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Volume 053-2 - April 1999 (10 pages)
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Page: of 10
The Spenceville
Copper Mines
by Bedford Lampkin
N THE 1860S THE AREA AROUND THE TOWN OF
Spenceville experienced a deluge of miners staking
claims for the mining of copper. The copper ore had been
discovered lying in a north-south direction in the general
area of Spenceville and it may have been a slow period for
placer gold mining, but the miners seemed to think that it
was all worthwhile.
The copper was combined with other minerals which
made it difficult to extract locally and what little gold or
silver there was to be found was generally lost in the extraction process. However, enthusiasm remained high.
The dominant mine was in Spenceville. It operated for a
number of years under several names and produced copper.
With a cave-in and loss of important equipment, the mine
fell into disuse. It then became the scene of paint manufacture and finally a source for sulphuric acid. Today all that
remains are the mounds of iron-stained tailings.
Today the area is in the Spenceville Wildlife Area and is
managed by the State Fish and Game Commission. It is
under threat of being inundated by the so-called Waldo Rese™ ervoir. The town of Spenceville has disappeared.
To get to the Spenceville scene, take Highway 20 west
from Grass Valley and turn left on the Beale Air Base road.
At the first paved fork, turn left onto the Smartville Road.
Several miles further, turn left onto a dirt road entitled
“Waldo Road.” Continue until you cross Waldo Bridge (that
is over Dry Creek), turn left at the first opportunity, and
within two or three miles you’ll be there. It is a popular
locale for hikers and wildflower enthusiasts.
Mounds of iron-stained tailings are the legacy of copper
mining at Spenceville. (Photo by Bedford Lampkin)
rs
_" +
Nevada County Historical Society
Bulletin
VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 APRIL 1999 J)
Edwin Bean’s History and Directory of Nevada County
(1867) tells the story of the early days:
In the winter of 1862-3 prospecting for copper in this
vicinity was suggested and many straggling parties expended, in the aggregate, enormous amounts of time and
money in vain researches. Some promising lodes were
found, among the best of which is the “Well Lode,” so
called from the circumstances that it was first discovered, long before any value was attached to it, in the
sinking of a well for family purposes, on Purtyman’s
Ranch, at what is now Spenceville. This lode, however,
although an enormous body of ore, being about seventy
feet in width, is of too low grade to justify working at the
present cost of labor and materials; the time may come
when it will prove a fortune to the owners. The ore is
said to range from five to twelve per cent of copper.
In April, 1863, the “Last Chance” mine was discovered by James Downey, who had devoted most of his
time for many months in prospecting the section between
the Zinc House and the Empire Ranch, on a large number
of crevices, and wherever there seemed any favorable
croppings, but without any flattering results. Finally,
when discouraged and about to abandon all further work,
a friend suggested that this spot seemed to promise the
most favorably, and Downey exclaimed, “Well, this is
the last chance—and if I don’t strike it here I'll give it
up’—jumping into the prosa ES lee
pect shaft, a few feet in depth
then, he worked vigorously
for the day, and at evening
struck a solid ledge of glittering sulphurets of copper,
about three feet in thickness.
The excitement became intense, as usually has been the
case under similar circumstances throughout the state,
and the rush to the copper region became as great as in
earlier times it had been to
Fraser River and Washoe.!
In the same reference it goes on
to say that ore from the Last
I