Remington Hill | |
---|---|
Former settlement | |
Coordinates: 39°16′43″N 120°47′38″W / 39.27861°N 120.79389°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Nevada County |
Elevation | 4,052 ft (1,235 m) |
Remington Hill is a historic mining camp in Nevada County, California which prospered in the second half of the 19th century. [1] It was named for Caleb Remington, a prominent local miner who lived mostly in neighboring Little York, where he died in 1865. [2] It lay at an elevation of 4052 feet (1235 m). [1] It was situated around present Chalk Bluff Road about one mile south of Highway 20 and about 5.5 miles southeast of the town of Washington and 6 miles northeast of Dutch Flat, as the crow flies. [3]
Little is known about its history. In 1854, it is described as a prosperous mining camp. [4] Its population in 1855 was recorded as 75. [5] By 1858, it was connected by stage to Nevada City. [6] In early 1859, a snowstorm crushed a number of homes and businesses, including a hotel, stable and slaughterhouse. [7] It did not have a school house or a post office. Residents got their mail at Red Dog, until that post office closed in 1869, [8] and sent their children to the Liberty Hill school district schoolhouse, located in neighboring Lowell Hill. [9]
Its leading citizens included Caleb Remington, who owned a number of local mines and mills, was active in politics and ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff in 1854, [10] and John Timmons, one of the builders of the Remington Hill and South Yuba ditches, who became a millionaire, lost it all and died in the poorhouse. [11]
Remington Hill was almost destroyed by fire in 1902. The fire burned for about two weeks over an area six by seven miles, destroying much timber and a number of homes before it was brought under control. [12]
Remington Hill lay on a gold bearing gravel channel on the Chalk Bluff Ridge, which lies between Steep Hollow and Greenhorn Creeks, tributaries of the Bear River. As the channel runs southwest, it joins a major channel running from the San Juan Ridge easterly through Red Dog and You Bet into Placer County. [13] Remington Hill became a center for both hydraulic and drift mining. [14] Water for hydraulic mining was brought from Steep Hollow Creek by a 16 mile ditch constructed between 1854 and 1857. [15] One of the town's claims to fame was that large gold nuggets or gold bearing boulders were found in the vicinity. [16]
Hydraulic mining came to an end in the early 1880s as a result of legal rulings banning the discharge of "tailings" (gravel which had been stripped of its gold) into the Bear [17] and Yuba Rivers. [18] It was later estimated that 1,750,000 cubic yards of gravel had been excavated from Remington Hill. [19] Drift mining continued profitably in the area into the early 1900s and sporadically thereafter. [20] Today, there is nothing left of the town, but Remington Hill can be located on many digital maps. [21]
Remington Hill | |
---|---|
Former settlement | |
Coordinates: 39°16′43″N 120°47′38″W / 39.27861°N 120.79389°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Nevada County |
Elevation | 4,052 ft (1,235 m) |
Remington Hill is a historic mining camp in Nevada County, California which prospered in the second half of the 19th century. [1] It was named for Caleb Remington, a prominent local miner who lived mostly in neighboring Little York, where he died in 1865. [2] It lay at an elevation of 4052 feet (1235 m). [1] It was situated around present Chalk Bluff Road about one mile south of Highway 20 and about 5.5 miles southeast of the town of Washington and 6 miles northeast of Dutch Flat, as the crow flies. [3]
Little is known about its history. In 1854, it is described as a prosperous mining camp. [4] Its population in 1855 was recorded as 75. [5] By 1858, it was connected by stage to Nevada City. [6] In early 1859, a snowstorm crushed a number of homes and businesses, including a hotel, stable and slaughterhouse. [7] It did not have a school house or a post office. Residents got their mail at Red Dog, until that post office closed in 1869, [8] and sent their children to the Liberty Hill school district schoolhouse, located in neighboring Lowell Hill. [9]
Its leading citizens included Caleb Remington, who owned a number of local mines and mills, was active in politics and ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff in 1854, [10] and John Timmons, one of the builders of the Remington Hill and South Yuba ditches, who became a millionaire, lost it all and died in the poorhouse. [11]
Remington Hill was almost destroyed by fire in 1902. The fire burned for about two weeks over an area six by seven miles, destroying much timber and a number of homes before it was brought under control. [12]
Remington Hill lay on a gold bearing gravel channel on the Chalk Bluff Ridge, which lies between Steep Hollow and Greenhorn Creeks, tributaries of the Bear River. As the channel runs southwest, it joins a major channel running from the San Juan Ridge easterly through Red Dog and You Bet into Placer County. [13] Remington Hill became a center for both hydraulic and drift mining. [14] Water for hydraulic mining was brought from Steep Hollow Creek by a 16 mile ditch constructed between 1854 and 1857. [15] One of the town's claims to fame was that large gold nuggets or gold bearing boulders were found in the vicinity. [16]
Hydraulic mining came to an end in the early 1880s as a result of legal rulings banning the discharge of "tailings" (gravel which had been stripped of its gold) into the Bear [17] and Yuba Rivers. [18] It was later estimated that 1,750,000 cubic yards of gravel had been excavated from Remington Hill. [19] Drift mining continued profitably in the area into the early 1900s and sporadically thereafter. [20] Today, there is nothing left of the town, but Remington Hill can be located on many digital maps. [21]