Gold Dredges of Alder Gulch: Navada City & Virginia City July 30-31, 2007. We are staying in Cameron RV-Park & Store in Cameron, Montana. Cameron is a STORE located 10-miles south of Ennis in the Madison Valley. The Cameron RV-Park is about 12 sites located behind the Store & Saloon (the social gathering place for miles around). The PPA campground is nothing fancy but for the PPA price of $12.50 for FHU it is just fine. The view over the Madison Valley and mountains surrounding Virginia City is worth the $12.50. For those of you that are not familiar with PPA (Pass Port America) it is an organization you can join for less than $50 per-year. Campgrounds that belong to PPA offer 1/2 price discounts. That kind of savings can quickly add up. While participating PPA parks generally have some restrictions on dates the PPA offer is valid, or possibly days of the week the discount is valid, or perhaps the number of days that the PPA discount will be honored the discount is genuine. Many times PPA campgrounds are new campgrounds that need help in getting established. Other times PPA campgrounds may be on the outskirts of town instead of in the "prime" location thus they need to provide an incentive for campers to stay with them. Whatever the reason PPA campgrounds generally provide a much cheaper option. PPA is the only campground organization that I think is worth the cost. PPA does not have a gimic. What you see is what you get. Once you join they send you a directory listing all participating campgrounds. The PPA directory is the FIRST directory we check when trying to locate a place to spend the night. You can join PPA by calling 228-452-9972. If you decide to join PPA, it would be nice if you gave them my number "R-0156251" as the PPA member that told you about PPA. In return PPA will give me a years membership free. I will thank you in advance for that kindness. Thank you.
Old gold dredge
On the eastern side of Nevada City there is an old gold dredge on display.
At one time there were 5-dredges working the stream running through Alder Gulch. These dredges removed between 150 to 200 million dollars in gold. The gold dredges operated from 1899 to about 1920. Alder Gulch at peak population numbered ten thousand souls and was known as the Fourteen-mile City. Adobetown was one of the many settlements that lined the gulch. Centrally located a mile west of Nevada City, it took its name from the dwellings miners built of adobe bricks they fashioned from mud and grass. This small settlement lay in one of the richest sections of the gulch. In 1864 alone, it was a hub of activity that reportedly yielded $350,000 in gold. In its heyday the area around Adobetown and Nevada City supported some 75 to 100 placer claims that each employed 5 to 12 men. Salaries ranged from $5 to $8 per-day. We could not detect any remains of those adobe buildings and we looked. I wonder what happened to them.
These large gravel piles are the tailings of those gold dredging operations. Those monster dredges literally churned the gulch inside-out, creating these huge piles of gravel where only a few scrub bushes and stunted trees are able to grow 100-years later.
Gold dredges were the final chapter in the history of placer mining in Alder Gulch. The gold mined by these dredges financed Harvard University in the early 20th century.
I find it appalling the way Alder Gulch has been left, but that is why we have the mining laws we have today. Mining companies took the gold and left behind this horrid mess that has been with us for over 100 years. Even as we are touring Montana this summer we have been following several large disputes over debris piles left by mining operations that are ceasing business. From what I can understand mining operators know what the law says they have to do --- but seem to get the "goodie" out of the mine then quickly move the money and mechanical assets out of the business and let the business go bankrupt. When this happens the "government/tax payers" are left with the problem. From what I can determine from news accounts it is the government that is taking these businesses to court in order to extract some remedy. Something tells me that the tax payers of Montana or the Federal Government will be "stuck" with cleaning up these modern messes in spite of better laws.
It is hard to find words to describe the destruction left behind by these gold dredges.
Click here for more Montana Travel AdventuresUntil next time remember how good life is Mike & Joyce Hendrix
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