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 Four of “Deep Dives Into The Archives: Are We Sitting On A Gold Mine?”, a ten-part series in which 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

“On his tenth and last trip to the mine the ‘white padre’ took not only the Emigdiano Chief but his son, Tecuya, as well.

“Three days ride from the Yokut-Emigidano village on Tejon Creek they came to a spring where they camped. (Tecuya recalled that the padre and his father had previously ‘improved’ the spring, making a…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

The Orderlies’ Quarters, pictured above, is where the first unlucky prospector could have stumbled upon the vaqueros working in and around the Fort Tejon area for Sam Bishop and Edward Fitzgerald Beale.

The map above was given to Bonnie Ketterl Kane, historian and author of the series “A View From The Ridge Route”, which can be purchased at the Ridge Route Museum in Frazier Park.

To see full stories with photos, please purchase a copy of the newspaper at many locations (click this link for a list) throughout the Mountain Communities.

Or, have your newspaper delivered via mail and include internet access. Just call 661-245-3794. Classified ads are FREE to paid subscribers! See front page at www.mountainenterprise.com for details.

The e-Edition is available now with full photos and stories at The Mountain Enterprise e-Edition. Select the 2023-0630 edition.

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This is part of the June 30, 2023 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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