, 1992. Kinyon, Edmund. The Northern Mines. Grass Valley: The Union Publishing Co., 1949. Koester, F. W. “Loma Rica,” The Thoroughbred of California. Undated publication. MacBoyle, Errol. Mines and Mineral Resources of Nevada County. Sacramento: State Printing Office, 1919. Nevada County Mining Review. Grass Valley: The Daily Morning Union, 1895. Wagner, Jack. Gold Mines of California. San Diego: Howell-North Books, 1970. Wells, Harry L. History of Nevada County, California. Oakland: Thompson and West, 1880. Working for MacBoyle in the 1930s [In 1934, Milton Kiefer was hired to help build the Loma Rica stables, and this led to other work for MacBoyle, including construction of the gazebo, fountain and waterfall. These recollections are excerpted from material he furnished to the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission in 1992:] Au OF THE SIDING AND FINISH WOOD was vertical grain, and clear of any knots, which delayed the work [because it was in short supply]. We didn’t get the stables closed in before the snows came. We had snow up to four foot deep. To hang the outside door to the stalls we had to shovel the snow out of the way. The lining for the stalls was 2 x 6 vertical grain hemlock, again no knots... . put on with finish nails and all countersunk and no hammer marks, as they were to be shellacked and then varnished. The hay loft was floored with vertical grained 1 x 4 flooring pine, the best that you get. It was late in the spring by the time we got finished. [MacBoyle needed} water for the mines and also for the ranch, so he started to build the reservoir. I was to construct a 250 foot tunnel across the hill from the reservoir for the pipe lines to the mines and ranch and also to the house that he intended to build overlooking the ranch. Next came the control tower with the valves to control the water outflow. We built the tower up to the bridge level—it was a continuous pour. We mixed all the concrete in a half yard mixer and hauled it in cement buggies to the forms. All my help was from the group that hired on as ranch hands. A lot of them never had any knowledge of that kind of work, but was all willing to learn. The next was to put on the gazebo [on top of the tower]. After that we moved to the other end of the reservoir to build the input waterfalls and fish ladders. While we were building that part, an Italian stonemason was adding the stone work to the gazebo and the bridge—every stone was hand fit, and all native stones. Then came the fountain, taken after the design of the one at Treasure Island Fair, only MacBoyle wanted his to be better. 5