SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

LOCATION

COUNTY:San Bernardino County

STATE:California

San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States and has very many mines scattered throughout its desert and mountain ranges. Although some placer deposits were worked in the early 1850s, most of the recorded production of 517,000 gold ounces through 1959 came from lode mines and as a by product of other base metal mines. South of Ludlow 7 miles, in township 6N and 7N and range 8E, you will find the Stedman district, the Bagdad Mine, discovered in 1903, 150,000 ounces of lode gold. Southwest of Needles by 36 miles on U.S. highway 95 to a westward trending road in the Turtle Mountains, at Carson Wells, you will find the Lost Arch Mine which produced lode gold. West of Oro Grande by 5 miles, you will find the Silver Mountain district, area silver mines had a by product of lode gold. The Black Diamond Mine produced gold, with copper and silver. Northeast of San Bernardino by 20-25 miles, in township 2N and 3N and range 1, 2, and 3E, you will find the Holcomb district which had a total production, 400,000 ounces of placer gold and 54,500 ounces of lode gold. The Ozier Mine, major producer since 1850 for lode gold. In Holcomb Valley many area rich placer deposits located in the 1860s, producing about 340,000 ounces of gold. Also in many valley area mines, mostly abandoned now you can find lode gold. Southeast of Twenty Nine Palms by 15 mile, in township 1S and range 11E and 12E, you will find the Dale district, which had the Brooklyn Mine which opened in 1893 and had a total production of 63,500 ounces of lode gold. Southeast of Victorville by 30 miles, you will fine the Wild Rose Group of claims that produced lode gold in tremolite.