SURVEY OF BUILDING STRUCTURES OF THE SIERRAN GOLD BELT, 1848-70 HEIZER AND FENENGA 



99 



indeed it is in origin and plan (Fig. 9). Few Mother Lode towns can 

 match Hornitos for the number and charm of old buildings. Among the 

 more interesting structures are the old Wells Fargo building (now the 

 N. S. G. W. hall) with a brick front and quarried schist walls built in 

 1851 (Fig. 10), the Masonic Lodge (1860) of similar construction and 

 with a limestone flagging which came from nearby rock exposures, the 

 D. Ghirardelli store (1855) made of dressed schist with one adobe wall 

 and an old brick building in back (Fig. 11), and the present Post Office 

 built of dressed schist blocks (Fig. 12). This building was formerly a 

 dance hall and saloon patronized by the notorious bandit, Joaquin Muri- 

 etta, who used, in emergencies, an escape tunnel running from the dance 

 hall under the road, with its exit in an adobe building. The tunnel meas- 

 uring '2 by .'i feet and the remnants of the adobe "blind" may still be 

 seen. The schist for the several stone-mud mortar buildings was quarried 

 in the center of town (Fig. 13). Hornitos contains a number of adobe 

 buildings (a feature emphasizing its Mexican aspect) whose preservation 

 varies from complete structures to weathered remnants of walls. Fig- 

 ure 14 shows the adobe brick back wall of a store, built by Mexicans in 

 1851, which later became the Merck Bakery. 



About three miles east of Hornitos on the road to Bear Valley is the 

 site of Quartzburg. Here may be seen the remnants of the Thorne Store 

 built in 1852 with adobe brick walls and a fired brick front. 



MT. OPHIR 



Now completely abandoned, Mt. Ophir is sometimes said to be the 

 site of California's first mint. Although it is probably true that here were 

 "coined" the famous octagonal fifty dollar gold slugs, the Pacific Com- 

 pany in San Francisco seems to have minted the first gold coins ; these 

 were stamped with the date 1849. Between 1849, when the Federal gov- 

 ernment authorized private coinage subject to approval by federal inspec- 

 tors, and 1854 when the first United States Mint was opened in California, 

 at least a dozen private coiners were at work. Of these Moffatt and Com- 

 pany was the largest. The foundations of the Mt. Ophir mint, about 30 

 feet square, may still be seen. Like the other ruins in Mt. Ophir, they are 

 made of quarried slabs of schist set in mud mortar. The walls of a two 

 room cabin (Fig. 15) are standing on the bank overlooking the mint 

 foundation. The ruins of the Trabucco Store (Fig. 16) can be seen from 

 the highway. It was built about 1853. The inner walls of this building 

 are faced with a lime stucco. The local source of the building material 

 can be seen in the open quarry drift on the east side of the highway (Fig. 

 17). Next to the road on the east are several stone house ruins (Fig. 18). 



BEAR VALLEY 



The little hamlet of Bear Valley, first named Simpsonville, is the site 

 of a once important town in which John C. Fremont made his home. 

 Several old stone buildings are still in use. All are made of schist 

 slabs, set in lime mortar and plastered over with stucco. A detail of a 



FHI. 13. Schist quarry in Hornitos. DMRS Mrp-H6. 





FlG. 14. Wall of adolk' building opposite (Ihininlrlli store, Ilornitos, 

 DMIiS Mrp-117. 



