Plumas County Adventures
Send Ron EMail: rcooke@csuchico.edu
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INTRODUCTION

I use a combination of ancient information and modern technology to locate old sites in Plumas County (Plumas National Forest) California.

• I find old maps and digitize them
• I digitize a USGS Topographical map and superimpose a UTM (metric) grid
• The approximate location of the site is transferred from the old map to the topo map
• The approximate UTM location is estimated off the topo map
• A GPS unit is used to navigate to the UTM coordinates
• The site is located, investigated, and photographed

INDEX

Adventure 1-Toland Ridge Site
A cabin from an 1850 Government Land Office map is located via GPS. The procedures outlined in the above introduction are introduced.

Adventure 2-Monte Christo Mine
The history, maps, and pictures of the Monte Christo Mine are presented. My attempts to find the mine are given. The mine lies near the Pacific Crest Trail and some beautiful PCT scenery is presented.

Adventure 3-Corners
Old homesteads and mines can have interesting boundary corners. Pictures of corners and the "bearing trees" that protect the location of these corners are presented. Part of the adventure is the comparison of two GPS navigation techniques used to find locations.

What is an Arrastra (aka Arastra, Rastra, Mexican Rastra, Chili Mill)?
The history of this type of gold ore grinder is presented. Photos of several crude arrastras are presented.

Keeping cool in the old days
We take refrigeration for granted! Photos of two types of crude "coolers" found in the woods will make you appreciate modern conveniences.

Old cars and parts
What series of adventures would be complete without a showing of the old cars found in the woods?

Log Cabins
Photos are shown of log cabins found in Plumas County. The cabins vary in condition from "livable" to rotten remnants of the original cabin.

Log Cabins-1999
1999 was my year to find log cabins. These cabins show several styles of log construction and corner joinery.

State Highway Powder Magazine
I was intrigued when I found these words on a 1947 map. I was amazed when I saw what was at this site. As Joe-Bob would say "check it out."

The Jennie Mine (Senator Perkins Mine)
This adventure is really the story of one of California's pioneers--George C. Perkins. From humble beginnings as a cabin boy, Mr. Perkins became an influential and popular person in Butte and Plumas Counties, and went on to become the Govenor of California in 1880.

This Adventure is Boring!
On a search for a log cabin, I encountered a swampy area with gigantic aspen trees. Carved in the trees were initials and dates from over a hundred years ago. I wondered if these were authentic or someone's joke. To solve the dilemma I used an increment borer to remove a small core from the trees. The rings in this core can be counted to give the approximate age of the tree.

The Little California Trail
This adventure in not for the faint of heart. It is a very steep trail that descends from an elevation of 5600 feet at the trail head to 2960 feet at the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Along the way you can see the Greenbower hydraulic mine and the Little California quartz mine. You will also learn something about the stamp mills used to pulverize ore in the old days.

Serviceberry
Find out all about this beautiful plant.

Quincy Cemetery District Database
This database has the names, dates of death, and locations of monuments for over 2000 people buried in Quincy Cemeteries. The dates of death begin in 1882.

Meadow Valley Cemetery Database
This database has the names, dates of birth, and dates of death for 379 people buried in the Meadow Valley Cemetery. The dates of death begin in 1858. The oldest date of birth is 1810.

La Porte (and other) Cemetery Databases
This database has the names, dates of birth, and dates of death for 204 people buried in the La Porte Cemetery. The dates of death begin in 1855. The oldest date of birth is 1818. In addition, there are nearby cemeteries/grave sites of Secret Diggings, Gibsonville, Whiskey Diggings, Port Wine, Flume Camp, Saint Louis, Pine Grove, and Howland Flat. The database for these combined areas has 173 names. The dates of death begin in 1855. The oldest date of birth is 1798.

Shacks and Cabins
I often encounter old wooden structures. They run the gamut--rotten remnants from the 1800's to relatively recent miner's shacks. I have assembled 25 of these for your viewing enjoyment.

West Branch Mines
See another panorama of the West Branch canyon. Come with me and get lost, enjoy an old mine, a stamp mill, and best of all, stove parts. Yes, I said stove parts!

American Eagle Quartz Mine
See a couple of pictures of a survey map from the 1800's. The map leads our fearless adventurers to the mine where a cool artifact is found, and a cool (literally) spot is marked for summer use.