The Clara mine at Keswick, California
On this episode of Exploring Shasta County History, Jeremy Tuggle – Shasta Historical Society’s Education and Community Engagement Manager, takes you on another exciting mining adventure with his friend, Ralph Bentrim. This former mining property embraces Ralph’s property at Keswick.
This mining property is a former Au (gold) mine called the Clara, which has been developed in parts to allow the Sacramento River Trail to traverse over it. Mining activities has been idled here for many years.
LOVE SHASTA COUNTY HISTORY?
SEE: Exploring Shasta County History with Jeremy Tuggle:Legendary Mining Lore: Gold Nuggets of History
The historic foundation of the Mammoth Aerial Tramway
Exploring the rich history of McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Cottonwood’s origins, from small 1850s townsite to 1890s growing RR hub
Kimball Plains: Exploring the history of a former western Shasta County settlement
The mine is noted as a small producer of gold which was last owned by private parties in 1974. According to county reports it had three parallel veins hosted in granite porphyry, a payshoot of 20 in. wide, 160-feet long, which carried free gold. It also featured a 700-foot adit.
Today, the former mining property includes open pits covered in vegetation, a plugged adit and plugged shafts.
Check it out, and please subscribe to Exploring Shasta County History, and my YouTube channel.
Above: a plugged shaft of the Clara mine. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on May 27, 2021.
THE ADVENTURE:
Filmed on location May 27, 2021.
RESOURCES:
- Mines and Mineral Resources of Shasta County, Siskiyou County, and Trinity County, by G. Chester Brown, ©1915 published by California State Printing Office.
- Mines and Mineral Resources of Shasta County, California – County Report 6 – by Philip A. Lydon and J.C. O’ Brien ©1974 by California Division of Mines and Geology
Meet the writer: Jeremy M. Tuggle
Education and Community Engagement Manager – Shasta Historical Society
Jeremy M. Tuggle, born in Redding, is a descendant of 11 pioneer families who settled Shasta County between 1849-1889. Jeremy attended Shasta College and is the author of two published books, Rooted in Shasta County (2003), and A Journey Through Time: Ono and the Bald Hills (2008), as well as various articles on local history.
In 2017 Mr. Tuggle was awarded a Community Service Award, a prestigious national award for community service in historic preservation, by the Major Pierson B. Reading Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Jeremy is a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of California, and an Eagle Scout.
Tuggle has been employed at the Shasta Historical Society since November of 2009. In his present role as Education & Community Engagement Manager, Jeremy conducts research for the historical society’s programs and events, contributes to the Society’s social media presence, and ensures the highest quality guest and patron experience at our programs and community events.
Mr. Tuggle enjoys sharing his knowledge of local history and events, and is available to community organizations to present programs about Shasta County history.
Contact the editor: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.