Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Oregon City 1882
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 26, 2006, 10:18 pm

Book Title: History Of Butte County

OREGON CITY.

    This now almost extinct mining camp is situated in Oregon gulch. The camp
was originally started in 1849, by a number of Oregon men, who made a good deal
of money at placer mining, which was very rich in that locality. The ravine
received its name of Oregon from the settlement of these men. In 1850, placer
mining was very extensively engaged in, and the population of the neighborhood
was considerable. A store was opened in October by Wilmot & Simmons, who did a
large business. At this time the rich quartz ledges were discovered. A man named
Smith opened the first quartz ledge and put up a mill in 1851. His mine was
called the Smith ledge. Other ledges were called the Ryder ledge, the Buffalo
ledge, opened by John Nesbit, the Rock River ledge, and the White and Nutter
ledjje. At all of these mines there were quartz-mills or arastras. The White and
Nutter mills were the first of importance; they were erected in 1854. In
January, 1851, J. McKinstry Smith sold a lot of goods at auction some distance
below the camp. It was in'51 that the Banner ledge was located by Smith and
Sparks, a full account of which mine is given in the chapter on mining. In
1854-'55, Oregon City was a very lively place and had three stores. In 1856, it
was laid out into town lots by Colonel Derrick and others. Camps in the vicinity
received their supplies from Oregon City. In 1857, the town began to decline,
and since 1860 there has been but very little done in the place. In 1860, E. A.
Halstead became interested in the Buffalo mine. Colonel Derrick is the only
quartz-miner living there, though a short distance above several quartz claims
are being worked and much prospecting is done.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA,
IN TWO VOLUMES.

I.
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA FROM 1513 TO 1850.
BY FRANK T. GILBERT.

The Great Fur Companies and their Trapping Expeditions to California.
Settlement of the Sacramento Valley. 
The Discovery of Gold in California.
BY HARRY L. WELLS.

II.
HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY,
From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. 
BY HARRY L. WELLS AND W. L. CHAMBERS.

BOTH VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS AND PORTRAITS.
HARRY L. WELLS,
517 CLAY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO
1882.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by HARRY L. WELLS, in
the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

FRANCIS, VALENTINE & Co., Engravers & Printers
517 Clay St., San Francisco


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