A Guide to the Gold Rush Country of California

A Guide to the Gold Rush Country of California
167 Pages
ISBN 978-1-63499-025-7

In this book I cover the historic towns and mining locations in the eleven counties which produced the vast majority of California's golden wealth. Most are situated along and nearby to Highway 49, known as California's "Golden Highway". Today many are nothing more than historic locations, having become ghost towns long ago, but some are still quite lively locations. The book was developed from my popular series of articles in the California Geology and California Mining Journal magazines over the years, starting in 1985. I have taken many of the photographs during my travels in the area, and eventually lived just outside the gold rush country for a few years. California Geology was published by the State for many years until budget cuts forced its cancellation, and then the California Mining Journal took over publishing the same type of articles. In addition to the chapters on the counties, the book includes additional chapters on the mining methods and gold dredges which were significant to the mining history of the state. Also included is the history of Bodie, which is by far California's most famous ghost town. Fortunately it was preserved over the years, first by a caretaker hired by the mining companies, and then passed on to the state. Today it is a state park.

Frank Lorey III

About Frank Lorey III (San Diego, California Author)

Frank Lorey III

Frank Lorey is a Federal and State-registered Historian and retired owner of Historical Archaeology Services. He has written 16 books (most were college-level textbooks) and has authored over 540 published magazine and journal articles.

He was a regular guest star on the History Channel's "Wild West Tech" show for two seasons (and also wrote many of the stories and ideas for episodes), and has appeared on numerous PBS, HGTV, and other network shows. He has also visited over 300 ghost towns throughout the west as part of writing a regular magazine series on mining history for over 25 years.