Curated by Kaylin Paschall, TME

The locations of gold discoveries in our local mountains are not settled history. Among many legends, none may hold as much allure as that of the lucrative Lost Padres Mine.

We resume the hunt from last week with Part Three of “Deep Dives Into The Archives: Are We Sitting On A Gold Mine?”, a ten-part series where we republish the legend as told by Joyce Campbell, historian and regular columnist for The Mountain Enterprise during the 1960s and 70s.

By Joyce Campbell

“Sam Bishop and the commanding officer ordered all the nuggets which the prospector had given the soldiers and vaqueros returned. All except one were returned, and that one was secreted in a saddle blanket by the sergeant in charge of the stables. (More of this later.)

“He had been prospecting fruitlessly in Tuolumne County and decided to try another area. He headed down the Coast…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

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The e-Edition is available now with full photos and stories at The Mountain Enterprise e-Edition. Select the 2023-0707 edition.

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This is part of the July 7, 2023 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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