Forgotten Destinations: 2016-08-21

Randsburg

Article and photography by Natasha Petrosova
Randsburg mining district is on San Bernardino-Kern County line. This is the most important district in Kern County because even though half of the district belongs to San Bernadino most of Gold was found in western Kern County. It also contains the largest gold mine in the county, Yellow Aster.

John Singleton, Charlie Burcham and F. M. Moores, discovered Yellow Aster or Rand Mine in April 1895. Rand mine takes its name after South African mining district because it resembled a profusion of its minerals. The camp became Rand camp and later Randsburg. Randsburg mining district eventually consisted of three small neighboring towns: Randsburg, Johannesburg and Red Mountain.

In 1880 , wondering prospectors from El Paso district discovered that the Summit Range, that is located northeast of El Paso Mountains also had placer values and begun to dry wash for gold. There were about 100 men that lived in tents and dugout camps in Summit Dry Diggins. Thier supplies were transferred from Goler and water from El Paso. Two prospectors , Frederic Mooers and William Langdon from the Summit Dry Diggins left to the south to explore Rand Mountains in 1894. They returned finding only traces of gold , at the time they thought it was just a richer earth.

Frederic Mooers did not forget what he once found on Rand Mountains and about a year later decided to take a closer look at his earlier find. He overheard that a group of miners who were not happy with their present scant returns were talking about looking into Rand Mountain that he and Langdon had found earlier. Getting concerned with a thought that other will be cashing in on a find that was his, Mooers started to plan for his own trip.

Mooers and his new partner , John Singleton decided to take a careful look. This trip required them a wagon and a team to carry their mining equipment and camping supplies. One of the few citizens on a camp who had vehicle and animals was Charles Burcham and just like that, the partnership became a trio. Three of them left the camp without telling a word to anyone about their plans and faked a trip to Goler. Once they were out of sight, Burcham swung his team south to the Rand Mountains. After prospecting the sandy gullies, Burcham and Singleton climbed to the top of the red stained peak, while Mooers stayed in the camp. Singleton Knocked off the specimen with his hammer and turned it over to see the freshly broken side. Singleton was a carpenter and had little experience in prospecting , but what he saw made him yell for Burcham. Burcham whose 2-year prospecting adventure was near the end financed by his wife , Dr. Rose LA Monte Burcham, took one look at the rock and exclaimed , "We are Rich! We found it! ".

"The partners originally entitled their discovery the Rand mine, but later changed it to the Yellow Aster. The former name was frequently misused in stock promotions and in describing the whole district (i.e. the Rand mines). The Yellow Aster was chosen because Mooers was reading a pulp novel by the same name at the time his partners approached him about a name change. Reflecting upon the inspiring view of wild flowers he had seen while prospecting, Mooers suggested the Yellow Aster, and it stuck".

"On April 25, 1895, Mooers, Singleton and Burcham staked their claims. The location work was rushed because the three realized that a discovery like theirs could not be kept quiet long. Hadn't a group already made plans to come even before Mooers got the idea? Keenly aware of the importance to properly record their ground before a rush could get started, Burcham devised a clever scheme that bought them a few days extra time. Fearful that miners from the Summit Diggings would soon be over to investigate their activity, the trio postponed any fancy celebrations until the mine was safely recorded and legally theirs. Instead, Burcham loaded a couple of sacks with worthless iron stained bull quartz, threw them in his wagon and rode to the water hole. Curious miners asked if he had found anything worthwhile. He stubbornly admitted, “Well, I just don't know. But I think we've found something pretty good.” He volunteered no more, but inquisitive miners soon found the planted sacks while Burcham was away from the wagon. It soon spread throughout camp that three fools were digging bull quartz. Burcham had the extra day or two he and his partners needed".

In Jun 1895 , after location work was completed , Burcham returned to his wife in San Bernardino to deliver the exciting news. He turned one-half of his one-third interest to her to pay off the grubstake. She strongly suggested to him to stay away from signing any papers and documents until the true value of the mine could be determined. Her advice saved Yello Aster's discoverers from usual fate of selling too soon and too cheap. Most of the prospectors existed on bacon and beans for months and years and the lucky once who stumbled on a real bonanza were overwhelmed upon receiving offers of $3,000 to 20,000 from someone with a ready cash. To those who were scratching out a living , an offer of $3,000 was a huge temptation . It was often equivalent to 3 years wages as a miner. $20, 000 was unbelievable and $500,000was beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

By the time Burcham returned from San Bernardino, his partners , Mooers and Singleton were giving in to this common temptation. O. B. Santon promised to open and develop the mine, construct a tent stamp mill and send $10,000doing it in return for a 30-day option in a half interest in the mine and an option to purchase the entire property at any time before December for $500,000.

Stanton already had signature and agreement from Mooers and Singleton dated June 22, 1895 . But Burcham remembered his wife's advice and refused to sign. The agreement later caused the discover-owners numerous legal litigations. There is no other mine in a recent history that had so many legal troubles like a Rand Mine. Even William Langdon claimed a piece of Yellow Aster by virtue of his being present with Mooers a year prior to the discovery when he only found traces of gold. Yellow Aster produced over $23,000 in gold more than enough to pay for all the litigations and give the owners a nice profit. However, in July 1895 , Burcham was talking about how much could be accomplished if they only had $500.

"Worried about the temptation of selling short, and having been strongly bitten by the gold bug herself, Dr. Burcham closed up her practice and traveled to Rand Mountain in July of 1895. She adapted to the rigors of camp life quickly, and was soon cooking for the men in the camp while they dry washed placer ground and crushed high-grade ore in mortars".

Later on, the men left all the business details to Dr. Burcham and she became a bookkeeper and secretary. When the Yellow Aster mining and Milling Company opened their account with the National Bank of California in Los Angeles, two signatures were required : that of John Singleton , the president, and R. L. Burcham. Later the men were complaining that at times she ran the whole company , but it was her advice and dominance that kept the Yellow Aster under the control and ownership of its original founders.

A local lawyer, Pat Reddy approached Dr. Burcham once in hopes of being able to buy or bargain for some of Yellow Aster holdings. She turned him down and he returned to Mojave swearing he's never have anything to do with a woman again. Later Reddy did gain partial interest in the mine in exchange of his legal services, and at the end, he had to use his law skills against Yellow Aster when Dr. Burcham took him to court to pay him off and regain control.

"In July of 1895, when the Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company began to fully understand the magnitude of its bonanza, other prospectors and promoters began to share the fever. Ed Maginnis and J. T. O'Leary, along with a fellow named Hansen, were busy one mile due west of the Yellow Aster staking their location notices on a claim called the Minnehaha. Soon, a tent city, Pioneer Camp, grew up at the foot of the draw leading up to the Yellow Aster. The first frame building was erected October 1895, and was used as a post office. The second frame building was Starkey's saloon".

Rand Mining District was finally organized on December 20, 1895. Twenty-six people signed the document creating this district out of the Summit Range District. At this point, Randsburg had 13 buildings . Ed Maginnis was elected recorder by the margin of one vote. in 1987 he was appointed Justice of the Pace by Kern County Board of Supervisors, and he retired from the office in October 1935.

Randsburg's hey days begun in 1886 when Ashford brothers discovered King Solomon Mine , and Ramie brothers staked out the Butte Mine. The Baltic was discovered by William and Wilson Logan in January 1896. "The Sunshine, and Operator Divide mines also came into being that year, as did the Pioneer Liquor and Gentlemen's Furnishings Store and Mrs. Kern's Miner's Hotel. George Clover started printing the Randsburg Miner in 1896, and that fall 686 voters cast their ballot in Randsburg. By December the population was 1,500, up 33 percent since that summer. Randsburg boasted 50 frame buildings by the end of 1896, and the St. Elmo Hotel was feeding 400 persons a day and lodging 100 a night".

In 1897 the Little Butte and Santa Ana group mines were discovered and Randsburg received its first mill in March that year. Two blocks from the center of the town John Quinn and George Pridham , the two stamp mill were located and they could crush 10 tons a day. Most of the Randsburg district ore was shipped to Garlock for processing until 1898. At that time the completion of the Randsburg Railway made it more economical to ship ore to the Barstow Reduction Works. In addition to the mill, Randsburg received its first church and bank in 1897.

Rand district produced over 600.000 in gold by October 1897. Randsburg railway was almost complete with a standard line running 28 miles from Santa Fe line at Kramer to within on mile of the Yellow Aster. Randsburg Railway Company was incorporated on May 18 , 1897, with John Singleton as a member of the board of directors. Randsburg Railway began its operations on January 17, 1898. It was two days later when fire struck Randsburg. The city was rebuilt only to be smitten again on May 6. After each fire , buildings were rebuilt a little bit further apart than before. Even though the water was available , dynamiting buildings was the most effective mean of fire control. One time the careless firemen lit a bundle of dynamite under the house just to find out that a little boy was still on premises. The quick actions were taken and a boy was saved. Another time , well-stocked hardware store became the candidate for dynamiting , and the explosion caused a shower of dishes, pans , pots to rain down on that part of the town.

"Randsburg soon became one of the great boomtowns of the West. In fact it even enjoyed the luxury of having a neighboring town rival. In December of 1896, when Randsburg was little more than a cluster of tents, the Johannesburg Water and Townsite Company was busy laying out a Christmas present for its neighbor, a rival town (Johannesburg) that would be well-planned, even to having piped water in the homes".

Johannesburg at its height had a post office, two general stores, a real estate office, stationers and variety store, billiard-pool room, music hall, boarding houses, lunch counter, two laundries, two lumber yards, two livery stables, a barber shop, telegraph line with Mojave, and a telephone exchange with Randsburg. This greatly facilitated courting between the two towns, yet the party lines gave such unequalled privacy that two lovebirds found their conversations the subject of printed inquiries by the Randsburg Miner as to who had been making love to whom over the phone.

Johannesburg was also flourishing. It got a golf course in 1900. It began at the Red Dog Mill and ran around town, crossing the railroad twice, and ending where it began. Sporting 9 greens, the course was used by a golf club having 13 members, 7 of them ladies. The Randsburg Miner saluted its neighbor with the words “Johannesburg is an up-to-date town”. Even miners from far away as Pleasant Canyon and Ballarat were able now to enjoy a weekend of Golf , stay in a Hotel Johannesburg Miners and board W. K. Miller's stage on Monday for the trip back to work.

"In the Spring of 1898 the Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company purchased the Skillings Well east of Johannesburg. The mine owners proposed laying a 5-inch pipeline to Randsburg, with a pumping plant to push the water over Gold Hill, a low ridge between the two towns. While Randsburg bought her water by the gallon or barrel ($2 a barrel delivered in town, 40 cents at the well) Johannesburg had several water companies (Squaw Springs and Johannesburg Milling and Water Company, among others) and piped water. In patient expectation of the arrival of piped water to Randsburg, the Citizen's Committee saw to it that fireplugs were placed and a pipeline laid. Randsburg also bought a chemical fire engine from Bodie, a gold mining camp in Mono County, California".

Ore from the Yellow Aster was worked at the Barstow Reduction Works after January 1898, when the Randsburg Railway became operational. The shipped ore averaged $40 to $50 per ton. Lower grade ore was being kept on dumps at the mine site to be run once the Yellow Aster mills were completed. Yellow Aster dividends for April, May, and June totaled $24,000. On July 2, the Randsburg Miner reported the Yellow Aster as having produced $350,000 in bullion. Plagued by high grading, the Yellow Aster announced in the summer of 1898 it was erecting a changing room to discourage the habit of pocketing away in one's clothes an exceptionally rich piece of ore.

Yellow Aster was dominating Randsburg, but other mines were being found and developed as well. The big Gold Mine was discovered in1898 and three years later Butte Lode Mining Company was formed. It had produced $140,000 during those three years and later went to produce a total two million dollars in gold and silver.

By 1899 , Randsburg's population reached 3.500 and Yellow Aster had 150 men employed with $13,000 monthly payroll. Underground miners were paid $3 a day and those on a topside were paid $2.50. The same year pumping plant was finished at Goler, forcing water up at 8-mile grade to Randsburg .

Singleton, Mooers and Burcham started to enjoy their wealth. Mrs. Burcham began to plan and trip to Europe, while her husband invested in mining interests over a wide territory. All three men wore handsome watch chains, stickpins, and jewelry made from Goler nuggets. Mooers died in spring 1900 . He was sick for a while . The others enjoyed the level of affluence that comes to the very fortunate mining.

In 1901 , around Christmas , the smallpox outbreak struck Randsburg. It contained over 500 cases. Despite that, this was only minor setback in the development of California Desert's largest mining town and soon after that, the production reached the new heights. The Yellow Ater mine was producing $100,000 of gold a month in 1902 with the opening of a new 100 stamp mill. With a new mill in operation, the older 30 stamp mill was used to treat only higher grade ores. Both mills were running 24 hours a day. Working 12 hour shifts a man could make $4.50 per day and many worked 7 days a week, holidays included. In addition, when fire struck town , the mine and mills closed down completely and everyone fought the flames on company time.

In 1903 Yellow Aster experienced labor troubles . However , yellow Aster did not need any help from the state to break the strike , but labor dissatisfaction persisted in a next 15 years. There were several mysterious acts noted. One of them was when the fire broke out n town 2 days after miner's union went on strike. It was discovered that the fire hose and rope to the fireball had been cut and the water turned off.

By this time all three founders , Mooers , John Singleton and Burchams were all owning elegant homes in Los Angeles. Charles Burcham died in 1913 . Singelton died a wealthy man 6 years later in May 1919 . Dr. Rose Barcham was the only one left of the original owners. She kept the mine operation together till 1918. The mine was reactivated in 1930s. It ultimately shut down in 1996.

Rose Burcham died in 1944. She was an extraordinary woman. Here is an example of 1904 biography of her husband Charles . "Mrs. Burcham, who is a native of New York, of Scotch and French ancestry, has the dual distinction of having been the first woman physician in San Bernardino, California, and of being a directing force in the practical operation of a great gold mine. She had attained a prominent position in the medical profession, as physician and surgeon, before she became identified with her husband's mining enterprises and in the latter field has become noted as one of the most capable business women in the United States."

Dr. Rose La Monte Burcham got her training at the Medical Institute of Cincinnati and came to California to practice. She married Charlie Burcham, a cattle rancher, and they took residence in the city of San Bernardino. She refused to sign the agreement to sell her one-sixth interest to Stanton . As it turns out all three original partners owed their fortune to Dr. Rose who eventually took management of the mines, put a lock on the bank account and fought numerous law suits that arose and gave union bosses a good licking. The men called her an "Iron woman" .

References:

Rose La Monte Burcham-4900Pasadena Ave. :http://oldhomesoflosangeles.blogspot.com/2011/11/rose-la-monte-burcham-4900-pasadena.html

Randsburg , California : Desert gold Mining town: http://www.desertusa.com/cities/ca/randsburg-ca.html

Randsburg, California , a living Ghost town: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lw2361.htm

Desert Exploer by Dusty Road: http://www.dustyway.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

Randsburg Mining District : http://mojavedesert.net/desert-fever/randsburg.html