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 Lost Padres Mine.

We continue the legend from last week with Part Two of “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

“I remember saying ‘A legend can be further confused by a historian’s misconceptions’ – and that’s what happened to the legend of the Lost Padres Mine!
“From an old manuscript found in a back room of one of our local buildings, a…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino starred in the 1949 American western film “Lust for Gold”, about the legend of the Lost Dutchman gold mine and based on the book Thunder God’s Gold by Barry Storm. Joyce Campbell suspected that the Lost Dutchman had originated and been perpetuated by the activities, accounts and legends of our local Lost Padres mine and the missions involved across the south-western U.S.

The Yokuts reportedly lived between the Piutes of the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Emigdianos near San Emigdio Canyon (PMC).

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The e-Edition is available now with full photos and stories at The Mountain Enterprise e-Edition. Select the 2023-0616 edition.

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This is part of the June 16, 2023 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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