Monte Cristo, Sierra County

The Monte Cristo was a famous old mining settlement in Sierra County, California near California State Route 49 and Downieville, California, USA. Monte Cristo can be reached by trails from Downieville. One of the main trails is at the ridge between Goodyears Creek and the North Fork of the North Yuba River. There are views of the Excelsior Mine on Goodyears Creek four miles northwest of Downieville near Monte Cristo. Goodyears Bar, California is nearby. The mines at Fir Cap, two miles from Monte Cristo, were once rich with gold.

The Monte Cristo community is now gone, which may qualify the location as being a Ghost town.

History

Monte Cristo was one of the richest mining camps from 1855 to 1860. In the 1859 election, almost one thousand votes were cast. Monte Cristo produced from the 1850s hundreds of thousands dollar's worth of gold.

In 1855, B. C. Stevens was the owner of a livery stable at Monte Cristo, Sierra county. He had a livery stable, which became insolvent. As a result, Isaac Stevens attempted to recover possession of horses, mules, hay, barley, and saddles, which the town sheriff levied upon.

On April 22, 1859, the Sacramento Daily Union reported: 

On September 29, 1859 there was a major fire in the town of Monte Cristo. The Sierra Democrat gave a description of the fire: 

On February 28, 1860, the Sacramento Daily Union reported delegates from Monte Cristo for the  Democratic State Convention. Mining claims were made along the Goodyears Creek, as well as a half-dozen mining tunnels.

In 1862, Robert Lewis Byington ran a butcher business in Monte Cristo. There were other businesses in Monte Cristo. To name a few, there was the Empire Saloon Monte Cristo; Exchange Saloon; Monte Cristo Drug and Variety Store; Williams Attorney and Counsellor at Law; and E. G. Bryant Physician and Surgeon.

Mining continued to be active through the 1860s into the 1870s at Monte Cristo. Placer mining was the most prevalent mining. There are reports of miners at Monte Cristo in the 1900s as well. In 1903, the White Bear channel was discovered that ran to Monte Cristo. The Monte Cristo Company worked the channel taking out $200,000 worth of gold. In 1911, the Monte Cristo Gravel Mines Company took out gold from the gravel they excavated.

Geography

The present day location for Monte Cristo is 5,280 feet [1,609 m] above sea level.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	39° 35' 46 North , 120° 51' 26 West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	39.5961112976, -120.857223511 Google Maps showing Latitude & Longitude.

The White Bear channel runs through Saddleback Mountain and Fir Cap, passing through Cooper Ranch under Monte Cristo. The characteristics of the gravel of this channel is a large amount of clean white quartz boulders.

Communities also named Monte Cristo

There are 3 communities that are also named Monte Cristo. They are located in California and Washington.
 Monte Cristo Gold Mine, Los Angeles, California
 Monte Cristo, Sonoma, California
 Monte Cristo, Washington

References

External links
 Monte Cristo Mine
 Facebook Page for Gold Country Explorers

Category:Gold mines in California
Category:Underground mines in the United States
Category:Ghost towns in California