October 14, 1970 (12 pages)

as R :-dmund Kinyon Ihe Sagath and Clay, the Wigham, later known vere much in the mining news, In the middle on, tie Home, the Kirkham, the Gold Hill, were) in production or under development. the: Murchie and the Champion have mainining tradition. : as several outPying districts, including the ‘ict tojthe east, the Canada Hill and Banner theastj The Lecompton mine in Willow Valley ansag town of Lecompton which figured notril War disturbances over the issue of exten1e Mayflower was the predominating mine of strictand the North and South Banner and the ed ofthe Banner district, Of recent years een epnsolidated under the name of the Lava a long tunnel, They continue at this time in ‘old ofjthose Banner claims during their earvity. Two roistering miners returning from © aged ) purloin and bring with them a ferrye volume and extreme blatancy. The whistle the Banner mine and its roar astounded the’ miles pround. The ferry company, it appears, the theft, allowing the miners to pay a nomistrument and keep it. Rs ultimate disposition miles. to the east is the Zeibright mine, the mbinitd the names Zeitler and Englebright. discoverer and locator of the claims, lived steréd life at the mine, which he managed to develbpment. One day he walked away from ashoilder, apparently on a short hunting was‘fever again seen and his purpose and lete Mystery. C} OF THE EMPIRE GROUP in lolity about Grass Valley has a wider Hillj Ophir Hill lies about one mile east of _ pal dde, the Ophir, was located by George ), Th ledge was purchased by Woodbury, 1851./Ophir Hill yielded liberally, but owing its omers failed in 1852, A short time later t auction to John P, Rush, who retained onethe s¢maining half being held by the Empire onsisting of C, K, Hotaling; James O'Neill; Jones; Silas Lent; James H, Wilcox; Thomas ——————— identical ore. Barnstead; W. W, Wright; James Beauchamp; Richard Groat; and John E, Southwick. The Empire company had built its first mill on Wolf Creek in the winter of 1851-52, Rush sold his interest in the mine for $12,000 to his partners in May, 1854, The Empire company worked the mine with gratifying success from 1852 to 1854, during which period it yielded over $900,000. In July, 1864, Captain S,.W. Lee and A, H. Houston, who had bought up the stock of the incorporated company, came into possession of ~ the mine, A perpendicular depth of 201 feet has been reached on the claim. A recent crushing yielded $58.50 on an average to the ton. —Directory of Grass Valley Township “py W, S, Bryne (1865) Such was the beginning of the truly great Empire mine which has maintained its operative and productuve status for ninetyeight years and has carried the name ofthe Grass Valley district to every major mining region of the world. For many years the name had such magic potency in the matter of securing employment in mines that it was a familiar saying that for a miner to be able to affirm that he had worked in the Grass Valley district (even slept one night within its precincts) was a ticket to the best: jobs, be the locality the Comstock; the Black Hills; South Africa, or Alaska. : With every period of the Empire mine's long history there are associated big names. Succeeding that first group came qe W. Gaswieler; William Cliff, founder of the Cliff Hotel family of San Francisco; Captain Thomas Mein of Alaska and South Africa mining note; John Hays Hammond, whose associations with the famous Jmeson raid in South Africa brought him to the shadow of the gallows; M. V. Clement; David Watt; David McKay; Coppes Thurston; William D. Hague, and many besides, For a period of forty years (1890 to 1930) its history centers around two dominant figures: William B, Bourn and George W, Starr. Bourn, who had succeeded to the mining property upon the death of his father, brought his young kinsman, Starr, to the mines in a minor capacity. Previously Starr had tried out at West Point, but decided that an army career was not to his liking. Then, temporarily, he worked at railroading. From the Empire he went to South Africa as an executive for the noted Barnarto Brothers, Back in San Francisco he abandoned plans to join the Alaskan Gold rush to take the management of the Empire mine. That was in 1898, and the production of the mine over the long period starting in 1850 was seven million dollars in gold. In 1929, when sale of the property to the Newbc tea 1 ~ . oe ee — — £ — —nae a —— THE ORLEANS property an extension Empire, as the ledge had the same pitch a a aa A piace ve ica ae SS se in Grass Valley was believed to be mont Company of New York was consummated, the record wasthirty-four million. At that time Starr, who always maintained that he learned his mining skill from the Cornish miners, disposed of his stock interest and retired. a8 Almost from the start of quartz mining in the Grass Valley field, consolidations have been frequent. Thus, by 1900 the Empire had become a consolidation under one ownership.and management of what had formerly been hundereds of independent claims. In the consolidations were such important producing mines as the Ophir, Rush and Laton, Keefe and Judd, Magenta, Osborn Hill, and numerous others. The adjacent Pennsylvania i was long an independent mine, and its enormous dump bespoke) large production. It soon became and Empire. property. Likewise that mine of odd name and unique history, the WYOD. THE WYOD (Work Your Own Diggings) was the result of a project incepted by Charles A, Brockington, an aggressive © young miner who was to leave his mark indelibly on local mining history. It involved the contributing of labor and skills by a group of miners in return for moderate wages, stock and dividends. Included were Brockington's two brothers, Tom and Abe; Bill O'Conner, John O'Donnell, Same Yoe, John Bree, and some twenty-five or thirty others. The financial details were managed by the banking firm of Weisbeing Brothers. The WYOD oreshoot successfully for a number of years. Through the agency of the banking firm, the mind finally became a unit of the Empire consolidation, At this time not a single member of the Work Your Own Diggins association remains in life. Such in the barest outline. (the tale is in itself a book theme) is the more or less documented record of the Empire mine up to 1929, But of vocal versions there are many. Veteran miners insist that the real basis of the great producer was what they call the McKenna shoot, a discovery of James McKenna, a tributer of the earlier years, As. time went on the Empire became a veritable empire of quartz. Generation after generation toiled there, son oftentimes following father. William B. Bour was to build a strictly English type mansion close to the portal of the catacomb of industry. Surrounding was an area laid out to gardens which would adorn any large city park. During his lifetime the Bourn Gardens were a showplace and a center of community life. (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) werent . =. Rights reserved by the Nevada County. Publishing Company = ean , Spr ag debate NE oss ME

as R :-dmund Kinyon Ihe Sagath and Clay, the Wigham, later known vere much in the mining news, In the middle on, tie Home, the Kirkham, the Gold Hill, were) in production or under development. the: Murchie and the Champion have mainining tradition. : as several outPying districts, including the ‘ict tojthe east, the Canada Hill and Banner theastj The Lecompton mine in Willow Valley ansag town of Lecompton which figured notril War disturbances over the issue of exten1e Mayflower was the predominating mine of strictand the North and South Banner and the ed ofthe Banner district, Of recent years een epnsolidated under the name of the Lava a long tunnel, They continue at this time in ‘old ofjthose Banner claims during their earvity. Two roistering miners returning from © aged ) purloin and bring with them a ferrye volume and extreme blatancy. The whistle the Banner mine and its roar astounded the’ miles pround. The ferry company, it appears, the theft, allowing the miners to pay a nomistrument and keep it. Rs ultimate disposition miles. to the east is the Zeibright mine, the mbinitd the names Zeitler and Englebright. discoverer and locator of the claims, lived steréd life at the mine, which he managed to develbpment. One day he walked away from ashoilder, apparently on a short hunting was‘fever again seen and his purpose and lete Mystery. C} OF THE EMPIRE GROUP in lolity about Grass Valley has a wider Hillj Ophir Hill lies about one mile east of _ pal dde, the Ophir, was located by George ), Th ledge was purchased by Woodbury, 1851./Ophir Hill yielded liberally, but owing its omers failed in 1852, A short time later t auction to John P, Rush, who retained onethe s¢maining half being held by the Empire onsisting of C, K, Hotaling; James O'Neill; Jones; Silas Lent; James H, Wilcox; Thomas ——————— identical ore. Barnstead; W. W, Wright; James Beauchamp; Richard Groat; and John E, Southwick. The Empire company had built its first mill on Wolf Creek in the winter of 1851-52, Rush sold his interest in the mine for $12,000 to his partners in May, 1854, The Empire company worked the mine with gratifying success from 1852 to 1854, during which period it yielded over $900,000. In July, 1864, Captain S,.W. Lee and A, H. Houston, who had bought up the stock of the incorporated company, came into possession of ~ the mine, A perpendicular depth of 201 feet has been reached on the claim. A recent crushing yielded $58.50 on an average to the ton. —Directory of Grass Valley Township “py W, S, Bryne (1865) Such was the beginning of the truly great Empire mine which has maintained its operative and productuve status for ninetyeight years and has carried the name ofthe Grass Valley district to every major mining region of the world. For many years the name had such magic potency in the matter of securing employment in mines that it was a familiar saying that for a miner to be able to affirm that he had worked in the Grass Valley district (even slept one night within its precincts) was a ticket to the best: jobs, be the locality the Comstock; the Black Hills; South Africa, or Alaska. : With every period of the Empire mine's long history there are associated big names. Succeeding that first group came qe W. Gaswieler; William Cliff, founder of the Cliff Hotel family of San Francisco; Captain Thomas Mein of Alaska and South Africa mining note; John Hays Hammond, whose associations with the famous Jmeson raid in South Africa brought him to the shadow

of the gallows; M. V. Clement; David Watt; David McKay; Coppes Thurston; William D. Hague, and many besides, For a period of forty years (1890 to 1930) its history centers around two dominant figures: William B, Bourn and George W, Starr. Bourn, who had succeeded to the mining property upon the death of his father, brought his young kinsman, Starr, to the mines in a minor capacity. Previously Starr had tried out at West Point, but decided that an army career was not to his liking. Then, temporarily, he worked at railroading. From the Empire he went to South Africa as an executive for the noted Barnarto Brothers, Back in San Francisco he abandoned plans to join the Alaskan Gold rush to take the management of the Empire mine. That was in 1898, and the production of the mine over the long period starting in 1850 was seven million dollars in gold. In 1929, when sale of the property to the Newbc tea 1 ~ . oe ee — — £ — —nae a —— THE ORLEANS property an extension Empire, as the ledge had the same pitch a a aa A piace ve ica ae SS se in Grass Valley was believed to be mont Company of New York was consummated, the record wasthirty-four million. At that time Starr, who always maintained that he learned his mining skill from the Cornish miners, disposed of his stock interest and retired. a8 Almost from the start of quartz mining in the Grass Valley field, consolidations have been frequent. Thus, by 1900 the Empire had become a consolidation under one ownership.and management of what had formerly been hundereds of independent claims. In the consolidations were such important producing mines as the Ophir, Rush and Laton, Keefe and Judd, Magenta, Osborn Hill, and numerous others. The adjacent Pennsylvania i was long an independent mine, and its enormous dump bespoke) large production. It soon became and Empire. property. Likewise that mine of odd name and unique history, the WYOD. THE WYOD (Work Your Own Diggings) was the result of a project incepted by Charles A, Brockington, an aggressive © young miner who was to leave his mark indelibly on local mining history. It involved the contributing of labor and skills by a group of miners in return for moderate wages, stock and dividends. Included were Brockington's two brothers, Tom and Abe; Bill O'Conner, John O'Donnell, Same Yoe, John Bree, and some twenty-five or thirty others. The financial details were managed by the banking firm of Weisbeing Brothers. The WYOD oreshoot successfully for a number of years. Through the agency of the banking firm, the mind finally became a unit of the Empire consolidation, At this time not a single member of the Work Your Own Diggins association remains in life. Such in the barest outline. (the tale is in itself a book theme) is the more or less documented record of the Empire mine up to 1929, But of vocal versions there are many. Veteran miners insist that the real basis of the great producer was what they call the McKenna shoot, a discovery of James McKenna, a tributer of the earlier years, As. time went on the Empire became a veritable empire of quartz. Generation after generation toiled there, son oftentimes following father. William B. Bour was to build a strictly English type mansion close to the portal of the catacomb of industry. Surrounding was an area laid out to gardens which would adorn any large city park. During his lifetime the Bourn Gardens were a showplace and a center of community life. (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) werent . =. Rights reserved by the Nevada County. Publishing Company = ean , Spr ag debate NE oss ME