Grass Valley, California

In Grass Valley, the richest and most famous gold-mining district in California, the shift from placer mining to hard-rock quartz mining took place. One of the original boomtowns of the 1849–1850 California Gold Rush, Grass Valley is situated in the Sierra Nevada foothills in California's mother lode, approximately 52 miles northeast of Sacramento. It is between Nevada City and Rough and Ready, 33 miles north of Coloma, at an elevation of 2,100 feet. By the mid-19th century, Grass Valley was the eighth largest town in California, and unlike many mining towns, it never really experienced a decline and fall. Its mining activity continued for more than 100 years.

Previously named Boston Ravine, Hangtown, Centreville, and Gold Flat, the “grassy valley” by the banks of Wolf Creek was settled in 1849 by two small bands of emigrants from Boston. A party of French emigrants passed by in 1846 but did not stay. A thriving camp soon formed, and placer gold was panned along the sides of the creeks. The rapid growth of the camp created a need for lumber, and several saw mills were also erected. After Marshall's 1850 American River gold strike, George McKnight discovered gold locked in quartz deposits at Gold Hill, introduced the area to hard-rock mining, and turned Grass Valley into an overnight boomtown. By March 1851, more than 150 wooden structures had been built, including hotels, saloons, and many stores.

Most of Grass Valley's gold was locked in quartz deposits, where the potential payoff was enormous, but the business of reaching and processing this ore was risky, complicated, and costly. Hard-rock mining demanded large-scale corporate investment and heavy complicated machinery to crush the quartz so the gold could be extracted. However, hard-rock quartz mining was more stable, and it better supported a balanced, long-term economic development than did placer mining. The first machinery was installed in Boston Ravine, and as early as the summer of 1851, large mining companies were being established. The Gold Hill Company was the first, and other companies followed, including Empire, North Star, Pennsylvania, Idaho-Maryland, and Brunswick. Mining shafts were sunk deeper, and improved equipment, including rock breakers and automatic ore feeders, replaced manual labor. Hard-rock mining proved profitable; more than $25,000,000 worth of gold was taken from Deer, Bear, and Wolf Creeks in less than eight years.

The changes brought about by corporate mining also affected Grass Valley's labor force. Initially, Mexican miners had built arrastres (millstones that ground rock by single mule power) and stamp mills. Later, however, hard-rock quartz mining required a stable and experienced labor force, and this was found in immigrant miners from Cornwall, England. One seventh of the population of Grass Valley in 1870 was Cornish, with most miners being Cornish or Irish. The Cornish, or “Cousin Jacks,” as they were called, understood the machinery and techniques needed for quartz load mining. The 1860 census of Grass Valley reported 3,940 residents, including 530 “English” and 470 miners. Ten years later, the population was nearly 7,000, including 1,245 born in England. Three fourths of these people had come directly from the Old Country, but one fourth had lived in Wisconsin or the East before emigrating to Grass Valley. The 1860 census also enumerated 200 women and children, whose presence helped Grass Valley take on a more stable atmosphere. Adding to Grass Valley's local color, Cornish miners had many superstitions. For instance, they thought it was bad luck for a woman to go underground or to start a new operation on Friday. Whistling was also frowned upon.

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