 |
|
 |
|
Ruth
Mine: the old school house |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Ruth
Mine Explorers: Tom Dew, Joel Briggs, Stewart
Austin, Tom Worker |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timbering
on the first level |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A side trip upon your next visit to the Death
Valley area could include a visit to a rarely visited gold
mine a few miles south of the park. The Ruth Mine, originally
called the Graham-Jones Mine, started production in 1899 under
the direction of Doug Graham and S.S. (Smiley) Jones. Situated
in the Argus Mountain Range, it is located 14 miles north
of Trona in Homewood Canyon. Elevation of the mine is 3,530
feet. The ore is "free gold" associated with pyrite
in iron-stained quartz and "stringers" in quartz
monzonite. Water is supplied to the mine by a 2-inch pipe
from two springs one mile west in Homewood Canyon.
Over the years, Graham planted a grape arbor
and a grove of athol (salt cedar) trees. Many are still visible
today. It was not uncommon to find many of the locals spending
the night at the arbor to escape the hot summer nights in
the valley below and listening to Graham play the violin.
Graham and Jones continued to work the mine until 1917, when
Jones left leaving Graham to himself. Graham worked the mine
alone until 1930.
Unable to pay the taxes, Graham got Fred Austin
and Dr. Evans to grubstake him and pay the taxes on the mine.
In return, Graham gave each person a one-quarter ownership
of the mine. A few weeks later, Graham was robbed of his grubstake
money -- $300 -- and died a week later.
In 1937, The Burton Brothers from the famous
Tropico Mine in Rosemond, California leased the mine from
Austin and Evans. Within a few years, they installed a 40-ton
cyanide mill, and the output was increased to 70 tons per
day. To keep the mill running nonstop, they also leased the
Davenport Mine, located three miles east of the Ruth. They
also renamed the mine as the Ruth Mine.
By 1941, the Ruth Mine was reported to have a
population of 62 people with 25 workers employed. The residents
built a small town complete with its own school district and
general store. The schoolhouse opened with 22 students and
even included an apartment for the teacher. The school stayed
open until 1951. The general store also functioned as a makeshift
saloon for special occasions and Friday nights. A mess hall
was built with a seating capacity for 25 men and a bunkhouse
to house them. Nearby mines including the Davenport, Orondo,
and the Mohawk brought their ore here to be processed. Records
show that over half a million dollars of ore was produced
here during this period. The Ruth Mine camp was a busy place
until 1942.
On October 8, 1942 the War Production Board under
the Roosevelt administration issued order L-208. This order
shut down all nonessential mining in the United States that
was not related to the war effort. This order basically shut
down all the gold mines in the United States. Overnight, the
camp became a ghost town and the mine shut down. Attempts
to restart the mine after the war were never successful. In
the 1970s, the Ruth Mine shut down for good. Equipment was
looted or sold off.
In 2003 Joel Briggs, Tom Worker, and Tom Dew
spent two days exploring the mine and documenting the remaining
artifacts there. There are six levels to the mine reaching
a depth of 625 feet. Regrettably, the sixth level is under
water and no longer accessible. During their exploration trip,
they used over 600 feet of rock climbing rope, built temporary
rope bridges and had to descend down glory holes over 150
feet high and 750 feet wide. They found ore cars, shovels,
lanterns and hardware. Most notable was the timbering that
supported flooring, walls and ceilings. In one tunnel, they
counted over 12 ore chutes and enclosed timbered tunnel that
was over 120 feet in length. Further investigations revealed
that the timbered tunnel was built on the wall of a glory
hole.
In 2004, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
attempted to bring the mining site into the Adopt-A-Cabin
program by hosting a "Take Pride in America" event
in January. The Adopt-A-Cabin program, started in 1989, is
a successful partnership through which the BLM supplies materials
and volunteers provide the labor to repair historic cabins
once used by miners and ranchers in the southern California
area. The event was a great success, and over 120 volunteers
came out and participated. Over 3 ½ tons of trash and
other debris was removed from the site, but liability issues
and conflicts between the mine owner and the BLM ended that
program about three months later. Today, an active volunteer
group is working with the mine's owner to restore the area.
In 2005, the wet winter caused the main tunnel
to collapse partially. It was determined that the mine was
unsafe, and the mine's owner wanted no one else to go in.
Today, the Ruth Mine property continues to be privately held
but is open to the public. It is slowing being restored. Visitors
can walk around and tour the old mill and the few remaining
buildings, including the saloon and the school house. The
mine is under lock and key and is not open to the public.
Camping is permitted and picnic tables and fire rings are
available.
Getting There: To get to the Ruth Mining
Site, take California Highway 178 to Trona. Go another 10
miles north of Trona, and turn left on Homewood Canyon Road.
Go another five miles, staying to the right. The mine site
will be at the end of the paved road. The gate to the mine
site is locked, but you can park your car and follow the path
to the kiosk board. Please respect the no trespassing signs
near the caretaker's home. The road leading to the mine is
paved, but for the the last half mile, watch out for potholes.
Google
Map
Benchmark
Map: California (pg.95 A9)
Joel
Briggs
3/11/07
 Joel
Briggs is an avid part-time archaeologist who has
turned soil at the Lost City of Caral in Peru, ventured
deep into the Sahara Desert to find lost ruins, and is
currently surveying and documenting many Native American
prehistoric trails that wind through California's deserts.
He is a regular tour guide for the Coso Petroglyphs located
within the China Lake Naval Weapons Center. On any given
weekend, you can find Joel in his FJ40 Land Cruiser, exploring
Death Valley, Baja California or somewhere else he can
learn about hard rock mining. Joel was the inspiration
for an RTA roadtrip to the
former mining camp at Skidoo in Death Valley. Joel
is currently pursuing a master's degree in Archaeology. |
