Chili Gulch

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Chili Gulch
Location California State Route 49, south of Mokelumne Hill, California [1] [2]
Coordinates 38°12′58″N120°42′27″W / 38.216029°N 120.707433°W / 38.216029; -120.707433 Coordinates: 38°12′58″N120°42′27″W / 38.216029°N 120.707433°W / 38.216029; -120.707433
Reference no. 265

Chili Gulch (also spelled Chile Gulch) is a gulch in Calaveras County, California. This five-mile gulch was the richest placer mining section in Calaveras County. It received its name from Chileans who worked it in 1848 and 1849, and was the scene of the so-called Chilean War. The largest known quartz crystals were recovered from a mine on the south side of the gulch.

Gulch Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion

In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch.

Calaveras County, California County in California

Calaveras County, officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state, California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,171. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels Camp is the only incorporated city in the county. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga.

Placer mining technique of mining stream bed deposits for minerals

Placer mining is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunnelling equipment.

Chili Gulch is registered as California Historical Landmark #265. [1]

California Historical Landmark buildings, structures, sites, or places in California determined to have historical significance

California Historical Landmarks (CHLs) are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the U.S. state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.

Chilean War

In December 1849, American miners in Calaveras County drew up a local mining code that called for all foreign miners to leave the country within 15 days, leading to much protest and violence. The so-called "Chilean War" resulted in several deaths and the expulsion of Chilean miners from their claims. Accounts vary widely about the details, with some including mention of Joaquin Murrieta's involvement on the side of the Chileans. The events in Calaveras County projected the Murietta legend into the politics of Chile where anti-American politicians used it to garner votes.

Joaquin Murrieta Chilean outlaw

Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, also called The Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Sonoran forty-niner, a vaquero and a gold miner who became a famous outlaw in California during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s. The popular legend of Joaquin Murrieta is that of a peace-loving man driven to seek revenge when he and his brother were falsely accused of stealing a mule. His brother was hanged and Joaquin horsewhipped. His young wife was gang raped and in one version she died in Joaquin's arms. Swearing revenge, Joaquin hunted down all who had violated his sweetheart. He embarked on a short but violent career that brought death to his Anglo tormentors. The state of California then offered a reward of up to $5,000 for Joaquin "dead or alive." He was reportedly killed in 1853, but the news of his death were disputed and myths later formed about him and his possible survival.

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California Gold Rush gold rush from 1848 until 1854 in California

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy, and the sudden population increase allowed California to go rapidly to statehood, in the Compromise of 1850. The Gold Rush had severe effects on Native Californians and resulted in a precipitous population decline from disease, genocide and starvation. By the time it ended, California had gone from a thinly populated ex-Mexican territory, to having one of its first two U.S. Senators, John C. Frémont, selected to be the first presidential nominee for the new Republican Party, in 1856.

Chilli or chili may refer to:

Murphys, California Census designated place in California, United States

Murphys, originally Murphys New Diggings then Murphy's Camp, is an unincorporated village located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Calaveras County, California, United States. A former gold mining settlement, the main street today is lined with over two dozen wine tasting rooms and surrounded by local vineyards. The town is popular among tourists and transplants from the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. Murphys is also known by its colloquial nickname as "Queen of the Sierra" and is one of the more affluent communities in Calaveras County.

California State Route 49 highway in California

State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it is known as the Gold Country Highway. This roadway begins at Oakhurst, Madera County, in the Sierra Nevada, where it diverges from State Route 41. It continues in a generally northwest direction, weaving through the communities of Goldside and Ahwahnee, before crossing into Mariposa County. State Route 49 then continues northward through the counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, and Plumas, where it reaches its northern terminus at State Route 70, in Vinton.

Dog Town, California Ghost town in California, United States

Dog Town is a ghost town in Mono County, California. Today, Dog Town is a defunct gold rush era town in Mono County, California. It is located at 38°10′13″N119°11′51″W, on Dog Creek, near the junction of Clearwater and Virginia Creeks, about 6 miles (10 km) south-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 7057 feet.

Sandy Gulch, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Sandy Gulch is a small community in Calaveras County, California, just southwest of West Point on State Route 26. It lies at an elevation of 2592 feet above sea level and is located at 38°22′49″N120°31′58″W. The community is in ZIP code 95248 and area code 209.

Campo Seco, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Campo Seco is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It sits at an elevation of 564 feet above sea level and is located at 38°13′38″N120°51′12″W. The community is in ZIP code 95226 and area code 209.

Jenny Lind, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Jenny Lind is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 253 feet and is located at 38°6′N120°52′W. The community is in ZIP code 95252 and area code 209.

Glencoe, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Glencoe is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2749 feet and is located at 38°21′15″N120°35′06″W. The community is in ZIP code 95232 and area code 209.

The Shores of Poker Flat, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

The Shores of Poker Flat is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 584 feet above sea level and is located at 37°54′11″N120°34′56″W, on the shore of the Tulloch Reservoir. The community is in ZIP code 95228 and area code 209.

Jesus Maria, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Jesus Maria is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1043 feet and is located at 38°17′08″N120°38′51″W. The community is in ZIP code 95222 and area code 209.

Paloma, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Paloma is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1362 feet and is located at 38°15′34″N120°45′48″W. The community is in ZIP code 95252 and area code 209.

Chilean Americans

Chilean Americans are Americans who have full or partial origin from Chile.

William Greeneberry "Green" Russell (1818–1877) was an American prospector and miner.

Whiskeytown, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Whiskeytown is an unincorporated community in Shasta County, California, United States. The ZIP Code is 96095. The community is inside area code 530. Although once a bustling mining town, there are very few people living in Whiskeytown as of today. The entire town of Whiskeytown was flooded to make way for Whiskeytown Lake in 1962. The ZIP Code of 96095 is now defunct as it has been taken over by ZIP Code 96033 in nearby French Gulch. The town of Whiskeytown is now properly part of French Gulch as the original post office and store closed after 40 years. But Whiskeytown appears on many maps. All that remains is the relocated store, a few residences, mostly occupied by National Recreation Area personnel, and old mines that are above the water level of the lake. Whiskeytown is registered as a California Historical Landmark.

Alabama Hill, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Alabama Hill is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2972 feet. Miners from Alabama settled here in 1849 and named the place after their native state.

Rich Gulch, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Rich Gulch is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California, 5 miles (8.0 km) east-northeast of Mokelumne Hill. It lies at an elevation of 1903 feet.

Greasertown is a former settlement in Calaveras County, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of San Andreas, on the west side of the Calaveras River. The town was rumored to have received its name due to what one-time resident and schoolteacher Margaret Blanc described as “a straggling settlement … with canvas tents and wooden shanties of which it consisted the abodes of … Mexicans who packed and drove mules up to the mines with provisions for the diggers at work on the banks on the Mokelumne and Calaveras.” Blanc said the town was in fact diverse, with many nationalities represented. She wrote that the town included, “About 30 children made up of all classes, nationalities and ages.”

Chili Bar is a former settlement and mining camp in El Dorado County, California. It was located on the South Fork of the American River 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east-southeast of Coloma.

Middle Bar is a former mining town on the Mokelumne River in Amador County, California. It is a California Historical Landmark.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chili Gulch". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chili Gulch


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