Visit Hangtown's Gold Bug Park

Following the discovery of gold in Coloma, California on January 24, 1848, boomtowns sprang up quicker than weeds. Just eight miles away, Old Dry Diggins was one such tent-filled mining camp that took root. So named because miners had to move cartloads of dry soil to running water in order to separate out the gold, the population quickly swelled from hundreds of gold seekers to thousands. As to be expected, things got a little lawless and wild, and the name changed to Hangtown after numerous hangings took place in quick succession. Today, we know this historic gold rush town as Placerville, which has been the El Dorado county seat for the last 155 years.

Most early prospectors got the gold by panning and sluicing. Gold was easier to see and easier to recover that way. Eventually, though, the “easy money” ran out and more and more small mining companies and individuals turned to hard rock mining. Take a self-guided walking tour of the Gold Bug Mine in Placerville’s Gold Bug Park, and you’ll see how these miners dug drifts (horizontal tunnels) into hillsides to follow the veins of quartz and gold. The Gold Bug Mine (originally the Hattie Mine) is a typical hard rock mine found in the Mother Lode. If you haven’t had the opportunity to safely explore an underground mine, or want to introduce your kids to a little fun and history, Gold Bug Park is ideal. Not only can you can go underground, but you can visit a stamp mill and blacksmith shop, have a picnic, and do a little hiking, too. When you buy your tour ticket, you’ll get a hard hat to wear and a hand-held audio wand. As you make your way through the mine, the voice of an old-timer tells the tales of the Gold Bug and the California Gold Rush.

William Craddock and John Dench started the Hattie Mine in 1888. It was named after Craddock’s eldest daughter. The 352-foot drift now has wood flooring and lights. The mine is also safe and well ventilated, but it is believed that no more than two or three men worked this mine at a time, and after a day's work it would take 24 hours for fresh air to re-circulate so that the men could start to work again. As you look around the mine, also look up. There’s about 110 feet of slate overhead. You’ll also notice holes that were drilled to hold dynamite. “Single jacking” was the term given to one man working alone, pounding out dynamite holes by hand.

Unfortunately, no records were kept so no one knows exactly how much gold was removed from the Hattie Mine, but eventually it stopped producing. John McKay then took it over in 1926 and found a more prominent gold vein that made money. To help remove the ore, McKay laid tracks for ore cars, which you’ll see on the tour. The ore was then taken outside and run through a crusher to extract the gold. During World War II, mines throughout the Mother Lode were considered a non-essential industry and were closed, so nobody knows if the mine had played out by that time, or if more gold is still inside waiting to be recovered!

The overhead airshaft you see inside the Gold Bug leads to the Priest Mine at the top of the hill. Thousands of pick marks left by the miners attest to fact that the Priest Mine was all hand dug. It still has its original dirt floor, as well as "rooms" created for living. This mine got its name from a miner who may have provided services on Sunday. The Priest Mine is only accessible by a separate guided tour.

A short walk from the Gold Bug Mine is the eight stamp Joshua Hendy Stamp Mill, still sitting on its original foundation. If you’re not familiar with how a stamp mill worked, interpretive signs explain the gold extraction process, and a working scale model demonstrates how the ore was reduced. Built around the turn of the century as a community crusher for miners in the area, each stamp on the mill weighs approximately 1,000 pounds. It was so loud it could be heard in downtown Placerville a mile away! Also check out the amazing Cornwall Mineral Collection containing specimens from all over the world.

Located at the back of the Hendy Stamp Mill, is a blacksmith shop also in its original location. The shop worked to keep the stamp mill and adjacent Silver Pine Mine (now closed) in operation. Without the tools that blacksmiths produced and repaired during the Gold Rush, most mining outfits would not have survived. Depending on the day and time you visit Gold Bug Park, you may catch volunteer blacksmiths pounding away at the anvil.

Gold Bug Park is owned and operated by the City of Placerville— the only municipality in the state of California to own a gold mine. On February 1, 1985, the park was approved for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and also as a State Point of Interest on the California registry. The Park offers a fun and educational opportunity to learn about the entire gold extraction process from hard rock mining to milling. But be careful— you might just get bitten by the Gold Bug while you’re there, if you haven’t been already!

IF YOU GO:

Gold Bug Park is located 1 mile north of Highway 50 on Bedford Avenue.

2635 Goldbug Lane

Placerville CA 95667

530-642-5207