Golden Highway- MONTEZUMA by Zina Abbott

State Highway 49 in California is often called the “Golden Highway.” It travels mostly south to north through the western foothills of the Sierra-Nevada mountain range connecting the old gold mining towns that came into existence shortly after the discovery of gold in 1848. It connects Groveland in the south with Sierra City in the north and east, almost to the border with Nevada.

Today I am featuring a gold town towards the south named Montezuma. You will no longer find it on the map. All that is left of it is a historical marker. Since that was the first photo I came to among my collection, that is where I chose to start.

Here is the information on the marker:

NO. 122 MONTEZUMA - First record of Montezuma was June 1850 when partners Solomon Miller and Peter K. Aurand, proprietors of the 'Montezuma Tent,' were attacked and Aurand killed by a group of Mexicans during the foreign miners tax excitement of that period. Due to the lack of water, little mining occurred here until 1852 when a ditch and flume were completed bringing water for placer mining. Two types of mining were carried on, placer operations on the flats and tunnels extending under Table Mountain. The gravel produced 3-1/2 C. per pan in the mid 50s. The yield was from $5 to $10 per day. One placer nugget found in 1853 weighed 18 lbs. 8 oz. By late 1852 the population was about 800. At its zenith Montezuma City had four saloons, two hotels, Adams Express Co., post office, church, some homes, and many tents and cabins. The town was nearly destroyed by an incendiary fire which started in Clarks Hotel on June 29, 1866.

Location: On State Hwy 49 (P.M. 11.3), 2.5 mi N of Chinese Camp

During this fight, Miller escaped, Aurand was killed, and the Mexicans were never caught. However, from this mining area developed the small town which existed until the fire of 1866. Many thought the fire that started in Clark’s Hotel was suspicious in origin. Fire destroyed most mining towns in the region at least once. Most were rebuilt. Not Montezuma. The marker in the general area of the gold mining town located about two and a half miles north of Chinese Camp is all that remained.

Little mining took place here until 1852 when a ditch and flume were completed, bringing in water from Woods Creek for the placer mines on the area’s flats. During the mid-1850’s, the average yield for a day’s work ran from $5 to $10, each pan of gravel producing a little over 3 cents. An occasional strike; however, could make a man rich over night. One nugget found here weighed eighteen pounds, eight ounces. But finding a large nugget was not always good fortune. A California State Mining Bureau report of 1882 tells of a French immigrant who uncovered a piece worth more than $5,000 from nearby Spring Gulch: “The discovery of this nugget proved to be a great misfortune, for the finder became insane the following day and was sent to Stockton.”

Two stage lines made stops in Montezuma; the line running from Stockton to Sonora; and Dr. Clarke’s line from Sonora and Columbia to Don Pedro’s, La Grange, and other points west.

The camp’s proximity to Table Mountain proved beneficial to the town. Several deep and extensive mines which tunneled far under the mountain produced exceptionally pure gold, some assaying at .950 fine, unusual for California gold.

Table Mountain was not a true mountain, but a volcano outcrop like the one shown below. This geological feature stretches along a large portion of State Highway 108 that connects with State Highway 49, with outcroppings all along the foothills in this region. However, it proved to be worth its weight in gold. 

Not far from the Stanislaus River, Montezuma would not have been too far east of my setting for Millwright's Daughter, my novella included in the nine-author anthology, Under a Mulberry Moon. If you have not yet read it, you may find the book description and purchase link by CLICKING HERE.

Sources:

Historical Marker: No. 122 

https://cali49.com/hwy49/2013/10/1/montezuma

https://westernmininghistory.com/articles/51/page1/

Wikipedia