The Tools Are On The Bar

Chapter I

Beginnings

The first residents of what today is known as Copperopolis were the Central Sierra Miwok and Yokut Indian tribes. Many grinding rocks and tools, as well as other evidences, have been found in the area.

Copperopolis is located at the intersection of Highway 4 and O'Byrnes Ferry Road, twelve miles southwest of Angels Camp in Calaveras County. The elevation is 945 feet above sea level. The town is situated in a small triangular valley, hemmed in by steep and rugged slopes of the Bear Mountain Range to the east and Gopher Ridge to the west. The town is built along Main Street which parallels the northwest-southeast trending copper veins. Main Street today is sparsely populated with buildings. Large gaps line the once busy street which, back in the 1860's at the time of the copper boom was built solid with brick, stone, and wooden buildings. Of those remaining from that time, some stand empty, some in ruins, and some in disrepair. The remainder of the structures in the town are wood-framed and date mostly from the 1889 -1900 period.

The name Copperopolis is derived from two words, "Copper" (for the ore), and the Greek word "polis" meaning city. This was first mentioned in the San Joaquin Republican newspaper which stated that ore from the Union, Keystone, was to be exhibited at the 1860 Fair in Stockton and there were a thousand pounds of ore ready for exhibition on the levee in Stockton.

By September of 1861 there were 28 business establishments in the community and during 1865-67 there were over 90 business or professional offices advertised in the Copperopolis Courier. The fire in 1867 destroyed the center of the town except for the three brick buildings located in the "Plaza" known as the Armory, Reed's store, and Honigsberger's store. After the fire, little of the burned area was rebuilt, and the town never again achieved the population or importance of the mid-I860's.

The town declined rapidly and by 1870, only 170 persons were living in Copperopolis in 87 separate dwellings, many of them were individual miner's cabins. Not until that year did the inhabitants file their town site petition. The filing was made in the Stockton Land Office on September 1, 1871, and published in the Calaveras Citizen at San Andreas. J.M. Baker and William Turner, together with Judge Norman, appeared and offered the required proof on October 9, 1872, in the Stockton Land Office. The official survey and map were made by A. B. Beauvais of Tuolumne County who subsequently filed the map with the Calaveras County Recorder.

FIRST FAMILY'S IN COPPEROPOLIS

In the year of 1859 there was no town of Copperopolis. At that time there were roads through this area leading from Salt Spring Valley, down to O'Bymes Ferry, and to Stockton. People used their wagons, or if the roads were bad they used pack animals. Many walked through the country, much like the Indians in those early days.

Before 1860 there were only the men who came to look for land or gold. It wasn't until 1861 that families started to move in and build their homes. It was copper that became the main source of industry from its discovery in 1860 through 1867. The prospecting boom was called copper mania.

Two of the first families to establish homes in the town were those of Jacob M. Pike and William Kennedy Casement. Fortunately both of these pioneers have left memoirs of their experiences of that era. Pike's Memoirs were written in 1912 at the age of 80 and Casement's Memoirs in 1901 at the age of 71.

We have included portions of these interesting personal histories to show the hardships most of the travelers or prospectors faced in those early days in a later chapter. (1)

THE FIRST COPPER DISCOVERY

In the year 1855, Mr. J.W. Bean, who was residing some five miles north of the present Napoleon copper mine, picked up some specimens of what was no doubt carbonate of copper, from a ravine near his cabin. He took them home, and on showing them to his partner, was greeted with the remark that "they were nothing but copperas rocks, the country is full of the stuff, and it isn't worth a damn." Mr. Bean threw his specimens out the door, among the rubbish, and by that act parted with indications, had they been followed-up intelligently, would have led him to a fortune, and placed the State of California five years in advance of where she was later in copper mining.

In the year 1860, it was Hiram Hughes who discovered copper in California. Hiram had prospected in the Calaveras area, then went further north to the Sutter area and finally into the famed comstock silver region of Nevada in the Spring of 1860. Being impressed with the resemblance of the rock formations in Nevada's Washoe region to those in the California-Calaveras County area, he came back to Calaveras County and commenced looking for silver. He showed pieces of the rusty ore from Quail Hill to some Cornish miners who told him it might be copper. A sample of the ore was assayed in San Francisco at 30 percent copper.

Hiram Hughes' discovery occurred on Gopher Ridge in the Southwest comer of Calaveras County at Quail, May, 1860. This lode proved to be moderately rich in gold. When Hiram searched for more of the "iron rust" he located a new claim he named the Napoleon. The site of this discovery was at Hog Hill, near what was first called "Grasshopper City," and later re-named "Telegraph City." Hiram later sold eleven-eighteenths of the Napoleon for $22,000. He organized a small company with J.F. Treat of San Andreas to work the Quail Hill claim.

The Napoleon mine on Hog Hill was named for Hiram's son who was ten years old and with him at this time. The boy's name was William Napoleon Bonaparte Hughes. The story goes that on Hog Hill the boy grew tired, drove his pick into a ledge under the shade of a tree, and went to sleep. Later "Bona" pulled out his pick and saw signs of metal-bearing mineralization on the point of the pick. The ore was assayed and found to have less gold than the Quail Hill gossan, (2) but to contain high-grade copper.

November 23, 1861, Robert Dowling, County Assessor, in submitting a report to Surveyor General HA. Higley, makes the following comments:

"I propose to append here an extract of a letter written to me by Mram Hughes, an intelligent miner and the original discovery of copper ore in this county."-'Gopher Mines, October 24, 186l. Our Napoleon lead on Hog Hill is paving No. 1. We am down 35 feet on a level of copper ore varying from 2 to 3 feet in width ... Two men raise two tons per day, besides doing the timbering ... The assays from the different qualities of sulfide ore, up to the best ore run from 16 to 20% of metallic copper five dollars in silver and a trace of gold per ton ... We have shipped 66 tons of copper ore from this claim and have 40 more ready for sacking...'(3)

Mrs. Ada B. Campbell, a local writer, described the discovery of copper as follows: "And it came to pass in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty that the inhabitants of a certain hamlet, situated in the Land of Calaveras, were aroused from the even tenor of everyday life by strange and exciting rumors, being none other than tidings of great joy had befallen the dwellers in a neighboring hamlet called Hog Hill..."(4)

Hughes sold his remaining interest in the Napoleon mine within two years for $100,000. He invested the money in land and cattle in Lynn's Valley, Kem County.

The Napoleon was worked during the years 1861-1865, inclusive. From its shafts many thousands of tons of good shipping ore were prepared for the markets. The Star Excelsior, Shirley Queen, Little Quail Hill, and the Collier, all in the same area, though small were also rich mines. Although the mines all closed down after the war they were later re-opened, but relatively little production was made.

THE SECOND COPPER DISCOVERY

Early in the summer of 1860, Mr. William K. Reed, a miner from the lead mines of Wisconsin, having examined the ore from Hughe's mine, and staffed out on a prospecting trip in an easterly direction from Hughes. About eight miles from Telegraph City, a locality with which he had been long acquainted, he observed surface croppings of the same character as those on Quail Hill. He gathered specimens, and took them to Thomas McCarty's "Log Cabin" a well known stop on the Stockton road. He submitted the ore to Dr. Allen Blatchly, a mining engineer (or so he styled himself in published reports), of Stockton who had recently been attracted to the scene by the fame of the Hughes discovery. 'Me doctor at once pronounced the specimens to be copper ore.

William Reed, Thomas McCarty, and Dr. Allen Blatchly started out early the next morning, located and staked all the ground now embraced in the Union, Keystone, Consolidated, Empire, and Calaveras claims-- 1 1,250 feet or two miles. A large number of sacks were filled with the croppings of carbonates gathered from the surface. The first exploration work was done by Dr. Blatchly, at what is now known as the Discovery Shaft, upon the Keystone mine. The doctor obtained good shipping ore at a depth of 25 feet. Mr. Reed soon afterwards commenced work upon what is now the Union Company's ground, and obtained good ore at about the same depth.

July 4, 1860, the San Joaquin Daily Republican reported that they had a letter stating that assays made of the copper ore at Copper Caflon Union claim showed the yield to be 60 percent. Copper Caflon came into prominence immediately after the Reed discovery. (In the early County Recorders books the word "caflon" was used instead of canyon speued the Spanish way).

It was the Union mine that gave employment to a great number of miners, timber cutters, teamsters, etc. On January 2O, l861, it was reported by the San Joaquin Daily Republic that five tons of ore from the Keystone Company mine showed a content of 24 percent of copper which was worth $115 per ton.

Second only to the Lake Superior area in copper production during the 1860's, the Copperopolis strike came at a time when the Mother Lode gold mines were dormant and provided wages of $40 per month for miners as well as starting a "rush" of prospectors. The Civil War had begun and copper was needed for the war effort. Since both Copperopolis and Lake Superior were "Northern" a virtual monopoly production was assured the Union. For seven years copper was "king" in Calaveras County. (5)

THE COPPER DISTRICTS

There are two principal copper districts in Southwest Calaveras County, divided by a low course of hills, but both in the same range. One is known as Copperopolis, located about 35 miles from Stockton, the other is the Gopher District near Telegraph City, about 29 miles from Stockton.

The Copper Cafion District (Copperopolis), was established on August 3, 1860, and a set of mining laws were adopted for the use of the miners of the area. The district was to be bounded on the north by Angel's Trail, East by Empire District, south by O’Byrne’s Ferry District, and west by Black Oak, Four Spring Run, and Four Spring District. Each miner was to be entitled to one claim by location on a lead or vein of 150 feet in length and 300 feet in width. However, any miner discovering a new lead or vein, was to be entitled by right of discovery, to an extra claim of the same extent.

Union Mine

In the Copper District the two principal mines were the Union and Keystone. Next in importance were the Empire, Calaveras, Webster, Kentucky, and others.

Keystone Mine

The Gopher District mines are six miles nearer Stockton than the Copperopolis bell A long mountain road is avoided, and a saving of two dollars per ton effected in hauling the ore.

MINES IN THE TELEGRAPH CITY AREA

"The Napoleon Mine is located in the Gopher District one and one half miles south of Telegraph City. It is the principal mine in the district, and the only one regularly shipping ore. It holds 2700 feet upon the ledge, is incorporated, and is being developed with an energy and ability seldom equaled in mining operations. A village has sprung up around it, and the Company's houses, machine shops and steam works have gone up like magic.

Napoleon Mine

"It is stated that A.J. Moulder, the present Superintendent of Public Instruction, is to be the Superintendent of the Napoleon after the first of January. Mr. Moulder is a thorough engineer and the mine cannot fail to succeed under his management The Company is now taking out about 200 tons of ore per month, from a depth of 45 feet. This ore is assorted and something over half of the whole amount is shipped. Cornish workmen are chiefly employed. The stock of this mine is all held in this city (Stockton).

"The Camp and McNulty Mine is located about three quarters of a mile from the Napoleon. Very promising ore has been struck. Fifteen tons have been shipped as a test sample. Eight men are at work upon this mine.

"The Star Claim between the McNulty and Napoleon, is as yet undeveloped.

"The Live Oak Mine was originally located by Mr. Botcher (Borcher). A shaft has been sunk upon it to the depth of about 80 feet. It is chiefly owned in this city (Stockton). The work upon the mine is being prosecuted with much energy by. Mr. Borcher as Superintendent. Its value is a mere question of time."

"The Hughes Mine at Quail Hill is chiefly owned by Hiram Hughes and is mined for gold as well as copper. Mr. Hughes is developing this valuable claim according to his own views." (7)

THE LOCATIONS OF BUILDINGS "THEN AND NOW"

The original town center of Copperopolis was located across from the Armory and was known as "The Plaza." From the Plaza, Main Street runs approximately one and one-fourth miles northwest to the end of town. Surrounding the Plaza are the Armory, Reed's store, and the Honigsberger store, all of brick construction. Behind the Armory runs Antelope Street where many residences were located in the early days. The three important copper mines are located along Main Street: the Union, The Keystone, The South Shaft and North Keystone.

Copperopolis Plaza - 1867
 

All of the original brick and wooden buildings between the Plaza and the Presbyterian Church have now disappeared with only basement depressions remaining to show the location of over twenty of these buildings, except for the stone walls of the Masonic Hall. On Main Street there remains wood frame residences constructed in 1889-1910.

 Old Comer Saloon - 1862

Just south of the Plaza are two 1890's frame houses and the one remaining of the many small company houses built by the Calaveras Copper Company. Other buildings from early years include the 1862 two-story Old Comer Saloon, the Company Store, and the old Post Office. The remainder of the town consists primarily of empty lots, most of them purchased by the Union Copper Mining Company in 1909 and later, and some newer buildings such as the Post Office which stands on the ground of the torn-down Catholic Church, storage buildings, the office of the Calaveras Telephone Company owned by the pioneer Tower family. Thus, while the aspect of the community has changed largely due to the destruction of most of its original buildings, those which remain are virtually unchanged after half a century or more.

For over twenty years the town slumbered except for brief production in 1871, and surface roasting and leaching of the dumps in 1872. By 1888 the Ames family of Massachusetts, founders of the Ames Shovel Company, under the leadership of Frederick L. Ames, acquired control of the mines and built a complete smelter. At this time the town experienced a modest boom, and many of the houses which stand today were constructed to house the new in-flux of labor. In February 1899 the Ames family sold to a newly formed company, the Union Copper Company, which began to purchase the claims and properties through out the town. The Reed and Honigsberger buildings, purchased and used by the employees of the mining company. Due to difficult market conditions, as well as problems in working the low grade sulfide ores encountered in the deeper levels, the operations were curtailed in 1902.

In September 1909 the Calaveras Copper Company purchased the interests of the Union Company and bought more lots and buildings until they owned over one-half of the original town. The mine was dewatered again and commenced a long period of almost continuous operations, producing copper throughout the year 1929, and a briefly during WWII.

The Copper Company, for a short time, operated their own store, boarding houses, stables, and company housing for the workers. They rebuilt the smelter as well as a large mill for concentrating the sulfide ore. Copperopolis was virtually a company town, everyone worked for the mines, either directly or indirectly. In 1936, the mine properties were purchased by the Levine Salvage Company and the equipment was junked in 1937-38. The mine property was acquired by the Calaveras Consolidated Mining Company, and is still owned by this company.

COPPEROPOLIS AND ITS MINES

"In our last issue (of the Copperopolis Courier) we gave some account of the early discovery of copper in ( Copperopolis and its vicinity. A short time after, regular work was commenced upon the mine, early in the fall of I Mr. Reed, being satisfied that the same would be permanent, put up a cloth house under the big pine tree that is standing in front of the Copperopolis Hotel. This was the first house of any kind built in Copperopolis. It was used as a boarding house for the men employed at the Keystone Mine. The next house built was a small wooden building, a few feet distant from the first, and used as the Justice Court Room. This was also built by Mr. Reed, and used as a boarding house for the men employed at the Union mine. Other structures of wood and cloth soon began to g up around these pioneer buildings.

"Early in the following spring of 1861, N4r. J. M. Bean, fully satisfied from the developments already made a town of considerable size must speedily grow up in that locality, commenced the erection of what is now known as the Copperopolis Hotel, one of the largest structures in that region of country. The commencement of this edifice  to quite an excitement, and a general staking out of lots was immediately commenced. From that time to the pre 1863 Copperopolis has been rapidly increasing in growth and importance, until it now numbers a population of 1200 souls, with three hotels and several restaurants, two livery stables, two barber shops, six or eight well-filled stores and numerous smaller establishments where comforts, etc. are dealt out. A school house has been erected a plot of ground set aside for a cemetery. Religious worship is held in a public hall."

"Copperopolis presents at the present time, all the peculiar characteristics of one of the early mining came the 1850's, with the exception that its houses are constructed of lumber rather than canvas ... We know of no mountain town which bids fair to enjoy a more prosperous or permanent future than this young city of copper. It possesses mines of undeveloped extent, and of the most undoubted richness and permanency. The future increase t reasonably keep pace with the development of its mines, which, thus far present indications excelled nowhere else in California."(8)

The Copperopolis mines consist of the North Keystone, Keystone-Union, South Shaft, Empire, and Jackson  McCarthy (Old Calaveras) mines, from north to south, and the Calaveras mine west of the Union. These have among the most prominent sources of copper in California since their discovery in 1861. The Union mine was foremost producer of copper in the 1860's, and the North Keystone ranked second in the California production during WWII. The Union mine was a profitable operation from the very first. By April 1866, the main Union shaft reached a vertical depth of 480 feet, and there were seven levels. The main Keystone shaft had been sunk 360 down a steeply dipping vein, and had four levels.(9) Between 1864 and 1866, the Keystone mine operated a Concentrating plant, and the Union Copper Company used a crude smelter to improve the lower grade ores for shipping Both operations were abandoned when they proved to be unprofitable.

In 1867 the Copperopolis mines closed down because of a fall in the price of copper. The Union Copper Mining Company smelter was operated in 1869, The mine itself resumed production briefly in 1871, and part of the! face dumps were roasted and leached in 1872. Except for these activities and routine maintenance work, the Copperopolis mines were inactive from December 1867 to 1887. In June of 1887, dewatering of the Union mine began Production was renewed in January 1888 and lasted until 1892, during which time a new smelter was installed, the Union shaft was sunk to 800 feet. (10)

THE UNION MINE (from the Copperopolis Courier)
(Locatedbehind the Volunteer Firehouse)

The Union had three large buildings, one over each shaft. Number I shaft was approximately 275 feet deep; second shaft was around 180 feet and the third less; from the first to the second shaft, which were 300 feet apart there is a drift at a depth of about 180 feet.

Union Mine

The workmen are principally Cornishmen (Cousin Jacks). Only the good shipping ore Number I and 2 is bagged and sent away--sometimes ten or fifteen tons a day. Immense piles of common ore, the No. 3, lay around the building estimated at 10,000 tons, which will be used when mills and concentrators can be erected. 'This ore will then realize $10 to $15 per ton. There is from $100,000 to $150,000 now waste.

The ore is hoisted by steam power with wire rope attached to the bucket bad; the upper end of the wire rope being made fast to the drum. This hoists the ore from the 200 feet bottom in about two minutes. Between 1861-1867 the Union mine shipped approximately 35,500 tons of high grade ore, assayed at 12 to 15 percent copper. This ore was shipped to Liverpool, England at an average cost of $25 per ton.

The Union Company had a boarding house for their workmen housing 75-80 men and was 40 feet by 60 feet. The large kitchen and cooking department were neat and clean; a large bathing house, yard and garden, stable, and a yard for twenty swine which consumed the waste from the table and house.

The Union mine declared its first dividend in December 1862 in the amount of $11,000 per share. The following year the same shares were selling for $20,000. (I 1) The ore was so rich that stockholders were selling shares by the foot. William Dana, William Jones, Thomas Hardy, Pedar Sather, and William Ralston were among the original stockholders. (12) Shipments of ore from the Union mine for a six-day period from June 9-15, amounted to more than a million and half pounds or in excess of 826 tons. (I 3)

The Union Copper Mine, situated at Copperopolis was sold today at Sheriff's sale to Glidden and WiWarns for $121,251 in currency and $113,954 in coin. (14)

KEYSTONE - UNION MINES

Since 1878, the Keystone and Union mines had been held by the same owner. These mines were operated as a unit through the Union shaft beginning in 1900, when dewatering of the combined workings began. Ore was produced from 1902 to 1909, and intermittently from 1911 to 1920. A concentrating mill, in which the ore was crushed, sized, jigged, and tabled, was in use as early as 1907. In August 1909, the property was acquired by the Calaveras Copper Company. The Keystone-Union was operated through the Keystone shaft in the years 1923-27 and 1929-30. During this last period of activity, the Engels Copper Company (lessee) sank a 675 foot vertical shaft northwest of the old workings, in order to develop a new part of the vein in the North Keystone mine.

Keystone Mine

In 1942, the owners of the North Keystone mine, Calaveras Consolidated Mining Co., Ltd., leased it to the Keystone Copper Co. In July 1949, the Keystone Copper Corporation was formed by the Lava Cap Gold Mining Corporation and the Keystone Copper Co. to operate the property. Under this new lease, ore was produced from the North Keystone between July 1943 and July 1945. It was concentrated to a grade of 26-28 percent copper by selective flotation at the Mountain King mill. During 1944-46, the Pacific Mining Co. reworked the old Keystone-Union tailings in a grinding-flotation unil In February 1956, a subsidiary of the Daybreak Uranium Co. of Spokane, Washington, began dewatering the South Union shaft, in an attempt to recover copper from the mine water. In May 1958, cement copper was being produced by Copperopolis Mines, Inc., from the South shaft

The North Keystone mine is developed in the northern end of the Keystone claim. Its main shaft was 600 feet deep in 1906, and by 1942 had been sunk to 690 feet. In 1943 and 1944 it was sunk further to 1, 1 15 feet, and a crosscut on the 875-foot level was driven 270 feet eastward. More than 400 feet of drifts were opened north of it.  Two 17- foot-wide shrinkage slopes were mined south of the crosscut The North Keystone closed down in 1945 and has been idle since.

The Empire Mine
(Located in front of the Armory)

The Empire mine is south of the South Shaft It was active in December, 1862, and produced ore from 1865 through 1867, although no record of the amount is available. The main shaft was 110 feet deep in October, 1863.  Southeast of the shaft is the Empire tunnel, which trends southwest and is 420 feet long, This property was acquired by the Union Copper Mining Company prior to 1908.

OLD CALAVERAS MINE

The Jackson McCarthy (Old Calaveras) mine situated West of the Union mine. It consists of two shafts, one of which is 250 feet deep, and a slope between them. There is no record of production from this mine. (McCarty) is the correct spelling. Refer to Calif. Div. of Mines & Geology, Calaveras County Report No. 2, page 25-26 1963.)

THE CALAVERAS MINE

The Calaveras mine is the second western extension of the Union. This property was worked in 1862, and ore was shipped in 1863, at which time the main shaft was 110 feet deep. The last recorded activity was in October 1863.

Other nearby claims, including the Inimitable, Kentucky, and Consolidated, have sketchy histories of brief activity in the 1860's, but no recorded production.

Reported production from the Copperopolis mines totals 1,188,906 tons of ore and 491,840 tons of reworked tailings. The Keystone mine yielded 1,087 short tons of copper metal from 1861 to 1867, and the Union yielded 10,884 tons from 1861 to 1889. More than 19,329 tons of copper, 28,945 ounces of silver, and 317 ounces of were produced from the Keystone-Union mine in the period 1890-1946. Production from the North Keystone Mine amounted to 4,999 tons of copper, 8,533 ounces of silver, and 175 ounces of gold in the years 1942-45. (15)

NAPOLEON MINE
(West Vein, Telegraph City)

The Napoleon Mine is located six miles southwest of Copperopolis and one mile southeast of Telegraph City.

Napoleon Mine

The Napoleon was discovered by Hiram Hughes December 1860, and is one of the oldest known major copper mines in California. By 1927 it had a reported total production of $1.2 million worth of copper and silver.

This mine was worked at least as early as the first part of 1861. In 1862, a yield of 200 tons of ore per month from a shaft 45 feet deep was reported. Only half of this ore, said to average 14-20 percent copper was shipped. Napoleon remained active until late in 1865, when the Hughes mine adjacent to it was assimilated, and work suspended during the ensuing reorganization. One source states that the mine filled with water and was not reopened until a new shaft was sunk in 1900, although some copper was recovered by a leaching process in 1877. There, reports that 1600 tons of ore were shipped in 1881, and was reported to have averaged 11.25 percent copper, ounces gold, and 5.7 ounces silver. Cement copper was produced by leaching the old dumps from 1900 to 1915 some ore was shipped to the Peyton Chemical Works. The maximum depth of the mine was 430 feet, prior to 1908.

In 1918, new milling and flotation equipment having a capacity of 90 tons per day was installed on the property. A small production was made the following year, but thereafter the mine was again allowed to fill with water 1926, the main shaft was dewatered to a depth of 200 feet, but no production was reported. The next activity was in 1942-43, when Mountain Copper Co. Ltd. rehabilitated a 280 foot vertical shaft and drilled 10 test holes. (16)

QUAIL HELL
(Eagle Copper and Silver Mine)

The Quail Hill mine is located seven miles West of Copperopolis. It is on ground patented July 1879 as the Eagle Copper and Silver Mine. It was the first mine located in the Foothill Belt, and at different times has been works gold and copper.

A gold-bearing gossan was discovered by Hiran Hughes in 1860 on what is now the Quail Hill mine. The presence of copper was soon discovered, and in 1863 it was reported that 300 tons of ore averaging 25 percent copper been shipped. (17)

The mine lay idle from the latter part of 1863 through 1866. The following year, a stamp mill was erected on property, and production of 2 or 3 tons of gold-quartz per day began. Material from a 10 foot shaft was reported to have yielded $ 100 per ton in silver.

'The next recorded activity was in 1877, when & mine was worked for gold under the name "Eagle" mine.

The Quail Hill mine has no known record of production from 1868 until 1917, when the Quail Hill Mining mined ore for three years from the 170-foot level and above. In 1920 the mine changed hands; except for a brief period of activity in 1938, it was then idle until 1942. Intermittent production in 1943-45 yielded more than 8000 of ore from which copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver were recovered. The last operator was G. Ivan Smith, owner of the mine. The Quail Hill mine has yielded a total of 12,687 tons of ore since 1917. Approximately 453 tons of per, 1,032 tons of zinc, and 74 tons of lead were recovered from this material, along with 3,866 ounces of gold 65,466 fine ounces of silver. (18)

The Star Excelsior

The Star Excelsior mine is located two miles southeast of Telegraph City and one mile due south of the Napoleon mine. This copper mine was first worked during the 1860's as were other mines in the area. It was active in 1914 and again in the late 1920's. For the past years the owner has been intermittently recovering cement copper from mine waters.

Nassau Mine
(Goat Ranch, Pool)

This mine is located five miles due north of Copperopolis. It consists of the Goat Ranch and Goat Ranch Extension claims, and was worked by Andrew S. Pool prior to 1900, This property was acquired by the Nassau Copper in the early 1900's, and by 1908 the company had sunk a 300-foot shaft and reportedly had mined $70,000 worth of copper ore. The mine operated intermittently through 1919. There is no record of further activity until 1941, when the shaft was dewatered. No production resulting from this operation is known. Precipitating Links were use produce copper cement from the mine water. (19)

SMELTING OF COPPER ORE IN COPPEROPOLIS

While the shipment of ore had been confined strictly to first class ore, thousands of tons of paying ore was being cast aside for the purpose of shipment to the East. It would be profitable for shipment to Antioch when the smelting works were completed there. Many of the claims, not having good shipping ore, could greatly benefit by the advantages of a home-established smelting works.

On Saturday, March 25, 1865, seven tons of copper in pigs, averaging 165 & 1/4 pounds, and 96 percent pure metal, arrived in Stockton from Meader's Smelting Works at Copperopolis. (Located behind the cemeteries). This was fix first lot smeltered in California. The ores smelted at the works were only of inferior grades and it would not pay to export them. The smelting works was supervised by Pedro DesorTnauc, a gentleman described as "having large experience and scientific acquirements." (20)

PURCHASE AGREEMENT OF THE COPPEROPOLIS SMELTER

Copperopolis, March 12, 1866

C.T. Meader, Esquire In account with Henry Balch Dr.

1865
     To cash paid you and you gave ? W. Petherick
     To cash paid E.W. Campbell for Smelting works
               orders No. 823
               No. 833 and are herewith enclosed
     To cash paid Monesard for 42 ga. Muscat wine @$2.50
     To cash paid to Krouar (spelling) for 42 gallons of his wine

                        $100.00 560.00 105.00 84, $849.00

NOTES: In Mr. Meader's ledger, now housed in the Angels Camp Museum, it states that he bought the smelter for the above monies and wines.

A VALUABLE INVENTION

Mr. William N. Shaw, blacksmith, has invented a safety attachment to the cage in the middle shaft of the claim, which, for the purpose for which it is designed, cannot easily be surpassed. It is so attached to the cage that should the rope break at any time, eight grapples, made of superior iron, would instantaneously strike into the wood near the guides on each side of the shaft, preventing the cage from falling to the bottom. The simplicity of this important invention, and its effectiveness, commend it to all mining companies who use cages in their shafts. It can be attached to any cage. We understand that Mr. Shaw is about to apply for a patent. (21) NOTE: These cages are to be found in Bodie, and Angels Camp, California.

DESCRIPTION OF ARRASTRA

Often when a miner found some gold-bearing quartz, he would make his own arrastra. A circle was measured out on level ground, bordered with a rock wall at least a foot high and paved with large flat rocks. It was generally not less than 12 or 14 feet in diameter. The four heavy rocks, called the drag stones, were placed within the circle and tied to the short end of a long sweep that pivoted on an axis placed in ft center. 'Me long end of the sweep extended beyond the outer edge of the circle and was propelled around and around by a mule. Given this extra leverage it was not too difficult for the patient beast to drag the heavy boulders through the broken ore which the miners had dumped into the arrastra. After the ore was finely crushed the miner panned it, or used whatever method pleased him best, such as amalgamation, to recover the gold. The arrastra was always located near a source of water. The ore would be carried to it. The armtra described above is known as x "Mexican" arrastra. 'Me "Chilean" arrastra used large stone wheels which rolled over the ore. Arrastras were sometimes run by water wheels.

ARRASTRA METHODS:
Large rock was drawn over rock-paved circular trench to grind the goldbearing ore.

CORNISH MINERS

There were many Cornish miners working in the Copperopolis mines. The Comishmen were called "Cousin lacks" and their wives "Cousin Jennys." These men came from Cornwall, England. They were very adept at single and double-jack drilling in mines.

The Cornish men say that a mine is a hole in the ground with Comishmen at the bottom. Mark Twain said that a mine is a hole in the ground out West owned by a liar.

In 1863 the Keystone mine, adjoining the Union, was leased to a group of Cornish miners who intended to proceed operations with energy. Work was done at the Keystone mine for concentrating the ore. They advertised for a thousand workmen for the season.

The Powning Brothers, five in all, were Cornish miners at the Keystone mine as well as other mines in the area. Two of the Powning Brothers were superintendents of the Keystone, ft Calaveras, the Napoleon, and the Josephine. The latter mine mentioned was located at Mountain Top at the head of Bean Gulch. One brother had charge of the Carey mine at Washoe, Nevada.

The miners under their charge were principally Cornish and many of them were induced to come to Us country by these brothers. They felt that great advantages would be derived by this country by all who employed such miners who were bred to the business and understood it in all of its details.. Our State of California is indebted to the Powning Brothers for many a talented miner.

Charles A. Stone of Copperopolis visited Wales in March, 1982, He presented a Resolution to the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Wales, in appreciation of the contributions of miners and their families from Cornwall and Wales. The Resolution was sent in the name of, The Citizens and Board of Supervisors of Calaveras County, The Calaveras County Historical Society, The Calaveras Heritage Council, and the Copperopolis Community Center. The Resolution reads as follows:

Whereas the miners of Wales and Cornwall journeyed to our area of California during and following the Gold Rush, enduring the hardships prevalent to travel at dim time. Whereas they brought with them the skills and expertise to further the development of our mines and mining industry. Whereas their personal integrity and civic participation contributed to law abiding and progressive communities. Whereas the practice of their religion served as an example to all sustaining them through their lifetime. They rest now far from their native soil. Therefore Be It Resolved that we extend to you of the homeland our sincere thanks for the presence and influence of your ancestors in our lives and fortunes.
Charles A. Stone
May 2, 1982

The following information was gleaned in Wales from The Story of Swansea, Districts and Villages

Norman Lewis Thomas, Vol. 1. Publishers.
QualPrint (Wales) Ltd: Swansea, December, 1969..

It was, above all others, the Vivians who set Swansea firmly on the path to industrial importance and prosperity and earned for 19th century Swansea the name of "Copperopolis." The founder of the great copper firm of Vivian, John Henry Vivian, F.R.S., M.G.S., since the introduction of his 1810 Hafod works was successfully adopting the use of the cheaper coals of the district, thereby, boosting the output of the coal and smelting trades alike ...

THE REED TURNPIKE

William K. Reed, ft discoverer of copper in Copperopolis built a toll road running from McCarty's Log Cabin Ranch on the cast side of Gopher Ridge through Telegraph City on the west and on to the intersection of Sonora Road to Farmington.

Prior to Reed's Turnpike when weather made road conditions impossible for wagons, pack animals were used to transport ore to Stockton however when the road bed was in good condition oxen, horse and mule teams were used.

The Reed Turnpike was considered an important feature in the development of Copperopolis. It operated from 1865 to 1885 when the County took it over. It was then considered one of the best roads in the State, with good watering places located along its route.*

Until the arrival of the Stockton-Copperopolis Railroad at Milton, the Reed Turnpike was one of the principal routes for bringing freight into Angels Camp, Murphys, and Sonora. The empty wagons returning to Stockton often stopped in Copperopolis and picked up a load of copper ore. Rates of toll established for travel over the Reed Turnpike were as follows: Buggies, 50 cents; two-horse wagons, 75 cents; four-horse wagons, $1,00; each additional span, 25 cents; returning unloaded teams, half-price. (22)

*The present concrete troughs seen in various parts of the Mother Lode today were installed by the County Board of Supervisors. The troughs were divided by the fence and shared by both the land owner and traveler. Most corrals and ranch buildings that bordered the road had a similar arrangement and many businesses in the town had watering troughs for the use of their patrons' horses.

"The Reed Turnpike was an enterprise of great importance for the future of Copperopolis and should not be lost sight of by our citizens and the public at large. During the rainy season the turnpike is bound to command all the Stockton travel, but in order to duly compensate the owners for their very creditable investment, they will require a liberal patronage during all seasons of the year. When the public are made acquainted with the advantages of the road, and property consider their own interest and their true relations to parties investing their capital in the development of the metallic resources of this section of the county, we expect the Company will meet with due encouragement. The road is one of the best in the state. It extends from Copperopolis to the plains, a distance of twelve miles, with no heavy grades. There are good watering places on the road. Last week several teams loaded for Chinese, Sonora and Columbia came over the turnpike from Stockton, passing through Copperopolis, crossing the Stanistaus River on the Union Bridge at O'Byme's Ferry, and returning by the same route, loaded with copper for Stockton. Teamsters say they can make the trip from Stockton to Sonora by this route much easier than by any other, besides saving nearly a day's time". (22)

Mr. Reed died in Calaveras county April 25, 1902 at dx age of 78. He was a native of New York.
* Book B-R Death Certificates

THE FIRST CALAVERAS COUNTY FAIR WAS HELD IN COPPEROPOLIS IN 1898

Horse racing became an early pastime for the local people. A 3-day race meeting over the Copperopolis Race Course (a straight course) was held starting June 6,1865, with purses ranging up to $150. There were two race tracks in Copperopolis, one on the Flower Ranch (circular) and one on the Reynolds Ferry road South of town, which was a straight course.

Fred Burnham and Frank Tower in the 1950'S tells interesting stories of the horse races at the Flower Race Track. Fred Burnham quoted Nathan Flower as saying, 'Our horses are accustomed to the handicap of chaparral and rocks -put them on a clear stretch and they let go for all that’s in them.' Burnham says that all the horses raced in that first day of the County Fair in Calaveras County were ridden daily on the range to look after cattle and fences. They were "cow horses" for six days of the week, but on Sunday they were assembled on the Flower Ranch track and worked out for speed and trained for racing. Rant McCarty (Ransom Thomas McCarty), Andrew and John Davis are among those who contributed richly to the first County Fair held in Calaveras County. It is noted that some of the horses made outstanding records at Sacramento State Fair races, on the Emeryville track at Oakland, and toured the racing circuits of Montana and Wyoming. (23)

Also it is of importance to know that the Davis horses were known by their brand, and called T-6 horses. The best performer was a horse named "Jack Brady" which ran on several Western State tracks.

POSTMASTERS AND POSTMISTRESSES AT COPPEROPOLIS

Jacob Pike, December 19, 1861
Richard Fowler, April 18,1864
Matthew Armstrong, October 12,1865
Aaron Barker, November 21, 1867
Wffliain H. Case, October 12, 1870
Calvin Honey, February 17, 1874
Nfilton Honey, January 5, 1887
Chades D. Fontana, March 27,1890
William M. Vickery, July 24, 1893
Miss Etta Lieginger, January 19, 1895
Miss Maggie Egan, April 3,1896
Milton Honey, March 5, 1898
Susie Callahan, January 17, 1913
Fenton E. Moore, November 30,1921
Edna M. Lane, November 1, 1933
Ines L. Doe, October 27, 1943
Lillian C. Lzmmon, November 23,1944
Edna N4. Lane, May 7, 1950
Venus McCarty, December 30, 1963
Deborah WAhams, February 20,1982
Nancy McArthur, January 13,1989 (Cumnt Officer in Charge)
Marilyn Richardson, July 1, 1989

Newspaper Item dated Wednesday, May 31,1989 Calaveras Enterprise Copperopofis

July 20, 1988
1280 Sq. Ft
Cost - $76,900
344 boxes
Also serves 176
star-route customers

The Copperopolis Homecoming, a biannual event, will be held this year on June IO and 11th. This year's event will also celebrate the 50th year of ft Copperopolis Community Center, a community corporation that is responsible for the care and maintenance of the town's two historic buildings. Saturday's activities will include a pancake breakfast from 8 to II a.m. and a walking pictorial tour by Charles A. Stone starting at the Armory. The regular monthly bingo game will begin at 7:30 P.M.. Sunday is a social day dedicated to the postmasters, postmistresses, stage drivers and mail deliverers of the past and present. The townspeople will honor Archie Leonard for his 27 years of delivering mail and wish him well on his retirement at the end of June. A potluck dinner will be served at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. A section of the post office used before 1920 will be on display and the post office will offer imprinted envelopes and letterheads that can be cancelled with the Copperopolis postmark.

EARLY DAY ESTABLISHMENTS

The Old Comer Saloon, as it is now named, was built in 1861 and one of the oldest buildings still in use. It was built on lots 3 & 4 as a boarding house with dimensions of 40'x 60' for approximately 75 miners with a bathhouse adjoining. The building there today is probably made up of two different structures that have been joined together to form the present building.

Old Corner - 1862

There were two hotels in 1861. The Copperopolis, owned by Captain Manning, long known as the keeper of the Weber House at Stockton. This hotel was built byJ.W. Bean in three months at the cost of $10,000. It was rented to Gardner & Stockwell who kept it six months, and was then sold to and carried on by Mr. Luke Kelly of the 12-Mile House (on the Sonora Road). At the end of nine months, Captain Manning took it over.

The Keystone HoteI, kept by James Kendall who came here in 1860, accommodated 40-50 boarders.

The San Francisco Hotel of May 22,1861 had this to say about the growing town:" The want of a good hotel has been much felt, very much at the new town. Pike and Brothers have a good store, and a billiard saloon will soon be completed. There are several other buildings in the town which is now regularly laid out upon a beautiful flat, upon which there is a liberal number of large oak trees. Great activities prevail at the town, and it is quite probably that 1000 tons of copper per month will be shipped from the vicinity to Stockton, during the coming summer, 250 men will be constantly engaged."

"There are two stores, one by Mssrs. I.M. Pike & Co., and opened in 1861. Mr. Pike is Postmaster and Express Agent for Wells Fargo and Company. The other store is kept by L. Honigisberger. There are two dry-good stores operated by Simon Morris and the other by Raffo Bros. There are two good stables ran by Beardsley & Co. who has the Pioneer Stable established in 1861 accommodating 40 horses and is also the stage stable. The stage goes to Murphys every day, leaving at 7 a.m. and arriving at 12 p.m. Price $3.00. There is a Union Bakery by Wm. Bates which opened in 1861. The first Catholic Church was constructed in 1861."

EARLY DAY ESTABLISHMENTS - 2

After 1861, many businesses came into Copperopolis. In the April 22, 1865 issue of the Calaveras Chronicle, the Copperopolis Courier newspaper is referred to in the following words: "We have received the first number of the above named paper, printed at the thriving town of Copperopolis. It has our best wishes for its future success."(Even though the Chronicle said it was printed in Copperopolis by actual fact it was printed in Mokelume Hill). L.W. Ran- som and J.0. Beharn were the publishers and proprietors of the paper and their office was located in the Braids building on Union Street in Copperopolis.

Andrew Fontana carried on a profitable mercantile business for many years in Copperopolis. He died in Copper in 1884. He was married to Annunciada Gaziglia July, 1860.

Copperopolis, not to be outdone by other communities, had a "fandango house" (dance house) supposedly located on the old turn-off of Hwy 4 to Byrnes Ferry Road on the right hand comer. In county records it was named Fandango House and was located on the west, and an unfinished brick house on the southeast in 1863, and Andrew Fontana had a house and lot northeast side of Main Street adjoining the Fandango House.

Mrs. Edna Buckbee, a writer of early days in the Mother Lode writes of the store of Andrew Fontana, a Calaveras county pioneer of 1849, and a settler in Copperopolis in the early 60's: "He built a red brick structure with green iron doors, and there until his death in 1884 he conducted a General Merchandise business. His wife, and later on, their son, Charles D. Fontana, conducted the store until about 1915. The Fontana store is vivid in my memory and when ever I entered in my young days I was always reminded of Bret Harte's description of a mining camp store with its, ,stimulating atmosphere of sugar, cheese and coffee.' It is a shame that the beautiful old building was wrecked. As a landmark and a point of tourist interest it had value for Copperopolis and Calaveras County."

EARLY DAY ESTABLISHMENTS -3

The following business ads appeared in the Copperopolis Courier on February 9,1867: J.J. Stoddard, Attomey at Law and Notary Public

Copperopolis Hotel, Union Street
Keystone Hotel, Union Street
Robert Shepley, French Restaurant
].B. PaleL Franklin House
Brassfield and Middleton, livery stables
Dr. Kelly, physician and surgeon
Emery & Cutler, storekeepers
Kelly & Gilliland, drug stow
Raffo Bros., store
W.F. Collier &Co. sheet metal
White & DavenpoM dentists
M. Affnstmng &Co. new depot
Honigisbeiger, merchandise
M. Davidson, dry goods
Copperopolis Brass & String Band, Jas, Harris
Union Meat Market, Donneles & Zollner
Copperopolis Brewery, G.B. Zaiss (1-1/2 miles from Copperopolis today. We can find no evidence of boiling from this brewery, they apparently had beer in kegs or barrels)
Ch Delmyer, Calaveras Brewery
R. Fowler, hmra= and Real Estate
John H. Everett, Everett's Express
Reed Turnpike, toll road
Union Bridge, toll bridge
Adam Simpson, undertaker
Dr. McLem, physician and surgeon
IOOF Lodge No. 112
Keystone Lodge No. 161
J.S. Crawford, barber
T.T. Yeager, ice cream saloon
Zoflmr & Price, market and meat stall
Meader's RmM Captain B. Meader

A school was first established in 1862 near the cemeteries and by 1865 a new two-story wooden frame school house was built opposite the Keystone mine works (the old school was moved to Main Street and used as a saloon named The White Swan). Several churches were rapidly established: The Congregational, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Catholic. There were four cemeteries separated by rock walls; the Odd Fellows, Masonic, Catholic, and Protestant established on the western edge of town.

ADS AND NOTICES TAKEN FROM
THE COPPEROPOLIS COURIER NEWSPAPER 1865-1866

June 17,1865. Plans were instituted for a Fourth of July Celebration at which time there would be a salute of one hundred guns. Men serving in various capacities during the holiday were as follows: Thomas Hardy, president of the day; Honorable Wflham H. Badgley, Orator, Reverend M. B. Starr, Chaplain; J, Hatch, Reader of the Declaration; and J. M. Pike, Grand Marshal. The Union, Keystone, Empim and Table Mountain Companies were particularly invited to "turn out" for this celebration as well as the Salt Spring Valley Quartz Mining Company and the Napoleon Company.

September 9,1865. Mr. C. T. Meader bought a lot for the Congregational Society of Copperopolis. The church will be erected soon and is to be 60 feet long and 36 feet wide.

September 16, 1865. The large two-story schoolhouse opposite the Keystone Concentrating Works is rapidly being completed.

The Table Moutain Mine. Mr. Pike. Superintendent, forwarded 230 sacks of copper to Stockton. Sweepstakes for two-year-olds to run over the Copperopolis race course October Ist. Make entries to John Zollner, Copperopolis.

September23,1865. New store J.M. Pike & Bro. at Reed's Fireproof Building (formerly Drug Store). Also in the same paper was this ad. J. M. Pike - For Sale their entire stock of groceries and other merchandise.

September 30, 1865. The Telegraph. The work of raising the wires between this place and San Andreas is progressing finely. In two weeks it is supposed the work will be completed. Added Note: Thorton Westley was the telegraph operator in 1865.

November 25,1865 Advertisement: UNDERTAKING Promptly attended to All orders left with John S. Crawford, Union Street, will receive prompt attention.

January 6,1866 Tbe Copperopolis Hotel was raised three feet by means of iron screws and  masons are laying a brick wall of that height which will form the foundation.

January 13,1866 Fatal Accident. Fred Wangeman, a native of Hanover, Germany.

January 20, 1866 The new school has 140 students.

February 10, 1866 The old schoolhouse has been sold and moved onto a lot nearly opposite the Globe Hotel and later known as The White Swan saloon.

July 14,1866 Fatal Accident. Luke Culloughton-Union Mine--Remains buried in Copperopolis Cemetery. A large number of people on foot followed the procession,

LARGE LOAD. A teamster left Copperopolis with a load of copper weighing 42,000 pounds. His team was made up of twenty-two animals.

August 4, 1866 Death by Drowning. Chris Goetz drowned in Black Creek supposedly hitting his head on a rock and becoming unconscious. Buried from the Armory to the Copperopolis Cemetery. A large procession on foot marched two by two.

August 11, 1866 Tom McCarty, of fix Log Cabin, struck a prominent lead about four miles from the Cabin.

 J. M. Pike is the local agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York City. The new express office of Pike and Bro. will be completed in two or three weeks.

September 8, 1866 The Race Track. On 4 Springs Ranch, about one mile east of town is being repaired from funds raised.

1866 US. GRANT CLAIM. Adjoins that of the Calaveras mine. The shaft is down but fourteen feet yet the lead is over a foot wide.

CALAVERAS WEEKLY CITIZEN

Decemberi6,1899 Copperopolis is in need of more dwelling houses at present. The prospective copper mines in the near future has caused the house famine.

W. C. Wall, manager of the Western Union Angels telegraph lines and Wells Fargo's express at San Andreas, has been having anything but an enviable time recently. The rains have sent the wires down in every direction, and the mischief not done by wind and rain was completed by the electric light wires, which sent fire shooting along miles of lines whenever they fell across the telegraph lines.

On Thursday Mr. Wall made an extended trip into Angels and then to Copperopolis. He was compelled to ford many streams, and some, being so swollen by the heavy rains, he had to swim. He was naturally soaked through and through, and at Copperopolis was compelled to refit himself with underwear and outer garments. For six hours he labored in the cold streams and his wet clothing, and he appreciated the kind attentions bestowed on him by the good landlord at Copperopolis, Mr. ...

Considering that Mr. Wall had just recovered from a rheumatic attack, Ms experience was dangerous as well as unpleasant. He suffered no evil results, happily.

COPPEROPOLIS COURIER

November 25,1865 ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE! (Editorial) Highway robberies are of almost weekly occurrence in this county. Burglaries are still more frequent. No man can travel fifteen miles in any part of the county without being stopped on the highway and murdered and robbed by an organized gang of ruffians whose spies and accomplices infest every town. Within three or four months over forty burglaries and highway robberies have been committed, and in several instances peaceable citizens have been shot and killed. A few months ago a man was stopped on the road near this place, robbed of six hundred dollars and tied to a tree, by two men.

Shortly after a teamster was stopped five miles from town, by masked highwaymen, and robbed of two hundred dollars. Near the same place, a few weeks afterward a woman was robbed of forty dollars, and three weeks ago Mr. Manadas, who resides about four miles from Copperopolis, was attacked by two miscreants with revolvers, and narrowly escaped death, as it was the intention of the villains to murder him and his wife, it was only by desperate fighting that Manadas succeeded in saving his life and that of his lady.

Houses have been entered and trunks broken open and robbed--safes have been carried away and robbed of their contents; and within the past few days one highway robbery has taken place, and another has been attempted with a result most startling--three innocent men killed and wounded. Such is the state of affairs with which the citizens of Calaveras county have become familiar within the past six months.

How long shall it continue? Until vigorous action shall be taken to rid the county of the numerous prowling cut- throats and thieves that watch with murderous purpose the unwary traveler, it will be dangerous to go outside of town limits without an escort. These outrages grow like weeds, and if, like the indolent gardener, our citizens neglect to check them, they will spread and increase until murders and highway robberies become alarmingly frequent. In order to check in their career of murder and rapine the hardened wretches who for a few dollars would spill the life blood of fellow-beings, it is necessary that harsh measures be taken.

Let our citizens organize and be ready at a moment's notice to scour the country. Let the people of each township in the county form a separate association, to be composed of good riders and brave men, that when a robbery or murder takes place they may be ready to start out and hunt down the cut-throats who people the by-ways of the county. It is believed that the headquarters of a well-organized gang of thieves have been established in Copperopolis, as there are many men in our midst who have no visible means of support.

The belief is founded not alone on that basis; facts have recently been elicited which almost positively show that several of the late robberies committed in this vicinity and county were the acts of parties now in this place. Something must be done to rid the county of these heartless villains, and we know of no better course to adopt than that which has always proved the most effective. Highwaymen should be hunted down and dispatched in the same manner that wild beasts are, without mercy. No other method will insure safety to the traveling public. Let the citizens of Calaveras county organize in every township, and treat with summary and consign punishment to all thieves and murderers who in the future may be caught in their acts of robbery and violence.

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AT COPPEROPOLIS,
NOV. 21st, 1865

It often occurs in communities that flagrant offenses are committed for the punishment of which our laws are inadequate. During the last six months we have had repeated examples in this community in proof of the foregoing assertion. Particular reference is made to a correspondence, emanating from wanton, degraded, malicious parties, residents of Copperopolis, published in a scurrilous sheet printed in San Francisco, styled "Our Mazeppa", and design of which was to traduce and slander respectable men and women. The family circle and the innocence of girlhood furnished themes for this lustful, lying and fiendish correspondence; to say nothing of the charges of crimes, felonies and liberalism against honest, upright men. Finally, on the part of many of our citizens, forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and they earnestly undertook the task of finding out the offending parties and bringing them to justice. The following is the result of their investigation and proceedings up to the present hour: Charges were preferred against Wm. Raynard and E. Gates. Both parties were brought before an investigating committee. The evidence was carefully elicited and candidly considered. Raynard confessed his guilt; Gates persisted in asserting his innocence. The following verdict was found: William Raynard, guilty of being the correspondent of "Our Mazappa" and E.A. Gates guilty of encouraging the correspondence and furnishing items; whereupon the committee pronounced the following sentence passed upon the accused respectively and the execution thereof immediately:

William Raynard:--The committee investigating the charge made against you of being the late correspondent of "Our Mazeppa", find you guilty, and order that you receive a coat of tar, and that a placard be attached to your back with the following inscription: "Correspondent," then marched through the public streets, and allowed 24-hours to leave the town, never to return to it again; and in the event of your failure to comply with the last order you have the assurance, that severer penalty will be inflicted upon you as a punishment for your wanton, malicious correspondence.

E. A. Gates;-- For your complicity with William Raynard, the Copperopolis correspondent of "Our Mazeppa", the committee investigating the charges made against you, find you guilty, and order that you receive a coat of tar and feathers around your waist, and that you be marched through the public streets and allowed 48-hours to arrange your business, and leave town forever. You may think this penalty severe, but the committee considers it light indeed. You will recollect a few years since you entered Copperopolis poor and helpless. Generous-hearted men assisted and patronized you. Your success has been good, but like many others who receive the sympathy and aid of the generous and humane you have forgotten your benefactors and in obedience to the dictates of a lustful, groveling settlement (for which you are morally responsible) you have endeavored to malign and injure them. Depart from us! We hope you may become a better and a wise man from the lesson you have learned this day.

After reading the foregoing sentences to the accused, the committee remitted the clause ordering the application of tar and feathers, and repaired with the prisoners to Armory Hall, where they were placarded: Maynard, "Correspondent" and Gates "Itemizer." They were then fastened together with a piece of hemp, (around their arms), marched into and dimugh the streets, accompanied by two drummers playing, and followed by the committee and a multitude of citizens.

After marching dimugh the town, they were "cutadrift" and 0owed to divest thernselves of their "badges", and make the necessary arrangements to leave. The committee then met for further deliberation the result of which was an order that a detailed statement of their proceedings be prepared and published in the Copperopolis Courier, and further that the following notice be published in connection with the foregoing statement, whereupon the committee adjourned to convene whenever, in their judgment, circumstances demand their action.

By order of CITIZENS' COMMITTEE:
To Whom it May Concern: --certain persons staying in Copperopolis, who are known to have aided and encouraged "Old Copper" and "One of the Boys" in their Correspondence with "Our Mazeppa", are notified that vigilant eyes are upon them, and advised, should they be guilty of like offenses in the future, that justice will be meted out to them, tempered with less mercy than was shown their associates on the 21st inst. By order of the CITIZENS' COMMITTEE.

FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

The I.O.O.F. Lodge, The Masons, Good Templars, and the Emmet Circle of Fenians met monthly in their lodges and were responsible for giving many of the local balls, civic celebrations, and funerals. They were immensely popular in these early days.

For the Masonic information that follows we are indebted to Mr. John A. Prowse, Past Master of Keystone Lodge No. 161 and Mr. 0. J. Wohlgemuth, Past Chairman, of the Grand Lodge Masonic History Committee, for the information concerning the formation of the Lodge in Copperopolis and its subsequent transfer to Milton where it is today.

"Following a dispensation granted on December 19, 1862, in which petition signers were as follows: George Peck-Trader; Ebenezer Toothaker-Blacksmith; Richard Pomphret-Merchant; William A. King - Carpenter; Samuel Pike - Stable Keeper, Cladius Benware - Blacksmith; WiRiwn B. Arnold - Blacksmith; James Savage - Engineer; Robert Robinson -Miner; James Howard-Liquor Vender; Thomas Crawford-Engineer and William Luke-Miner. These men were recommended as Master Masons by officers and brethren of Bear Mountain Lodge No. 76 Angels Camp. This action was followed by the first meeting a few days later on Christmas Day 1862 at the Masonic & Odd Fellows Hall, Copperopolis. This dual use of a hall for the two lodges is a phase of our Copperopolis history research. A Charter was presented by Thomas Dect (spefling) of Bear Mountain Lodge on May 26, 1863.

A piece of ground was donated by Brother King of the Lodge, a cemetery which is the most southerly of the present sections of the Copperopolis Cemetery. Mention is made on January 31, 1865, by aforementioned Brother W.A. King, requesting the Lodge to supervise the removal of his childrens' remains to a more suitable cemetery as it became available.

On July, 24, 1866, a committee was selected to obtain a new cemetery site and it was arranged to purchase a piece of property belonging to Brother O.O. Calloway adjoining the I.O.O.F. cemetery. The cost of a board fence of $1 10., is mentioned but now the cemetery is enclosed by a stone fence as are the remaining sections of the cemetery.

The routine of lodge operation is carried on through the minutes of the meetings until a mention is made of cooperating with the l.O.O.F. in the ir celebration of a dance and dinner on April 26,1864.

A copy of this program is attached. Mention is made on June 6, 1865, and July 4, 1865, notifying the local lodge of the New Masonic Hall in Sacramento, and also one in Mariposa No. 24.

On September 14,1880, it was announced that Copperopolis should consolidate with Bear Mountain Lodge but on March 15, 188 1, it was decided to move to Nfilton and the last meeting was held in Copperopolis April 12, 188 1, followed by the sale of the Masonic Hall in Copperopolis and the purchase of the Nfilton Hall for $600. It is the one in use today.