Gold Mine Hidden Away In Forest Paradise
This home and gold mining operation hidden away in the forest really left an impression on me… Perhaps it was the remoteness and the mist-covered forests giving it an otherworldly feel - or just how well it was preserved - but it seemed very easy to imagine what a life there would have been like. I couldn’t help feeling a wave of nostalgia when making our way through the abandoned mine and especially the home. Undoubtedly, my imagination is romanticizing what a life there would have been like, but being there in the 1930s with the local, gold-driven economy booming and far away from the problems of the world, it is hard not to view it as being a paradise. That was also a time before the world was as crowded as it is now and when plentiful adventures were still easy to find, which also appeals to me.
I am using the word “home” intentionally and I don’t think I have ever used that word when describing the accommodations at a mine before. Normally, we’ll see a bunkhouse or a cabin. Or even just a lean-to at some of the older, smaller mines… This, however, was a proper home and so I can only assume that it was probably the mine superintendent’s home.
The steep hills, extremely remote location and the era in which this home was constructed makes it almost state-of-the-art for its time with running water, electricity, etc. I didn’t show it in the video because the video was already getting very long, but there was a large water tank on the hill running up behind the mine. There was some evidence of past mining activity on the hill and even in the creek in the form of waste rock piles and scraps of rusted metal, but it is now just an extremely pretty hike (complete with wildflowers, giant old growth conifers and more) up to the top of the hill.
Records on this mine were sporadic, but seemed to indicate activity dating back to the 1800s. The presence of the mill was confirmed and a description of the workings from the early 1900s describes a raise leading to older workings. I don’t remember seeing something like that and so it may be behind some of those caved workings.
As you saw in the video, the ground in these adits was a bit sporty and so I am unsure how much longer the area we accessed may be possible to visit. In fact, it may already be gone. Hopefully, that home has many years left, but it also seemed that its days were numbered.
*****
All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD
As well as a small gear update here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
Thanks for watching!
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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them - nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.
These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand - bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.
So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
Пікірлер: 417
That’s a Kalamazoo Stove Company stove. Company was founded in 1902 and went out of business in 1952.
@jroysdon
3 жыл бұрын
Came here just to say that. The top of the stove says "Kalamazoo Stove Co," and the bottom says "Kalamazoo, Mich" where is was manufactured.
@SteveandSusiesHomestead
3 жыл бұрын
@@jroysdon Awww .. you came here just to show your an A**
@thatportlandguy8593
3 жыл бұрын
@@SteveandSusiesHomestead Your comment makes zero sense. Also, it's "you're", genius.
@Jdalio5
3 жыл бұрын
@@thatportlandguy8593 your
Wow! This one has it all, plenty of age, it's off the chart w/ relics and considerable sketch factor too! 10/10
That little home could have been a Sears house kit. Circa 1904-1940. Thanks again .
Kalamazoo Stove company, Kalamazoo MI. what a cool site, looks like its rarely visited. That Miners cabin was next level, a fireplace, kitchen, running water, screened patio, and a soaking tub, these miners were living pretty comfortably, I mean aside from being miners lol.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Exactly! It looked like a pretty good life to me!
Thats a G506 1 1/2 ton Chevrolet military truck made back in the 40s
@johntbrusklll727
3 жыл бұрын
During the war years, the military trucks were produced by the hundreds of thousands in Detroit by various manufacturers. All being the same basic truck just being a Chevy or a Dodge etc...
@Ty-tie_FTW
3 жыл бұрын
That's very cool. thank you andrew for posting this information.
@glennwall552
3 жыл бұрын
Stovrs from way back are worth hesps these days just saying
@JG-mp5nb
3 жыл бұрын
@@johntbrusklll727 They had all kinds of uses; fire trucks, light duty tow trucks, etc, etc..
@JG-mp5nb
3 жыл бұрын
Flow stone or septic system Uric Acid salts from the house above?
You have been finding some gems lately. Thanks for the detailed rock shots.
very cool find ....looks like they pulled the head to rebuild it but never came back ..... second Bunkhouse with windows intact ....wow and an old stove too ......what a find ....did you see that Biscuit cutter by the sink ..... its in great shape and no vandals too .....keep that one hidden ..... Gold also wears an Iron Hat ( Gossan ) ...you really should start sampling the mines as you explore as we have seen multiple places for deposition....
@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88
3 жыл бұрын
Pretty sure Justin has said he has no interest in staking claims, nor collecting artifacts, just documenting them before time, or BLM, makes them inaccessible. Nice to see you commenting here as much as you do. Say hi to Slim for me!
@hawaiianongu-lol2703
3 жыл бұрын
Mr Jeff Williams you should join them and start sampling the area and find some gold
@cschexnayder2517
3 жыл бұрын
I see you also saw that biscuit cutter!
@dirkdiggler1242
3 жыл бұрын
Thats a new one Jeffrey .... I always heard from oldtimers " gold rides an Iron Horse " .
@kenneely7899
3 жыл бұрын
FYI In the kitchen to the left of sink is a square die for cutting threads on a pipe or round stock.
The newspaper scrap at 28:20 , "Several Meetings For Dividends Set" is from the San Francisco Examiner, 29 Jan 1933
I really appreciate it when you say it doesn't look like it goes anywhere but I'm going to check it out. The explorers on other channels don't check it out, which, as a viewer is disappointing and leaves me wanting more. Keep up the good work.
@dirkdiggler1242
3 жыл бұрын
Justin is the best, safest, and most thorough documenting our lost history the government is destroying under the guise of "safety" .
@graydonjones6912
2 жыл бұрын
We the people are not allowed to work a mine because the oligarchy doesn't want us to prosper , they want it all for the wealthy pigs of the world
Very nice explore of the 2 adits and the support facilities. Thank you very much for sharing this with us Justin. Keep up the great work. Stay safe and healthy please!
I am amazed at how much equipment is in and near these old mines. Jeez, the time and effort to bring all that up there. Mind is blown again. Great old truck, and the bunkhouse/home was nice!
I can understand leaving the structures behind but the equipment and that old stake body. This might be one of my favorite videos so far. Plus the scenery is perfect. Awesome find, Justin!
@garywheeler7039
3 жыл бұрын
Maybe it is far enough from civilization too.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, this is a special one, to be sure!
Thanks again Justin another good one, Miners they really did go to some extraordinary lengths to get gear into some impossible looking places even as late as the sixties- seventies a lot of the machinery we take for granted now was just on the market or it hadn't been invented . That truck brought me back, I drove an old 48 International flatbed with four forward and two back no sincro, you put your foot on the gear stick to hold in gear it was fun driving it around a big mine site. I started work in 62 and where no such things as Backhoes or Bobcats most machines where tracked a bit like that old converted steam shovel you found up in the Sierras a year or so back. Thanks for the video I still enjoy watching them. Cheers.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Sounds like it would have been quite an experience to drive that truck!
Forgotten and rotting away history gone forever Thank you for documenting this fading away mines Take care greetings from Germany Yours Frank Galetzka
It seems a lot of the mines you've been in have spay paint markings, even though most mines don't look like they have been worked after spray paint became a thing in 1949
@JustAnotherPaddy
3 жыл бұрын
Somebody plans to come back. Survey marks. See them a lot in Justin’s vids. That plastic bucket says someone’s been picking around the quartz seam
That stove is a Kalamazoo Monarch model from about 1907. Made by the Kalamazoo Stove Company, Michigan. "Kalamazoo Direct to you"
Pretty cool! Loved the truck and the house was amazingly intact. Good to see lots of artifacts, and not vandalism. Amazing that old truck still had its glass in place. Sketchy mine!
Absolutely beautiful artifacts. Thanks for sowing this.
Real awesome explore! Stay safe keep the adventures coming!!!
Amazing, not unlike what we used to find in the Big Sur area before it was made a protected wilderness and more people decided to explore. Prior, unknown and untouched. What a great find. Hope it survives to age and crumble gracefully.
Kalamazoo stove!
@Qusin111
3 жыл бұрын
100% and clearly readable
@Jdalio5
3 жыл бұрын
Those stoves can sell for $25,000 restored
39:15 Plastic 5 gallon buckets were first made in 1967. My mind is confused, seeing that bucket, but I did see some white PVC pipe out on the waste pile! Cool find!
@gtfkt
3 жыл бұрын
Looks to me like this mine has been operated, then shut down, a few distinct times in the past.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
@@gtfkt Yes, exactly right. That's very common with these old mines...
@chamonix4658
3 жыл бұрын
also the plastic milk jug in the truck cab
I am amazed they already had pressure resistant flexible tube (2:43) in those years. Though it is often quite amazing what kind of tech already is being used on a pro level long before general public has ever heard of it.. I would think that there's quite a few things among what we got to take a look at early on in this video that would still be worth something for collectors, to restore, maybe some museums would love to have some of that.. (although at the moment it has been a difficult time ~ let's hope it quickly will become better times again!)
The red spray paint says to me someone plans to re visit that claim
It's impressive to see the effort and expense they go to for what they know or assume will be a big payoff. All that concrete and equipment hauled in. And those living quarters are no simple lean to.
That was interesting to watch. Thanks for looking at the walls and explaining about the different colouring and showing gold vanes.
I was almost disappointed you found an adit to explore! Thanks so much for letting us hang out with you for a bit.
The mountain is reclaiming its territory, Thank you Justin!
That old Chevy was very interesting. Probably safe to say a lot of the materials for that facility came down there on it's back, the old stovebolt 6 chugging away. The odometer looked to read 30ish thousand miles. That cab was essentially unchanged from about 35 til 39 in the civilian world, but the military could have used it longer. Sad to see it sitting there. The car looked like a mid 30's sedan...could be newer, not older though. That was a large operation at one time, at some point, the boss said to the lowest guy on the seniority list, "I had a lawn mower brought down here, do something with the damn weeds around the buildings will ya? " To be able to worry about the weeds ya have to be living pretty good. The CP compressor in that building was very cool. Sad to think today people only know Chicago Pneumatic as a cheapo harbor freight brand when it has such a storied past. Fascinating place. makes a guy wonder what shut them down, the crummy rock making it too expensive to recover or did the gold peter out?
@sirmonkey1985
3 жыл бұрын
the newspapers you can see the years 1925(something about a loan) and then the year 1945.. so maybe it was a family operation after the war given they recycled damn near everything they possibly could.
@gtfkt
3 жыл бұрын
My theory for the lawn mower is they brough it up there for the blacksmithing operation they had going on.
Awesome video !!! Great Job !!! Thanks for sharing !
The building looks very similar to many of the old houses i used to paint in Morenci Arizona in my youth.
@bob_frazier
3 жыл бұрын
Hey, that's one hell of a mine you got over there!
Wanted to fill that 5 gallon bucket with Rusty Quartz. Today's Times appealing Setting to live and work old mine. Satellite internet just like out at Ranch. Great Job just remember you cant do everything. But you do a Great Job Documenting remote pieces of History. Thanks for the Tour.
Great find fellers! Thanks for the vids, you do a great job.
Great Video!
Always a pleasure
Great video as always! Thanks for inspiring me here in North Georgia.
almost 45 years ago i worked for a guy who had a collection of WW2 vehicles including a little Chevy like that . it would have been ideal for that type of work but the very best would have been a GMC 6x6 2 ton with a winch. The grill and front fenders were designed to be made by outside contractors with little or no automotive experience during WW2.
Fantastic love that old truck and the bunk house👌
Thanks for spending some time with the various mineralizations.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
I do try...
Amazing find! Never before have I seen the outside of a mine so well preserved and the inside crumbling. Usually it's quite the opposite.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, the outside was better than the inside on this occasion!
Newspaper looked like it said "Monkey Jockeys" so I googled that. Turns out they had monkeys ride racing greyhounds back in the 1930s. Huh.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
That's awesome...
Just officially hooked two dear friends on your channel. As always amazing video work. Stay safe and keep on keeping on!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Awesome! Thank you very much.
It is amazing how nature just takes over... Awesome vidy as always my friend
That's not a hitch on the old truck, its just the 40's version of the "club". Back in the day you would lock that around the nearest tree so nobody could steal the vehicle😂 man that thing sat there so long a tree grew inside that hitch! that's crazy! Lol
Nice find :) I like this episode!
I sat down and pressed play and before I knew it, 43 minutes had gone by. Very interesting video. Enjoyable to watch, and a cool mining site you've discovered.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Yes, this was a special one, to be sure!
that was real fun am glad you let me see it too thanx
No disappoints here at all. Some museums would love those OLD compressors. Maybe leave a plaques. And some details of the mine. I would like 80 ft of that rail.
Thanks for showing the vein!
The crunble gold mine. Great artifacts and nice explore.
Great videos. Thank you for taking the time to show us everything. Thank you.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for coming along... This was a special one.
What a cool mine site!!
Thanks for this explore! Love that Chevrolet truck with 60k on it, you geeked out on it like an old car buff!
Lot of iron, equipment and junk still there! Impressive.
A great explore, amazing finds outside, still in reasonable shape, except the bunkhouse and the first part of the mine, but still a very nice find.
Oh and P.S. you and your friends have huge ball bags going into some of the places I've watched you go ! Vids are great
Great video, thanx for quartz vein shots
Thank you
This is your best yet. Wish I had been with you, but your video is the next best thing
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Wish you could've been along as well... Good company is always welcome!
Stunning
You sure struck artifact gold! That was phenomenal!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, this was a special one, for sure...
Crazy cool seeing the vehicles as well
Hi Justin, so many old parts of machinery rolling down the hill, it's kind of naughty really that they just left it all there to rust. That first adit wasn't sketchy at all was it 😁, jeez that has to be one of the worst adit's condition wise that you've filmed. That old stove at 23:30 had the words "Kalamazoo Stove (K)", then below it had "Kalamazoo Mich", that was one cool old stove resting there, a shame it was left to rot though. The second adit was way more interesting, although I did like the rusty stalactites in the 1st one, this 2nd one was better in a way because of all of the quartz that was in it. A very interesting explore all told with lots going on and tons of artefacts everywhere, very cool. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx 🙏💖
This is so cool! I really love mines.
At 9;45 I would call those Sierra Mine Moths ? That was a Nice House at one time ,and yes i liked that Truck . Thank you for the video .
Beautiful colors. Not ugly.
Another awesome find guys!!! I know my work week is half over when i got your notification. The lawnmower is kind of weird, guessing they thought they could use something off of it or they actually had a grass issue. The Chevy truck is from WW2, the original deuce and a half (two and a half ton) early 40s. From the looks of the different stuff/junk layin around those mines were worked multiple times throu the years. Yall stay safe out there.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, many abandoned mines are worked off and on over the decades as owners, technology and commodity prices change...
great interesting video.love that
In Boston we call those "cah pahts"! I would be sampling the heck out of that place given the extensiveness of it.
The way the hard packed road is all mossed over and the black bark on the trees reminds me of the good times I got to spend on the old mines on the upper part of Wolf Creek in southern oregon.
@Hazmatt4700
3 жыл бұрын
Oh that shale and the quartz. Even more reminders. Digging chunks of quarts out of that material the size of a cat 380 bucket. Good times.
Nice! Very cool mine site. The little piece of newspaper you had in your hand in the house with the Jan 29 date does mention the year 1925. I agree with Ask Jeff you guys should be prospecting . Many of these old miners just high graded for the most part. I was superintendent in my twenties for a custom gold mill just a few miles outside Yosemite back in the eighties. We strictly ran old tailing piles from surrounding mines some of that ore assayed at 6 oz. a ton. Do enjoy the video's keep up the good work!! would like to chat with you guys sometime
Wow!! Great ingenuity
Good stuff
That tin circle with the green wooden handle near the sink in the bunkhouse was a biscuit cutter. I've got a similar one of the same vintage we use in our kitchen.
Sitting on the bed of the truck is the cowl and front axle for an even older Chevy truck, I believe. 1929-1932 or so. The cowl is sitting firewall down on the bed. Identifiable by the oval dash insert shape and the hump for the inline six. As many have said, the military truck was built civilian and converted to military.
Most Interesting mine so far! Especially like the outside artifacts - truck, blower motor and the rest of the sh*t. Rails. Lol. Excellent journey. Much appreciated
Justin - did you notice @ 20:08 that a decent-sized pine tree is growing up in the center of the hitch on that old truck! I'd say that's pretty good evidence it hasn't been moved for a while!
"Cell me crazy", but this is another one that I would have to come back to. I would have to do more exploring for other Adits. With the layout like it is, with the Mill and Bunkhouse and all, it was an awful big operation for just those two Adits. Unless the second one was really huge just cut short with that cave-in. Another great one, thanks!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks. There were other adits there... I talk about it in the description below the video. What was in the video were the main adits though and who knows how far that caved one kept running?
Good find. So interesting to see.
Wow! That's pretty cool 😎
Don't apologize for spending a lot of time on the mine sights. Many times they are more interesting than the mines. In fact, what a great mine sight and all the great stuff there it such a beautiful setting. Great job!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you.
And the bunkhouse was used much later, the paper towel holder next to the sink is late 1970's!
'...Or Sporty' LMAO you are bonkers! stay safe!
Beautiful sketchy old mine bro thanks for taking us along.Lots of cool equiptment left behind!!! We get lots of those orange shit cicles in the coal mines around here there cool but nasty!! Dude that truck was amazing man!!! WOW!!!That bunk house was sick!! Out in the middle of nowhere i love this stuff!!! Probably one of the most colorful mines Ive seen out west!Maybe making moonshine back there too.
Nice Place Definitely some fine Equipment left there there's more cause there at lease Ten years showing must have been getting some Au!!!; )
Have not left a comment in a while but I watch all your vids . I really wish you could document the mines in Gold Hill Calif. that I explored as a kid in the '70's . They are just south of Coloma towards Placerville , I think they built houses on the hill the mines are under, door knocking ?
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
I've looked into that area and couldn't find any mines that were still accessible. Like you said, everything has houses on it now... Thanks for watching the videos!
Looks like the 1902 Kalamazoo wood cook stove. very nice.
Beautiful colours throughout and those alien-like formations are always awesome! Super sketchy, but I guess seeing stalactites like that is a little reassuring. Awesome relics! Looks like maybe they took the engine out of that truck to use in a piece of mine equipment. Tons of fungus in that wood, bet it smelled interesting... 33:36 looks like that junction had cart tracks so maybe it was a passing place for carts? Seems a bit too developed for a mistake, but just big enough to shove a cart into. Wow, so much in this place! So many different textures, so much nature bursting through the old equipment. Really beautiful! Could probably spend a few days just picking through all those piles, too!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Yes, this was a special one...
Hercules engines were in alot of trucks back in the day,military trucks of WWII and many mack trucks,plus i had that same wheeled aircompressor in my plumbing company.
What a awesome site you found here! That ground they were mining sure does look bad though. Some nice colourful formations to look at, you don't get them in the desert mines, you just need to find a copper mine in this climate and see the colours in there! Love all the outside buildings and vehicles/machines, could quite easily poke around in there for hours!
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, this was a special one, to be sure! I actually found the outside more interesting than the underground gold mine on this one!
@16:25 " gold rides an Iron horse " there is a highgrade ore mine! TY Justin for another document. Your work preserving (REAL) History will be remembered for eternity! I watch all the adds for ya cause im to poor to give your great cause.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Hey, man, I appreciate it!
Looks like a vintage caretakers cabin to look over the mine while it was closed as a nonessential mineral working. Those in the Foresthill, Ca, often had seniors who had mined to run some trap lines for spare money during the war.
Sweet 👍
At 40:45 there was a square piece of quartz laying broken off on a timber that had color in it as well as iron..... I would just about have to backpack that one out and essay that one... :) did you notice the magneto ignition on the big Chicago air tool compressor engine. Man good ole days right there huh? Awesome vid as usual that last mine was at the end of entrance I would venture, too many chunks just hanging there waiting for that right voice vibration just to let go, be safe man, who would be my fav insane mine mole then?
That is 1 cool place I’d move in & live there. Squatters rights. Lol
@Boga217
3 жыл бұрын
Don't necessarily even have to squat. Mining claims can be used for recreational use as well. Get a decent truck..basic tools home yard and mining and go for it. File your claim and move in. Now I'm sure there are limits on time spent there/not there but heck get a good camper and find another claim or 2 and go start digging a hole for the heck of it. Make a bunker instead of a mine but using wood 😆
The Flathead engine is interesting
I can't help but wonder if that cable-tied rock came down, they tried to remove it, but in doing so the entire back fall down and in essence killed the mine. Very good explore!
@alexb.1320
3 жыл бұрын
That was my thought, and given the plastic buckets in there, if somebody was working the mine later, trying to make it safer. Alternately, if they had to abandon operation for whatever reason and intentionally pulled that rock to block access to the pot of gold to ensure it would still be "theirs" when they got the oppertunity to return.
Did I just see that tyre on the Chicago machine still holding air !? Truly an amazing mine heaps, to see [ thanks to you] outside and in. But where I see you guys go at times, and this is one of them, I have to ask myself. Are these guys crazy, or just fearless? lol. That old ex Army? Chevy suggests this mine was alive and working in the late forties / early 50's
Nice formations in that, almost looks like an English mine whne you get to the wet section. I love a wet, falling to bits mine, very dramatic. Love how the tree has grown infront of the truck. Waders? Just get wet :) Wow, that 5 inch stope is amazing, imagine the effort that took to remove.
@TVRExploring
3 жыл бұрын
Haha, yes, the wet and uncomfortable mines is definitely something that we share! I can't imagine working in that 5 inch stope.
Kalamazoo Stove 1902 - 1952