KevinH
Member
Saturday started out to be a nice day for prospecting. Packed up the Garrett Scorpion and headed to a GPAA Claim located in Keysville, California. Keysville is not much of what it was back when it was a mining town. Most of the buildings have been relocated and you wouldn't even think of it being a mining town unless you researched the area on the Internet.
Keysville (or Keyesville) is located 2.0 miles up Keyesville Road from its junction with California Highway 155 at Lake Isabella dam.
A mine was located c.1854 by Captain Richard Keyes, which soon lead to Keysville, the first American community in what eventually became Kern County. A camp formed in random fashion over the hillsides, trails served as streets. The area was so remote and steep, that supplies coming in from the nearest settlement of Visalia (110 miles northwest) had trouble because the terrain was so steep and rugged teams had to be doubled, logs had to be drug behind the wagons to keep control on the way down.
In 1856 an Indian war ensued when San Joaquin tribes went on the warpath, and Keysville became the center of Indian attention due to the fact that miners killed 5 Indians in cold blood nearby. A "fort" was hastily dug on a knoll and riders dispatched to Fort Tejon and Los Angeles (140 miles south) for reinforcements. Later, when soldiers arrived, they found no Indians in the area and occupied Keysville for a while afterward.
Another incident of Indian murder was in 1863 when Indian uprisings in Owens Valley, over the Sierra Nevada Range northeastward. Men were dispatched to help with squelching that problem when they encountered a group of peaceful Indians, who had refused to participate in the Owens Valley uprisings, living seven miles from town. They coldly murdered the group and proclaimed "not a soldier injured."
Near Keys mine grew a rustic frontier town that was the first American community in what is now Kern County. Without formal streets, its rough wooden stores were scattered at random over the hillslope while miner's cabins dotted the mountainside above. This was one of most remote settlements in California, 110 miles to the nearest town of Visalia in one direction, 140 miles to Los Angeles in another. Reached by a dirt road, this pioneer mining camp is marked only by a few houses of comparatively recent vintage. In a gulch to the north of town is the entrance to the Keys Mine, discovered in 1854.
So now you can understand why I like this area. They say to find gold you must go where they have found gold before.
Saw quite a few people working their dry washers as we drove around the perimeter of Keysville. I decided to hit once again the CLC claim that I have worked before. There was not one person there. Just me, the wife and my trusty metal detectors. I figured due to reading more on recovering gold metal detecting, I thought maybe a edge.
I started to work a known gulch where I had worked before. This time using some of the knowledge gained from reading and researching.
Checked my batteries and headed out. Noticed a built up area where the rocks were stacked neatly on the side. Could have been an old homestead I thought. Worked those rocks and found the normal hits. Rusty square nails and rusty cans. Noticed a dry stream bed below, searched the bed in hopes of getting a hit for possible gold. I did get some hits but more of the norm, rusty cans and rusty nails.
Still exploring the area, I started searching the bottom area of a dry stream. Within 20 minutes I received a good hit. As I gently dug thinking probably just another rusty can, noticed a hint of silver. Could this be a coin? Nope no coin but a watch looked to be old so I placed it gently in my pouch. It was a fair find. Heck better than finding more cans and rusty nails. Hunted the area for another four hours taking a break every now to admire the watch I found. I was hoping it would be old, or better yet held a picture inside. Went on the top of the gulch looked around and you guessed it found more rusty cans, nails, bed frames and even some bottle caps severely rusted. Searched the area for another four hours, decided to call it a day. Have to leave something for when I return! Some pics of the cleaned up watch.
Keysville (or Keyesville) is located 2.0 miles up Keyesville Road from its junction with California Highway 155 at Lake Isabella dam.
A mine was located c.1854 by Captain Richard Keyes, which soon lead to Keysville, the first American community in what eventually became Kern County. A camp formed in random fashion over the hillsides, trails served as streets. The area was so remote and steep, that supplies coming in from the nearest settlement of Visalia (110 miles northwest) had trouble because the terrain was so steep and rugged teams had to be doubled, logs had to be drug behind the wagons to keep control on the way down.
In 1856 an Indian war ensued when San Joaquin tribes went on the warpath, and Keysville became the center of Indian attention due to the fact that miners killed 5 Indians in cold blood nearby. A "fort" was hastily dug on a knoll and riders dispatched to Fort Tejon and Los Angeles (140 miles south) for reinforcements. Later, when soldiers arrived, they found no Indians in the area and occupied Keysville for a while afterward.
Another incident of Indian murder was in 1863 when Indian uprisings in Owens Valley, over the Sierra Nevada Range northeastward. Men were dispatched to help with squelching that problem when they encountered a group of peaceful Indians, who had refused to participate in the Owens Valley uprisings, living seven miles from town. They coldly murdered the group and proclaimed "not a soldier injured."
Near Keys mine grew a rustic frontier town that was the first American community in what is now Kern County. Without formal streets, its rough wooden stores were scattered at random over the hillslope while miner's cabins dotted the mountainside above. This was one of most remote settlements in California, 110 miles to the nearest town of Visalia in one direction, 140 miles to Los Angeles in another. Reached by a dirt road, this pioneer mining camp is marked only by a few houses of comparatively recent vintage. In a gulch to the north of town is the entrance to the Keys Mine, discovered in 1854.
So now you can understand why I like this area. They say to find gold you must go where they have found gold before.
Saw quite a few people working their dry washers as we drove around the perimeter of Keysville. I decided to hit once again the CLC claim that I have worked before. There was not one person there. Just me, the wife and my trusty metal detectors. I figured due to reading more on recovering gold metal detecting, I thought maybe a edge.
I started to work a known gulch where I had worked before. This time using some of the knowledge gained from reading and researching.
Checked my batteries and headed out. Noticed a built up area where the rocks were stacked neatly on the side. Could have been an old homestead I thought. Worked those rocks and found the normal hits. Rusty square nails and rusty cans. Noticed a dry stream bed below, searched the bed in hopes of getting a hit for possible gold. I did get some hits but more of the norm, rusty cans and rusty nails.
Still exploring the area, I started searching the bottom area of a dry stream. Within 20 minutes I received a good hit. As I gently dug thinking probably just another rusty can, noticed a hint of silver. Could this be a coin? Nope no coin but a watch looked to be old so I placed it gently in my pouch. It was a fair find. Heck better than finding more cans and rusty nails. Hunted the area for another four hours taking a break every now to admire the watch I found. I was hoping it would be old, or better yet held a picture inside. Went on the top of the gulch looked around and you guessed it found more rusty cans, nails, bed frames and even some bottle caps severely rusted. Searched the area for another four hours, decided to call it a day. Have to leave something for when I return! Some pics of the cleaned up watch.
