Blue Mountain City, California

Blue Mountain City is a former settlement in Calaveras County, California,^[1] along Licking Fork, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Mountain Ranch.^[2] The town was built on a flat bench of land above the mining camp which perched on a steep canyon slope on the west side of Licking Fork, just over a mile downstream from the headwaters.^[3] The town was first announced in January, 1863.^[4] The Heckendorn Gold and Silver Mining Company was organized by July, with C. C. Bowman as its secretary.^[5] A post office operated in Blue Mountain from 1863 to 1864.^[2][6][7][8]

Blue Mountain is also the name of a mining district located 10 miles southeast of West Point, California that includes the Black Wonder, Gold King and Heckendorn mines.^[9]

See also

• List of ghost towns in California

References

1. "A Deserted Mining Camp". Stockton Daily Evening Record. September 11, 1895. p. 4. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 806. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
3. The Editor (October 1992). "Blue Mountain City, Forgotten Boom Town" (PDF). Las Calaveras. XL (1): 5–9. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024 – via Historical Calaveras.
4. "A New Mining Town". The Stockton Independent. The California Digital Newspaper Collection. February 17, 1863. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
5. "Mining Notices". Daily Alta California, Mining Supplement. California Digital Newspaper Collection. July 17, 1863. Page one, top of right-hand column. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
6. Gudde, Erwin G. (2009). California Gold Camps: A Geographical and Historical Dictionary of Camps, Towns, and Localities Where Gold Was Found and Mined; Wayside Stations and Trading Centers. Univ of California Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780520261440. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
7. "Post Office Department, Appointment Office". The National Archives and Records Administration. June 17, 1863. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
8. "Blue Mountain City is situated in the Nevadas". The National Records and Archive Administration. June 17, 1863. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
9. Clark, William B. (1998). "Gold Districts of California". California Agencies. Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology: 31. Retrieved October 21, 2020.

Further reading

• "Blue Mountain City". Oakland Tribune. March 23, 1952. p. 66. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
• Patera, Alan H.; Motloch, Wally (2011). Blue Mountain City and Mitchell Mill. Western Places. Retrieved October 20, 2020.

38.3822°N 120.3552°W / 38.3822; -120.3552