North Star Mine and Powerhouse

Last updated
North Star
Location
USA California location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
North Star Gold Mine
Location in California
LocationSouth end of Mill Street at Allison Ranch Road, on Lafayette Hill
State California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 39°11′39″N121°04′35″W / 39.194167°N 121.076389°W / 39.194167; -121.076389
Production
Products Gold
History
Opened1851
Closed1956
Owner
CompanyCity of Grass Valley

The North Star Mine and Powerhouse are located on Lafayette Hill a short distance south of Grass Valley in the U.S. state of California. It was the second largest producer of gold during California's Gold Rush. [1] In 1898, the largest Pelton wheel for its time was built for the mine. [2] [3] The North Star Mine Company also owned locations on Weimar Hill, adjoining and south of the North Star Mine. [4] It shut down during World War II after its consolidation with the Empire Mine.

Contents

Geography

The mine is located by Wolf Creek, on Auburn Road, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Empire Mine. It is approximately 65 acres (26 ha) in size and situated in a southerly direction, the north boundary of the North Star being at an average distance of 430 feet (130 m) southerly from the Irish-American Mine. Within the surface boundaries of the North Star, there is a ledge of rock known as the "North Star Ledge", its top or apex wholly within the surface boundaries. [5]

History

The French Lead, or North Star vein, was discovered in the Fall of 1851 by the Lavance Brothers, who with nine other Frenchmen, formed the Helvetia and Lafayette Gold Mining Company. In 1858, the sheriff sold the company to Edward McLaughlin to settle an $8,000 judgement. In Feb. 1860, it was purchased for $15,000 by the owners of the North Star Group, which became the North Star Quartz Mining Co. in 1861. The North Star Gold Mining co. was incorporated in 1867. The mine shut down in 1875 after reaching a depth of 1,200 feet. The North Star Mining Co. was incorporated in May 1884, by William Bowers Bourn II, and the mine was reopened. [6] :37 [7] :68 Bourn sold the North Star to James Duncan Hague in 1887. [6] :37 Hague reorganized the company as the North Star Mines Co. in 1889, and acquired Gold Hill, New York Hill, and the Massachusetts Hill mines. [6] :43

The Lafayette Hill ledge by Wolf Creek was pronounced by the State Geologist in 1855 as being one of the best-producing for quartz mining in California.In the 1860s, reserves were estimated to be not less than thirty thousand tons, worth in the aggregate of $900,000.

Competition between Grass Valley Gold District's 95 mines [8] was fierce, forcing them to open, close, and re-open at various times. Each was concerned with power sources to extract the gold. Many, like the North Star, used wood-fired engines to generate steam, depending on the surrounding forest for firewood. The North Star Mine was the Grass Valley Gold District's deepest mine, measuring 4,000 feet (1,200 m) vertical depth. [3]

The North Star House at the North Star Mine was built by Julia Morgan. North Star House, 1907.jpg
The North Star House at the North Star Mine was built by Julia Morgan.

In 1895, Arthur De Wint Foote settled in Grass Valley, having been hired to design and construct an electric-generating plant for the mine. [9] At the mine's powerhouse, he installed the largest operating Pelton water wheel to that date; [10] it was the largest tangential water wheel in the world. [11] The powerhouse is a designated California Historical Landmark. In 1901, the North Star "Central" vertical shaft reached the North Star vein at 1630 feet. [6] :43 In 1905, Julia Morgan designed a mansion for Foote and his wife, the illustrator and writer Mary Hallock Foote; the North Star House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. [12]

In 1911, the North Star Mines Company purchased the Champion-Providence Mine (which was itself a consolidation of two adjoining mines). [13] Also in 1911, with his partners, Foote purchased the Tightner Mine in Alleghany, California. [14] Two years later, in 1913, he designed and built Foote's Crossing Road along the Middle Yuba River to improve transportation between the two mines; the road became a National Register of Historic Places landmark. [15]

Foote's son, Arthur Burling Foote, who started at the North Star as an assistant, went on to become the mine's manager after his father's retirement in 1913. In 1918, the North Star brought suit against the Empire Mine for underground encroachment upon its claim, but the boundaries were resolved, and the matter never went to trial. [16] In 1927, the Central shaft reached a depth of 3700 feet (8600 level). [6] :45 By 1928, the North Star's total output value was approximately $33 million. [17] The following year, Newmont Mining Corporation purchased the Empire Mine and the North Star Mine, consolidating them to become Empire-Star Mines, Ltd. The Empire-Star was forced to shut down by the U.S. War Production Board during World War II. [18] [19] After the war, a shortage of skilled miners forced the suspension of operations in the deeper portions of the mine by 1951. [6] :75 Mining operations were suspended on 5 July 1956, due to a local labor union strike. [6] :77

Miners

Superintendents and administrators of the mine included William H. Rodda (later of the Norambagua Mine), John C. Coleman, [20] his brother, Edward Coleman, and Arthur De Wint Foote. Its early owners were all miners such J. C. Coleman, E. Colman, W. H. Rodda, Josiah Rodda, John Rodda, William Kitto, William Hosken, William H. Thomas, James Dods and John Harper. [21] The mine and mill employed over seventy men. Three-quarters of them had emigrated here from Cornwall, England where they had worked in the depressed tin mines. These Cornish miners introduced the Cornish pump and the Cornish pastie to the area. [22]

Operations

Gold on quartz, North Star Mine Gold on quartz (North Star Mine, Grass Valley Mining District, California, USA) (17161279802).jpg
Gold on quartz, North Star Mine
North Star sheeted veinlets, polished slab of granodiorite showing sheeted zone of carbonate veinlets. North Star sheeted veinlets.jpg
North Star sheeted veinlets, polished slab of granodiorite showing sheeted zone of carbonate veinlets.

The North Star vein has an east and west course, with a dip of about twenty-three degrees to the north. This mine was opened by an incline shaft sunk on the course of the vein to a depth of nearly 700 feet (210 m). The lowest perpendicular depth attained was approximately 300 feet (91 m). It was opened by seven levels. The vein varied in thickness from a few inches to 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m), with an average of about 2 feet (0.61 m). The explorations in the fifth level extended about 700 feet (210 m) east of the shaft. The total known extent was estimated at 1,000 feet (300 m). The lower level was driven 550 feet (170 m) east of the shaft. Above the three lower levels, the ground was virgin to surface, and little was extracted from the two next to the bottom. The ore was raised by tram wagons on the incline, with a wire rope. The vein was enclosed in greenstone. A vertical hoisting and ventilation shaft was sunk 800 feet (240 m) east of the incline. This shaft was set to cut the mine on the level of the fourth gallery. The shoots of ore in this ground had an easterly pitch. The ore had a gradually increasing tenor of gold. [4]

The North Star Mine Company owned 2,100 feet (640 m) upon the course of the lode. Between 1861 and 1865, the net returns were approximately $500,000, about one-fourth of which was expended in permanent improvements on the property. These included the drain tunnel, half a mile long, which was the most considerable item, and a new mill of sixteen stamps. About $375,000 of the net savings were returned to the owners in dividends, obtained from the use of a six stamp mill during 1862–63, which was subsequently enlarged. The returns for the year 1866 were $315,000, derived from the crushing of 6,000 tons of ore. The ores of this mine are considerably sulphuretted, but the value of the sulphurets in gold was much less than in the nearby Eureka Mine. The North Star did not possess chlorination works, but dressed their tailings by hand rockers for sale. The ores showed free gold, often in very fine masses, implanted in quartz, which resembles that of the nearby Rocky Bar Mine and Massachusetts Hill Mine. [4]

The sixteen stamp mill, erected in 1866, had a capacity of crushing about two tons to the stamp daily. The water in this mine was light, a supply for the use of the amalgamation works being derived from a neighboring ditch company. This circumstance, as well as the low angle of the dip of the vein, favored very greatly the economy of development of the North Star to a great depth. [4]

Powerhouse

When the mining operations expanded subsequent to the California Gold Rush, the powerhouse was added. In 1895, it became the site of the largest tangential water wheel in the world. [23]

In 1878, Lester Pelton of Camptonville brought a strange machine to the Miners Foundry in nearby Nevada City. The Pelton wheel, about the size of a car tire and referred to as "Wheel One", was put on display for mine owners. It used cups on a wheel to draw water and harness power. [23] Running out of trees to burn, the North Star decided to switch to hydraulic power, and Arthur De Wint Foote designed the 30-foot (9.1 m) wheel which drove four new compressors that delivered 90 pounds (41 kg) of air pressure for 2,000 feet (610 m) to the mine's central shaft. [23] For his ingenuity, Foote was made the North Star's superintendent.

The powerhouse has been turned into the North Star Mine and Powerhouse & Pelton Wheel Museum. The New Verde Mining Company donated an acre of land and the remains of the old power house. The wheel was saved from the scrap heap by a Grass Valley resident who raised $2,000 to purchase the wheel and donated it to the Historical Society. [24] The wheel now turns with the assistance of an electric motor. [25] The powerhouse is also a designated California Historical Landmark. Its plaque's inscription reads:

NORTH STAR MINE POWERHOUSE

The North Star Powerhouse, built by A. D. Foote in 1895, was the first complete plant of its kind. Compressed air, generated by Pelton water wheels, furnished power for the entire mine operation. The 30-foot Pelton wheel was the largest in the world, and was in continuous use for over 30 years.

Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Nevada County Historical Society 15 May 1971. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grass Valley, California</span> City in California, United States

Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 12,860. Situated at roughly 2,500 feet (760 m) in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is 57 miles (92 km) by car from Sacramento and 88 miles (142 km) west of Reno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Country</span> Historic gold-mining region in Northern California

The Gold Country is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comstock Lode</span> Lode of silver ore in Virginia City, Nevada

The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada, which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after American miner Henry Comstock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester Allan Pelton</span> American mechanical engineer

Lester Allan Pelton was an American inventor who contributed significantly to the development of hydroelectricity and hydropower in the American Old West as well as world-wide. In the late 1870s, he invented the Pelton water wheel, at that time the most efficient design of the impulse water turbine. Recognized as one of the fathers of hydroelectric power, he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal during his lifetime and is an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire Mine State Historic Park</span> State-protected site in California

Empire Mine State Historic Park is a state-protected mine and park in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Grass Valley, California, U.S. The Empire Mine is on the National Register of Historic Places, a federal Historic District, and a California Historical Landmark. Since 1975 California State Parks has administered and maintained the mine as a historic site. The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California". Between 1850 and its closure in 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of gold, extracted from 367 miles (591 km) of underground passages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homestake Mine (South Dakota)</span> Defunct gold mine in Lead, South Dakota, USA, used for neutrino experiments

The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America. The mine produced more than forty million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime. This is about 2,500 cubic feet (71 m3) or a volume of gold roughly equal to 18,677 US gallons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Cristo Gold Mine</span> Gold mine in California, United States

The Monte Cristo Gold Mine is a gold mine in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles, California, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver mining in the United States</span>

Silver mining in the United States began on a major scale with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1858. The industry suffered greatly from the demonetization of silver in 1873 by the Coinage Act of 1873, known pejoratively as the "Crime of 73", but silver mining continues today.

Silver mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States. Nevada calls itself the "Silver State." Nevada is the nation's second-largest producer of silver, after Alaska. In 2014 Nevada produced 10.93 million troy ounces of silver, of which 6.74 million ounces were as a byproduct of the mining of gold. The largest byproducers were the Hycroft Mine, the Phoenix Mine, the Midas Mine and Round Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartz reef mining</span> Type of gold mining in veins of quartz

Quartz reef mining is a type of gold mining in "reefs" (veins) of quartz. Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earth's crust, and most quartz veins do not carry gold, but those that have gold are avidly hunted by prospectors. In the shallow, oxidized zones of quartz reef deposits, the gold occurs in its metallic state, and is easily recovered with simple equipment. Quartz reef mining played an important role in 19th century gold-mining districts such as Bendigo, Victoria in Australia, Central Otago in New Zealand, and the California mother lode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonder, Nevada</span> Ghost Town in Nevada, United States

Wonder, Nevada, is a ghost town in Churchill County, Nevada, approximately 39 miles (63 km) east of Fallon.

Foote's Crossing Road originates in North Columbia, California and winds through the Tahoe National Forest to connect with the community of Alleghany, California. It is a Registered Historic Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur De Wint Foote</span> American mining engineer (1849–1933)

Arthur De Wint Foote (1849–1933) was an American civil engineer and mining engineer who impacted the development of the American West with his innovative engineering works and entrepreneurial ventures. In Northern California in the late 1890s, he designed and built the North Star Mine Powerhouse, the highest capacity impulse-turbine power-plant of the time, and now a California historic landmark; within that plant he designed and installed the then-largest Pelton wheel turbine. Later, he designed and built Foote's Crossing, a high bridge, and Foote's Crossing Road, both now memorialized as California and U.S. landmarks.

Gold Hill in Grass Valley, California, was the site of one of the first discoveries of quartz gold in California. While quartz gold was also found in other areas of Nevada County, California during the same time, it is this find near Wolf Creek that led to quartz-mining frenzy and subsequent creation of the Gold Country quartz-mining industry. The location is honored as a California Historical Landmark.

Mount Tenabo is the principal peak in the Cortez Mountains. The mountain is of cultural and religious significance to the Western Shoshone people.

The Miners Foundry is located at 325 Spring Street, Nevada City, California, USA. Built in Nevada County in 1856, it is a California Historical Landmark as, in 1879, the foundry became the first manufacturing site of the Pelton wheel.

Wolf Creek is a waterway in Nevada County, California, US. The creek is 25 miles (40 km) long. The watershed, approximately 78 square miles (200 km2), is heavily mined. Most of the creek is situated in the lower montane zone. Its altitude ranges between 3,000 feet (910 m) to 1,200 feet (370 m). Vegetation in the valley varies from alpine pines at higher elevations, to blue pines at mid elevations, and ponderosa pine mixed with evergreen forests at lower elevations. From 1850 to 1950 gold was mined in the rich formations of the Mother Lode in the heart of Banner Mountain.

The Sumdum mine is one of the largest lead and zinc mines in United States. The mine is located in north-western United States in Alaska. The mine has reserves amounting to 24 million tonnes of ore grading 0.37% zinc and 79.1 million oz of silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champion-Providence Mine</span>

Champion-Providence Mine was a consolidation of two adjoining gold mines in Nevada City, California subsequent to the California Gold Rush. After it became the Champion Group following annexation of additional adjacent mining concerns, it became one of the two most productive mining groups in the Nevada City Mining District, alongside the North Star Mine, which purchased it in 1911. The Champion-Providence Mine closed in 1920.

The Plymouth Trading Post is a brick building in Plymouth, California in Amador County, United States. The brick building was built in 1857 by hand by Joe Williams in 1857, to be his Trading Post. The Trading Post closed and the building became the headquarters of Plymouth Consolidated Mine in 1873. Plymouth Consolidated Mine was formed when a number of small mines combined. The building was the Plymouth Consolidated Mine main office and its commissary. Plymouth Trading Post is registered as California Historical Landmark #41, starting August 30, 1950. The Trading Post served the town and nearby Plymouth Mine. The building survived the 1877 that burned down much of the town. The brick walls foundations are 30 inches thick. The floor support beams are 12x12 inches of wood. Joe Williams "dug" the basement with dynamite to remove the shale rock below the building. There were hitching posts ring on the side of the building. Plymouth Consolidated Mine's Pacific shaft, was the deepest hard rock shaft at 4,450 feet by 1925 working the Plymouth gold vain. The main haul of gold was between 1883 and 1889, when it operated 160 stamps that crushed 400 tons of quartz ore a day. The Plymouth Consolidated Mine mined over $13,500,000 dollars of gold and closed in 1947. Some of the mines that Consolidated in 1883 were: Plymouth, Empire, and Amador Pacific mining companies. The mines were all located in the northern part of Mother Lode Gold Belt of the Sierra Nevada foothills at an elevation of 332 feet. After consolidation, the company had 126.3 acres of land that included: the Plymouth, Southerland, Oaks, Pacific, Simpson, Aden, Reese, Phoenix East claims, the Phoenix mill site, and interests in the Reese and Woolford, Indiana, Rising Star, Conville, and Beta claims. The first gold in the area was found in 1852. The Plymouth Consolidated Mine was idle from 1892 to 1911.

References

  1. Sponder, Rose. "The Northstar House of Grass Valley". Sierra Heritage. Archived from the original on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  2. Marshall Cavendish Corporation (1 September 2007). Inventors and Inventions. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 1240–. ISBN   978-0-7614-7767-9 . Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 Brower, Maria E. (October 2006). Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 56–. ISBN   978-0-7385-4692-6 . Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Silliman, Benjamin (1867). Notes on the quartz mines of the Grass Valley district (Now in the public domain. ed.). Printed at the Daily Gazette Book and Job Office. pp. 12–. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  5. United States. Courts: Circuit Court of Appeals (1898). Reports containing the cases determined in all the circuits from the organization of the courts: fully reported with numerous annotations ... (Now in the public domain. ed.). West Publishing Co. pp. 335–. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McQuiston, F.W., 1986, Gold: The Saga of the Empire Mine, 1850-1956, Grass Valley:Empire Mine Park Association, ISBN   9780931892073
  7. Johnston, W.D., 1940, The Gold Quartz Veins of Grass Valley, California, USGS Professional Paper 194, Washington:US Government Printing Office
  8. "Gold Districts of California: GRASS VALLEY". museumca.org. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  9. Brower, Maria E. (2006). Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. p. 58. ISBN   0-7385-4692-5.
  10. Brower, p.56
  11. Touchstone (October 21, 1991). "World's Largest Tangential Water Wheel" (PDF). International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  12. Boutelle, Sara Holmes (1988). "1905, North Bay, North Star Mine house". verlang.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  13. United States Army Corps of Engineers (February 2014). Cultural Resources Inventory for the Sierra Streams Institute – Providence Mine Cleanup, Nevada City, Nevada County, California (PDF) (Report). United States Environmental Protection Agency. p. 16.
  14. "Chronological Events". Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  15. "Foote's Crossing Road (added 1981 - Structure - #81000180)". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  16. Hill, Mary (1999). Gold: The California Story. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 136. ISBN   0-520-21547-8.
  17. ""#843 - North Star Mine Powerhouse" Waymark". waymarking.com. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  18. "California's gold history" (PDF). PDF. parks.ca.gov. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  19. "Empire Mine State Park". Nevada County Gold. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  20. "N.C.N.G.R.R. (Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad)". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  21. Shiverick, N. (1866). Facts and statistics relating to the Edmonton gold mine, Grass Valley, Nevada County, California (Now in the public domain. ed.). Wright & Potter, printers. pp.  25. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  22. Rough Guides (2 May 2011). The Rough Guide to California. Penguin. pp. 576–. ISBN   978-1-4053-8302-8 . Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  23. 1 2 3 Touchstone (1991-10-21). "WORLDS LARGEST TANGENTIAL WATER WHEEL" (PDF). International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  24. Jones, Glenn (2007-09-07). "The North Star Mine and Powerhouse & Pelton Wheel Museum". nevadacountyhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  25. Laird, Jack (2024-02-21). "World's largest Pelton water wheel ready to roll again". The Union. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  26. "NORTH STAR MINE POWERHOUSE". ohp.parks.ca.gov. Retrieved 2008-08-12.