102 



GEOLOGIC GUIDEBOOK ALONG HIGHWAY 49 



[Bull. 141 



weathered corner of the Fremont Company Store (now in ruins) is shown 

 in Fig. 19. In one instance (a building on the west side of the highway 

 at the south end of town) the stucco has been painted and grooved to 

 resemble large, dressed blocks of stone. A local source for the stone build- 

 ing material is indicated by evidences of quarrying in schist outcrops 

 within the town. The roofless stone jail stands on the hill near the school- 

 house (Fig. 22). Four adobe buildings also survive. One of these is 

 unusual in having several courses of schist slabs laid in between courses 

 of adobe blocks (Figs. 20, 21). At the northeast end of Bear Valley, the 

 remains of its Chinatown can be seen in a row of clay hummocks and 

 ruined fireplaces, the vestiges of the original adobe buildings. 



BAGBY 



Bagby is the site of Benton Mills, named by John C. Fremont for his 

 father-in-law, Thomas Hart Benton. The foundations of the mill (Fig. 23) 

 can be seen on the south bank of the Merced River just below the highway 

 bridge and just above the mouth of Hell Hollow. Flat-laid slabs of serpen- 

 tine set in lime mortar have been used in the construction. A mile down- 

 stream, on the south bank, is the site of the old Selby Ferry. A corral and 

 a ruined adobe building still mark the site. 



FRENCH MILLS 



A mile and a half south of Coulterville and three-quarters of a mile 

 west of Highway 49, are the ruins of the mine buildings and houses of 

 the old site of French Mills. At present, the remains consist of a boiler 

 house (Fig. 24), a series of retaining walls (Fig. 25), and several stone 

 foundations, all constructed of schist slabs set in mud mortar and stucco 

 covered. The source of this building material can be seen in the extensive 

 quarrying of local outcrops (Fig. 26) . 



FIG. 23. Foundations of Benton Mills. Ha^lty, DMHS Mrp-IIl.~>. 



FIG. 24. Two views of hoilerhouse (?), French .Mills, DMHS Mrp-H16, H-17. 



FIG. 25. Schist retaining wall, French Mills, DMHS Mrp-Hl.S. 



