Gold found in Goodyears Bar, Sierra County, CA 95944Gold was discovered in California at Sutter's Mill on January24, 1848. This was south of the large Gold discovery at Downieville, Sierra County, in the next year. Goodyears Bar, CA, is just 4 miles down the north fork of the Yuba River from Downieville. Gold was discovered here almost at the same time as it was discovered in Downieville. People from all over began to talk of the easy wealth to be gained in California as news of the discoveries spread. About 300,000 people came into California from all over the world seeking their fortunes. Goodyears Creek has produced more free gold than any known stream of its size in California. The gravel was so rich, at one time, the claims were only 30 feet square per man. The Mountain Echo (a Downieville newspaper of the time) on August 8th, 1852 reads of Brown and Co. tacking out 5 lbs. of gold on their claim. At today's price that would amount to about 24 thousand dollars. G. Keyser and Co. was said to have taken out 19 oz. Streams, creeks, and rivers were flumed to transport the available water so it could be used for the minning of gold. Much of Goodyears Creek was flumed. The September 26th, 1852 issue of the Mountain Echo has an article about the Goodyears Bar Saw Mill and Fluming Co.'s gold take.A Gold Report follows: |
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Minning was a way of life, most miners built cabins on their claims or places of work. Following is a picture of how one man inter-leaved logs to build a home. Picture is of a cabin in Eureka Diggings built by Andy Bachels, longtime resident of Goodyears Bar.
The author ,Cy Rollins, and his friend, George Koolery, had fun finding this gold in the 1980's and 1990's. This gold was found below
Goodyears Bar where Goodyears Creek flows into the North Fork of the Yuba River. There is still
Gold to be found on the short side where the river runs straight and the gold washed down by winter rains is caught in crevices.
Peter Yore from Sleighville House had a claim at Goodyears Bar which was said to have yielded $2,000.
from one wheel barrow load. Many of the creeks and the river were flumed in the spring and summer and when winter came the floods would wash them out.
Fluming is the process of channeling water from a source to another spot where the minning process can be accomplished with the aid of water. The flumming
build of wood and planking would have to be built all over again. Another company that did well was the Woodville Bar Flooming Co. which took out 209 Oz. of gold from their claim in September 2,
1854. On June 6, 1863, a fine ledge of gold-bearing quartz was discovered near Goodyears Bar by Mr. Burgess
and Mr. Hunter. The Dec. 12, 1904 edition of the Mountain Messager states "The Brush Creek Mine
, in a 90 day run totaled $48,394.08 worth of gold". William Casserly in 1920 found a nice piece of highgrade that yielded
$1400. This nugget was found in Goodyears Creek. In 1967, a nice nugget was found in Goodyears Creek
weighing 5 1/2 Oz. by Dan Kenny.
Major William Downie found gold up the North Fork of the Yuba River at the junction of two rivers called the "Forks", now called "Downieville" in 1849. Goodyears Bar was founded by the Goodyear Brothers in the same year. The Goodyear Brothers lived and mined in Goodyears Bar for a number of years. These people seeking their fortunes in gold were called "forty-niners." Methods of travel to California included sailing by ship and in covered wagons across the continent, often facing extreme hardships on the trip to Sierra County. Many people died on the way to the gold fields in Sierra County. While most of the newly-arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush also attracted tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia. It is estimated that over 400 Chinese people came to Goodyears Bar. The miners, who first came here, recovered the gold by picking it up from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning, and later developed more sophisticated methods of gold recovery. Gold worth billions in today's dollars was recovered, leading to great wealth for a very few. Most, however, returned back home with no more than they started with. This is the history of Sierra County, California. |
www.GoodyearsBar.com is where the North Yuba flows. We love the history and the life in Sierra County, California
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