Kern-San Bernardino County CA Archives History - Books .....The White Metal Scores 1934
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 20, 2006, 3:43 am

Book Title: Where Rolls The Kern

CHAPTER XXI. 
The White Metal Scores.

   IN THIS chapter it is going to be necessary to give Kern County some glory
that is not strictly hers, for in it we will deal mainly with the great
Randsburg silver boom, and although Randsburg, a Kern County town, was the
center of the great activity; and the money for initial development came chiefly
from Bakersfield residents with the resultant profits quite naturally flowing
back into the hands of these same Bakersfield investors, the truth is that the
great mine that produced the lion's share of this great silver wealth is not
located in Kern County; but just over the line in San Bernardino County.

   However, no history of Kern County would be anywhere near complete without
somewhat detailed reference to the great California Rand Silver Mine; so it is
thought that with due apologies made in advance, San Bernardino County will
permit us to temporarily annex it for historical purposes.

   Before continuing with this story, however, it should be pointed out that
while Kern County cannot rightfully lay claim to the production of this famed
mine (even if it did annex most of the profits) it has a silver production
record of some moment that is rightfully its own.

   Silver was mined and smelted in what is now Kern County back in the
eighteenth century, if available records are as authentic as they appear to be.
Back in 1910, Thomas R. Jones was a compiling a Fifty Years Ago Today column for
The Grizzly Bear, monthly publication of the Native Sons and Daughters of the
Golden West. In June of that year— 1910—he published the following in this Fifty
Years Ago Today column:

   Silver ore was reported discovered in the Fort Tejon Canyon that assayed $650
a ton. Prospectors there found two furnaces of antiquated construction that had
been used years before to smelt silver ore. An old Indian who claimed to be 102
years of age, and looked it, had a reminiscence of his younger days about eighty
years before when four Spaniards worked the silver mine. They were subsequently
massacred by the Indians and their bodies burned under an old oak tree, whose
trunk showed a charred space burned years ago.

   In 1876 the Bull Run Silver Mine, on Bull Run, about five miles above
Kernville, was claimed to be one of the richest silver mines in the world,
although production figures are lacking.

   A number of other Kern County mines have some, though not particularly
notable, silver production to their credit. The one great silver mine of the
area, the California Rand, known locally as the Kelly Rand, although it has
brought both wealth and fame to Kern County, does not actually lie within the
County's borders, a fact previously mentioned. Before proceeding with the story
of its discovery and subsequent operation, there are a few other incidents in
the career of Randsburg that are worthy of mention.

   When we left it a chapter or two back, it was a flourishing gold camp, and
has continued as such with occasional interruptions. During their gold mining
operations many miners of the district were annoyed somewhat by the presence of
a heavy white mineral which they termed "heavy spar," which was not recognized
until 1903 when it was indentified as scheelite. This indentification was
followed by the location of tungsten claims. Early in 1905 C. H. Churchill
located Mine No. 1 of the Atolia Mining Company. This company started definite
mining operations in 1906 when scheelite was worth $3 a unit. The price of this
mineral continued a gradual rise, until war time demands gave it a market value
of $80 per unit in 1916.

   This product brought a return of close to $14,000,000 to the district.
Although located in San Bernardino County, these mines greatly benefited
Randsburg and served to keep interest in the district alive until April 12,
1919—the date of the discovery of the famed California Rand Silver Mine.

   The discovery was made by Jack Nosser and W. H. (Hamp) Williams. The original
outcrop which first attracted the attention of the prospectors was only about
thirty feet from a well traveled road on the Juanita claim, a gold property. One
of the first assays showed 300 ounces of silver and three ounces of gold to the
ton. The property was first christened the Rand Divide, but as this led to
confusion, owing to a number of Divide properties in the Tonopah district of
Nevada, then prominent in the public eye, the mine was rechristened the
California Rand, later to become known locally as the Kelly Rand, on account of
J. W. Kelly being one of the backers of the discoverers.

   It proved to be one of the most remarkable mines ever found. During the first
fifty feet of mining operations there was no dump, everything taken out being
shipping ore. Associated with Kelly of Bakersfield in backing the locators was
Miss Edith Coons, also a Bakersfield resident. Williams and Nosser each sold an
eighth interest in the property to meet shipping charges on initial ore
shipments. According to current, and apparently well founded reports, Alfred
Harrell, publisher of the Bakersfield Californian, bought an eighth interest for
$1,000. The first two cars of surface rock netted $40 per ton. By August 19th of
the discovery year, twenty-eight cars had been shipped from a hole 18x20 by 50
feet deep. The gross value of this rock was over $200,000, of which more than
half was net profit to the owners, who were operating under the name of the
California Rand Mining Company.

   Generally accredited reports have it that Nosser and Williams sold half their
remaining interests in the mine for $50,000 each; Kelly sold three-eighths for
$100,000, and Miss Coons one-quarter of her interest for $66,000.

   During its earliest years portions of the property were operated by leasers.
One leaser, E. T. Grady, had a lease 120 feet square and 450 feet deep, and this
"town lot" is credited with a production of 1,487,742 ounces of silver and 5,430
ounces of gold from the 18,222 tons of ore mined during the life of Grady's lease.

   The California Rand reached its peak as a dividend payer during 1922 and
1923, as a result of the enactment of the Pittman Act, providing for the payment
of $1 an ounce for domestic silver, the bill having been sponsored by Senator
Key Pittman of Nevada, and designed by him to give stimulation to the silver
mining industry of the Sagebrush State.

   In September, 1921, the California Rand commenced construction on a 100-ton
flotation mill, and on December 15th of the same year, the mill began operation,
grinding out many millions of wealth before the decline in the price of silver
made its operation impractical for a time.

   The discovery of this great mine naturally led to extensive explorations of
the district, and several other properties were located and operated. While some
of them gave a fairly good account of themselves, none ever rivaled the great
Rand. The silver production figures for the district are well in excess of
$16,000,000, the major portion of which must be officially credited to San
Bernardino County, although most of the dividends found their way into the bank
accounts of Kern County citizens.

   When silver prices reached their exceedingly low levels during depression
years, operation of the great property became impractical, but it is generally
conceded that the ores are still unexhausted, and with silver prices again
climbing, with prospects of permanent stabilization, the clouds that have been
hovering over the California Rand, or the Kelly Rand as it is better known to
Kern County residents, may be said to have a silver lining.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Where Rolls the Kern

A History of Kern County, California
By Herbert G. Comfort

MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA:
The ENTERPRISE Press
1934

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