When We Arrived Here Fifty Years Ago

Coming up Mtn. Ranch Road there was one yellow line down the middle of the road with no white line on each side.  No guard rails or caution signs.  What a pleasant drive and everyone waved at each other as you met on the road.

Just past Cave City Road Mr. Bob Burge was raising turkeys on what is now the Mayo property.  The El Dorado Ranch did not have the stone entrance.  Johnny Jones lived in the little house at the entrance.

The beauty shop was a small home.  The cafe and landscape business was not there.

The vacant lot where Joe Thomas has his tractors on display had two houses green in color on it that some local hippies converted into a hot tub business.  A family by the name of Goff lived in one.

Bob Leidecker drove the local school bus.  Bob and Mary lived in the next home where their daughter Jeanie now lives.    Bob Leidecker's mother lived in the little house next to the swimming pool.

The bike trail was not there.

The baseball field and park was a large walnut orchard.

The Resource Center was a school for handicap ed students.

The large lot where the Blunder Inn now stands and the gas station was an equipment yard, for Al  Pargett.  The firehouse was not here.  We built it later to become Mtn. Ranch Fire Department.

The building where Stark Realty is now was just an old vacant shack.  Later Bill Stark redid the building and opened his office.

The Community Hall had an oak tree in front, a fireplace and wood burning kitchen stove, and a large wood shed in front.  The Town Hall received their water from the Domenghini system with a pipe line under the county road.

When we arrived in Mtn. Ranch on a Sunday in late June of 1965 the street was littered with paper cups, crepe paper and plates.  What a mess.  We could not figure out why this quaint little town we saw earlier looked so bad.  Later we learned that was the weekend that Erick and Paulie got married.  The only other person we saw that Sunday morning was a huge an with full beard picking up all this trash.  We learned later that was Paul Morse, Paulie Senders father.

The new post office was not there.  That lot was a large garden tended later by Harry Rilea, Florence Alberts father.

The home across from the Town Hall was occupied by Mr. & Mrs. Cook.  Her mother lived in the home which is now the Lutheran Church.

The large adobe building known as the Dughi building was in bad shape and Slim Thomas lived in one downstairs room.

There was an outhouse and Slim got his water from the Domenghini system.  The new porch and balcony were added later to look original.

The small house across the street was owned by the Cuslidge family but it was not used.  Florence Alberts parents moved into it much later.

The house where the Mtn. Ranch Realty office is was occupied by Dave Zwinge and his wife Lola. That's where we lived when we came.  They moved over across by the sawmill.

On the opposite corner was the post office where Virginia Butterfield was the Postmaster.  That building, along with the original small post office is restored and on display with the old fire truck across from the Dughi building.

There was no Ace Hardware, lumber yard or supermarket.  There was a big square two story stone building at the end of Washington Street.  Across the street was the Tisher building, it is vacant today.

On Garabaldi  Street was Senders Market.  Gus Sender and his son Erick operated this store which was famous throughout the area for quality meat.  There is a large photo of the original Senders Market hanging at the end of the meat counter. 

A lean-to was added to Senders market and opened as "Opa's Smokehouse" which was a beer bar operated by Gus Sender.  There was a bridge across the creek which is now covered by parking lot.

Next to Senders was the old dance hall used at this time by the Domenghini Family as a warehouse for their hardware business.

The stone building with iron doors was the General Store operated by Francis Devoto after Louie Domenghini died in 1962.

An old-fashioned store with a wood-burning stove, coffee pot and chairs with plenty of conversation.  This store had gas pumps out front, also a large walk-in box and barrels with white gas and kerosene.

Clorinda Domenghini was the owner and Francis had worked for the family for many years.  She lived in the old house now occupied by the Alberts.  The pole barn used as a garage is gone, which she had built when she married in 1899.

Across the street was where Edith lived, the daughter-in-law of Clorinda.  This house was moved across the street in 1938 when the large porches were added.

Further up Garabaldi Street there were five cabins built in the 1940's for the sawmill workers; only 2 remain today.  Because of drunks living there, the street was called Wobbly Lane.

Across the field from the cabins was a stagecoach barn, a beautiful old barn which has long disappeared.

Up the hill was the cemetary which is now twice the size it was then.  The iron fence and gate is a recent addition.

There was no mini-storage but the house was there.  Bill Copley lived at the corner of Mtn. Ranch Road and Ave. "A".  His father Howard Copley lived on Ave. "A" where the tall redwood trees are.

The old Hotel was occupied by Eldon Lane and wife Blossom, part-time.  It was in rough condition and they worked on it continuously.

Of course the Joses Ranch a mile north was here and operating in full swing.

The Community Church out there on East Murray Creek was not here yet.

All in all there have been many physical changes to our town especially since all these ranches were subdivided in the 1970's and 1980's.  The influx of people helped build the many businesses and changes you see today.

Can you remember what it looked like when you got here?

Phil and Florence Alberts

Ben Thorn

When one thinks of the lawmen of the Old West, such figure as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok and Pat Garrett come to  mind.  Each of them established their reputations as peace officers long after the California Gold Rush.

The Gold Rush not only produced America's most violent frontier, it also produced some of the frontier's finest lawmen.  But few western peace officers could match the skill, daring, and longevity of Ben Thorn, the iron-willed lawman of Calaveras County.

Ben Thorn served continuously as a law officer in Calaveras County from 1855 until his retirement almost half a century later, in 1903.  During his long career he captured scores of dangerous outlaws including the mankiller "Longhair Sam" Brown, and in 1883 played a prominent role in the manhunt for Charles E. Boles, alias Black Bart, America's most prolific stagecoach robber.  He took part in numerous hair-raising gun battles, and superstitious Mexicans and Indians came to believe that he led a charmed life and that no knife or bullet could kill him.

Benjamin Kent Thorn was born in Plattsburg, New York, on December 22 1829.  In 1849 he joined the Gold Rush to California.  He began mining on the Yuba River in the Northern Mines, but by 1850 he drifted south to the diggings in Calaveras County where he would spend the rest of his life.

Ned Bushyhead, constable of El Dorado Mining District in 1850's worked with Ben Thorn in law enforcement may times.  He was the lead man in capture of Bill Holt, a well known outlaw in the McKinney Diggins - Cave City area.  They worked together on many jobs including the hanging in old El Dorado December 1864, and the stage coach hold-up in 1892.

Ben Thorn's first law enforcement experience began in the spring of 1853, when, like hundreds of other miners in Calaveras County, he helped search for the rampaging gang of bandidos led by Joaquin Murrieta.

Ben Thorn soon became noted for reckless bravado, and on April 15, 1855, Charles A. Clarke, sheriff of Calaveras County, appointed him a deputy.

It was not long before the young Deputy Thorn tackled one of the worst bands of toughs in the gold region.  Their leader was Longhair Sam Brown.  San Brown fled Mariposa and soon turned up in Calaveras County at the head of a band of gamblers and hardcases.  On July 8, 1855, while running a monte game in Upper Calaveritas, Longhair Sam and a comrade, Hugh "Bunty" Owens, got into a row with several gamblers.

A bystander raced to Ben Thorn's mining claim at San Antonio camp and reported the killings.  Thorn, after obtaining warrants for the arrest of Brown and Owens, started after the killers with a fellow miner, Ed Hopkins.  They rode all night in search and by daybreak learned that the bad men were holed up with four other members of the gang in a cabin on O'Neill Creek.

Thorn and Hopkins took the pair to a sawmill on San Antonio Creek owned by Orrin Spencer, the justice of the peace.

Within a few months after his capture of San Brown, Ben Thorn was again in the saddle after dangerous outlaws.  On August 6, 1855, in the so-called Rancheria Tragedy, a gang of Hispanic bandits raided the mining camp of Rancheria in Amador County, just north of Calaveras.

There they learned that Calaveras County Sheriff Charles Clarke had caught up with the mounted bandits at Texas Bar on the Calaveras River.  Clarke and his men, one of whom was undoubtedly Ben Thorn, had engaged the bandidos in a sharp gunfight and managed to shoot and capture one of them.

One of Ben Thorn's most notable exploits was his encounter with Santiago Molino, a dangerous desperado who reported to have killed six men in the mining country.  Ben trailed and killed Molino.
Just a few of the many exploits of Ben Thorn, a true Western Lawman.

After the Gold Rush many forty-niners drifted on to new mining frontiers.  Ben Thorn, however, stayed, married built a mansion (which is still standing) in San Andreas, raised two daughters and became a power in local politics.

He served as undersheriff for Sheriff Bob Paul from 1860 to 1864 and was sheriff of Calaveras County from 1868 to 1876, then worked as a Wells, Fargo detective, and again was county sheriff from 1880 to 1903.

During the 1880's and 1890's he was, next to his friend Tom Cunningham of Stockton, the most famous sheriff in California.  When he died on November 15, 1905,, the San Francisco Call gave simple but elegant praise:  "In the days when laws were loose, when the bandit, the stage robber, and the horse thief abounded, when life was cheap and men lived in the frontier stage of existence, Thorn's name was a terror to the criminal."

Miner's Songs, The One he Sings Here

I'm sitting on a big quartz rock.
Where the gold is said to grow;
But, I'm thinking of the merry flock,
That I left long ago.
My fare is hard, and so is my bed,
My claim is giving out,
I've worked until I'm almost dead,
And soon I shall "peg" out.

I'm thinking of the better days,
Before I left my home;
Before my brain with gold was crazed,
And I began to roam.
Those were the days, no more are seen,
When all the girls loved me;
When I did dress in linen clean,
They washed and cooked for me.

But awful change is this to tell,
I wash and cook myself;
I never more shall cut a swell,
But here must dig for pelf.
I ne'er shall lie in clean white sheets,
But in my blankets roll;
An oh! the girls I thought so sweet,
They think me but a fool.

Author Unknown

Devoto, One of the Early Families in Old Eldorado Camp

Benidito Devoto came to Calaveras County in the early 1860‘s.  He came from Italy around the horn in a clipper ship.  Two years later he sent for his wife Rosa.  He traveled from San Francisco to El Dorado Camp by hitching rides on wagons heading for the gold fields.

By working hard and saving what little he did make from mining he was able to buy a small lot and adobe building in El Dorado.  Later he purchased a small acreage northeast of town and put in a vineyard.  He soon became one of the finest wine makers in the area.  Near his vineyard he also found gold valued at $800 in one pocket.  He also lost one eye in a mining accident.

There was a bakery in El Dorado as early as 1858.  Mr. Devoto’s bakery is listed on the township map of 1872.  We believe he bought the same bakery that was operated in the early days.  It was in an adobe building behind the present candle shop.

In his later years grandfather Devoto told of Joaquin Murietta coming over Butcher Hill from Cave City to his bakery to get sacks of bread.  When business was poor for Murietta he did not offer to pay.  When the pickings were right he often rewarded the baker very well.  Mr. Devoto never spoke of this during the time it happened.  No one spoke of Murietta at that time for fear of reprisal.  His gang was known throughout California as cold-blooded killers.

The Devotos lived behind the bakery in small living quarters.  Later with the help of his two sons he built the existing Devoto home which stands next to the stone Dughi building which is now the Lutheran Church, the oldest wooden building in town.  The sons exchanged work for lumber from Wiggins Sawmill on Jesus Maria Creek.  Joe Cuneo helped with the carpentry work on this house.

Benidito Devoto was born in Italy in 1828, died in El Dorado in 1917; his wife was born in 1832, died 1923.

They had five children, one died as an infant.  Louis was born 1864, died 1929; Jennie born 1872, died March 29, 1967 age 94; Joe born 1869, died 1943; Auralia born 1875, died 1951.

The children went to school at the old Fischer School north of El Dorado.  Louis later became Justice of the Peace in San Andreas.  He moved to San Francisco.  At one time he was assistant treasurer for the city, later became head of the Board of Health and finally was elected to the assembly.  When he first moved to San Francisco he worked as a guard at San Quentin and also as a bartender on the infamous Barbary Coast.  He was known all his life as “Judge”.  Louis married Mame Coran.

A son Francis was born in 1897 in San Francisco.  A daughter born in 1902 was named Maria Rose.

Francis went to the St. Mary Catholic School in San Francisco and later went to Lincoln Public School in Oakland after the earthquake in 1906.  He was living with his parents on Minna Street in San Francisco when the earthquake hit.  He was nine years old.  The morning of the quake Francis was awakened by his father.  By the time Louis got his family together the house had moved two feet off its foundation and there were cracks in the walls large enough to walk through.

Louis was a big man, over six feet tall, he picked up his son and jumped through a hole in the wall, leaped several large cracks in the earth until they had reached safety.  He returned to the house several times to get the rest of his family and some supplies.

As they wandered about the city trying to find a place away from the fires, Francis can remember seeing tongues of flames licking out of every window in the Call Newspaper building.  Fires started everywhere, there was no water to fight with, the lines had broken from the quake so many buildings were blasted down by the fire fighters.  Many people were hysterical and untold numbers were killed.

The Devoto family stayed two days in Golden Gate Park.  It was a haven for many homeless families.  They they moved out of town with family friends.  When the family gathered what was left after the quake they moved to Oakland.

Francis’ uncle Joe lived in Mountain Ranch for many years.  He was postmaster here in 1894.  He married Louise Rodesino, sister to Johanna Rodesino, who was killed in a stage hold-up.

Later he moved to San Francisco where Louis set him up as a partner in a saloon.  He also moved to Oakland after the earthquake.  He bought a saloon at 7th and Broadway called the “Station Saloon”.  Lew Powell, a promising young fighter, became close friends of Joe and Louis Devoto.  Lew Powell spent his life in the fighting game and was considered the most colorful fighter of his day.  He spent his retired years at Mountain Ranch.  Joe Devoto had no children.  Lew Powell’s daughter still owns the Powell Ranch off Banner Road.

Francis’ Aunt Jennie became postmaster in Mountain Ranch in 1906 after working for many years in the post office.  In fact, she took care of the post office when Joe, her brother, was postmaster.

Francis moved from Oakland to Mountain Ranch in 1908 when he was eleven years old.  He lived with his Aunt Jennie.

Francis went to school in Mountain Ranch.  Elba Ames was one of his teachers.  He used to ride the butcher’s wagon from San Andreas, operated by Jim Uland, who served the El Dorado - Cave City area selling fresh meats.  Francis said he kept towns clear of flies, as they followed the meat wagon wherever he went.

He moved back to Oakland when he was 13 to work for Southern Pacific Railroad as an apprentice machinist for 15 cents an hour.  Later he worked for the Telephone Co. collecting money from pay phones.  He spent two years in Dunsmuir for his health but working in a billiard parlor did not seem to do much good.

He missed the first World War because he was working on the railroad.  After the war he made two trips to Europe as a pump man on an oil tanker for the Tri-Mountain Oil Co.

Francis returned to Mountain Ranch in the early 1930‘s to work part time for A. Domenghini.  He also worked some in the Sheep Ranch Store.  Later when Atillio took sick he went to work full time for Louis Domenghini in the general store.  His first marriage did not work out and he married Mabel Dale Hatch in 1946.  Francis worked for the Domenghini family for over 30 years.   He retired in 1965 when the Domenghini Estate was sold to Alberts Family and has since passed away.

The Domenghini General Store fixtures and old merchandise as well as old photos is now on display at the Red Barn Museum, donated by Phil and Florence Alberts.

Mail Order Brides

In the early days of the Old El Dorado supplies were not always available when they were needed.  Many items were sent to the mines and the workers by mail order.  Orders were placed by the local merchant, or stage driver but most often by mail order.

In 1859 the California papers estimated in all the territory west of the Missouri River there was but one woman to every 200 men. This opened the path for an enterprising new business of mail order brides.

Early in the Gold Rush these hard working men lifted their heads from their labors and felt the absence of one vital element -- women!

There were no money-back guarantees but those lonely hearts thought it was worth a role of the dice to order a bride by mail, and it did work out most of the time.

There were a number of early publications that specialized in mail order brides.  The motto of the day was "Women need a man's strong arm to support her in life's struggle, and men need a woman's love".

Most communities celebrated the arrival of a new bride to their town.  Miners scattered throughout the hills would all come to town to look at this new addition -- "A woman".   Word would spread far and wide when a woman was to arrive.

Here in Old El Dorado the new bride was not always celebrated as in other towns.  Here they said it was a friend of a relative back East.  Some men were too embarrassed.

Some of the names of early Old El Dorado you will recognize but we are not going to list those brave souls who took to this much needed supply.

Despite an occasional unhappy couple mail order match, there were an unusual number of life long unions.

This was because the people were very honest in their letters of exactly what they expected.  Photos and background information was a must.  Also after they met both parties were to sign an agreement not to be a bad spouse or try to change the other person.

These poor souls were willing to sign away anything to complete the spousal arrangement.

The lack of women in the gold fields and not many good men back East especially after the war brought these two factions together.  Records tell us that in most cases this was a life made in Heaven.

EVEN the old timers said "If you are lucky enough to live in Old El Dorado with a woman, then you are lucky enough!"

The Mines around Old El Dorado

The many mines in and around Old El Dorado have names as varied as those of race horses, such as:

Rose Hill:  Located on ridge south of El Dorado Creek, one mile west of Mtn. Ranch.  Opened in 1871, operated for 25 years with a 10 stamp mill, by the Rodesino family.  Later purchased by Clyde Sherwood, former owner of El Dorado Ranch.

Hardscabble:  Located on ridge above Murray Creek, one mile west of Mtn. Ranch, owned by Louis Baver.  In 1930 the ore yielded up to $30 per ton.

Starlight:  Located 6 miles east of San Andreas off Michel Road on what is now called Starlight Lane.  Discovered in 1890 with 145 foot shaft.  Concentrates averaged $162 per ton.  Treated in 5 stamp mill.   Owned by John R. Ross.

Old McKinney:  Located 5 miles southeast of Mt. Ranch, owned by Clorinda Domenghini.  Discovered in 1860.  What is now called Hidden Valley.

Pilot:  Located on ridge between the O'Neil and McKinney Creeks, 5 miles northwest of Murphys.  180 foot shaft with 4 stamp mill.  Near Cave City.

Table Mountain:  Located one mile northeast of Mtn. Ranch, owned by A. M. Raggio with 110 foot shaft.

Murray Creek:  Located one mile north of Mtn. Ranch, owned by Albert Wanner.  Discovered in 1890.

Fort Ritter:  Located on ridge north of Murray Creek, one mile northeast of Mtn. Ranch and owned by Donald Costello.  3 foot vein strkes northwest and dips northeast.  Early mine discovered in 1850.  With 640 foot adit and 200 foot shaft.  Ore treated with 5 stamp mill.

Hazel Emma:  Located in Mexican Gulch, 1 1/2 miles northeast of Mtn. Ranch and owned by Geo W. Carr, Jr.  Ore yielded $20 per ton in the 1930's with 175 foot north crosscut adit, 100 foot of drifts, and 40 feet winze.

Montana:  Locate on ridge north o Salamander Gulch, 6 miles northeast of San Andreas, owner M. Gattavaro in the 1930's.  2 foot quartz vein stripes north and dips 55 east.  Active in 1870 with 2 stamp mill.  Northwest of Mtn. Ranch.

Shenandoah:  Located on Jesus Maria Creek 5 miles northwest of Mtn. Ranch, owned by J.S. Jack  5 foot vein strikes northeast.  1600 foot adits and 500 foot shaft.  Ore treated in 10 stamp mill.

Alpha and Omega:  Located on ridge between Jesus Maria and Esperanza Creeks, owned by Loring Bennet and Alice Rynn.  1 1/2 foot vein strikes northwest.  Ore yeild up to #34 per ton.  From 1877 to 1930's, 5 stamp mill.

Rindge:  There were 3 Rindge mine, one located northeast of Jesus Maria, one in Wet Gulch, and one southeast of Glencoe.  All were operated in the 1920's by F. H. Rindge of Stockton, with a 10 stamp mill.

Wet Gulch:  Located 2 miles southeast of the town Jesus Maria in Wet Gulch.  Owned by T.P. Shufelton and worked extensively in the early days.

Dauphine:  Located one mile southeast of Jesus Maria (the town).  Two veins in 7 foot zone strike northeast.  Discovered in 1851.  100 foot shaft, 140 foot adit and open cut.  Treated with one stamp mill.  One of our very early mine shafts.

And don't forget Sheep Ranch, by far the largest and best producing gold mine in this area.  Discovered in 1868 and operated almost continuously until 1942.  In 1875 the mine was sold to George Hearst and Company.  They brought the mine up to modern standards at that time and it was most productive.  One of the biggest little towns in southern mines with stores, hotels, livery, even a hospital.

You will be surprised.  There is probably a mine on your property or close by.  Get out your pick and metal detector and see what you can find!

Where Is It? Places lost and remaining from the Motherlode Gold Rush

Where Is It?

Some have survived but most have disappeared.

* La Chapelle Flat - That big meadow behind Scott's Junction.  Lewis Emery, who built the lake at M-24, moved his house from the Rose Hill Mine to La Chapelle Flat.

*  Miles - Located where Whiskey Slide Road crosses Jesus Maria Creek.  Known as the Sharp Ranch for many years.

*  Broderick - Somewhere near the present town of Mtn. Ranch but we have not been able to determine where.

*  Cave City - At the end of Cave City Road.  Cave now open to the public.

*  Poverty Flat - North of town off Whiskey Slide.

*  Fourth Crossing - On Highway 49 between San Andreas and Angels Camp.

*  Humbug - Now called Hidden Valley.

*  Whiskey Slide - North of Jesus Maria Road at the end of Whiskey Slide Road.

*  Dog Town - North of Altaville.

*  Chee Chee Flat  - The three corners of Whiskey Slide, Ponderosa and W. Murray.

*  Old Gulch - 1 mile south of Michael Road on Old Gulch Road.

*  San Antone Camp - On San Antone Creek south of Fricot City Road.

* Montgomeryville - Just east of Stage Coach Monument on Mtn. Ranch Road.

* Rigney Flat - Off Sheep Ranch Road before O'Neil Creek.

*  Willow Creek - 2 miles south of San Andreas.

* Upper and Lower Calaveritas - Near present area of Calaveritas. Once a very active mining area.

*  Indian Creek - South of Sheep Ranch on road to Murphys.  Home of Valenti Store and Clorinda Domenghini.

*  Sheep Ranch - Originally called Hay Press Flat.  You know where that is.

* Yaqui Camp - 3 miles southeast of San Andreas, home of Squarehead Mine.

*  Cherokee Flat - Now known as Altaville.

*  Gold Hill - One mile northeast of Altaville.

*  Jesus Maria - a few miles east of Moke Hill on Jesus Maria Road.

*  Double Springs - Below Toyon toward Valley Springs.

*  Mosquito Gulch - Now known as Glencoe.

*  Turnersville - Now called Campo Seco.

*  El Dorado - Now known as Mountain Ranch.

*  Macaroni Flat - Near Stevenot Winery on Sheep Ranch - Murphys Road.

*  Railroad Flat - You know where that is.

*  Rich Gulch - West of Railroad Flat, very rich mining area.

*  Vallecito - Originally called "Shooter's Town" between Angels Camp and Murphys.

*  Douglas Flat - West of Murphys was called "New Diggings".

The Domenghini Family of Calaveras County

Luigi and Caroline Domenghini came to Calaveras County in the early 1870‘s with one son, Attilio, who was born in Switzerland in January 1868.  They came by ship, the crowded old ships that caused the death of many a fearless traveler.  They crossed this great country of ours by wagon train with hardships beyond the imagination of modern man.

In Calaveras County they picked the quiet and peaceful valley near Murray Creek to settle down and work the land as the good Lord had intended man to do.

Two more boys were born near Mountain Ranch, Cash in 1878 and Charles a year later, who died in infancy.  Big strong boys were what every farmer looked for in his family, they were needed so a family could make a living from the land.

Luigi purchased a large piece of land in Mountain Ranch in 1872 and ran a saloon in the stone building built by Mr. Pagani in 1856.  Luigi Domenghini was born in 1844 and died in 1891 at 46 years of age.  His wife died in 1935 and both are buried in Mountain Ranch Cemetery.

Through the years the Domenghini family purchased more land in the Mountain Ranch area and at one time owned what is now called the M-24 Ranch and also Hidden Valley.  As the years went by this land was sold piece-by-piece.

Cash Domenghini married Elba Ames in 1919.  They had no children.  Cash died in 1925 and is also buried in the Mountain Ranch Cemetery.

The present Domenghini Building was a saloon until 1901 when the Domenghini Brothers remodeled the interior and opened a general store ater one year in the Domenghini Building.  Supplies were picked up at Valley Springs by team and wagon from the railroad.  These trips took two or three days.  Drummers also made the round to the mountain communities.

Attilio married Clorinda Valente from Sheep Ranch after a whirlwind courtship.  They became acquainted at a dance in Mountain Ranch.  They were married in Clorinda’s home by a priest from Angel’s Camp in January 1901.  The wedding was delayed one month because the house Attilio was building in Mountain Ranch was not finished.  Clorinda said No House, No Wedding!  During this delay in the wedding plans Clorinda continued to work at their boarding house at Indian Creek to supply meals to the workers for the large electrical project going in near Angels Camp.

Their honeymoon was spent in San Jose and San Francisco.  They traveled from Indian Creek, near Sheep Ranch, by a two-horse buggy to catch the train at Milton.

Clorinda still lived in the same house, next to the general store, that she moved into on her wedding day, until late 1966  She used the same bedroom set, wood cook stove, chairs and cabinets.   The wallpaper was the original and the home was truly a step into the past.

Attilio Domenghini was on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors in the early 1930‘s.

A son was born on Dec. 4th, 1901.  Louis was an only child.  He went to school in Mountain Ranch to the 9th grade  He was an excellent student and excelled in sports.  After graduation he went to Herald’s Business College in Stockton until his uncle Cash became ill. Then he returned home to help his father with the business.

Louis  married Edyth Roe on Feb. 28th, 1925 at Stockton.  They lived on the Roe Ranch just north of town until Oct. 1938 when they moved into Mountain Ranch.  No children were born of this marriage.  Louis died May 31, 1963.  When he died it was felt throughout Calaveras County.  He was a man without an enemy.

Domenghini General Store Building
Built in 1856 by a man named Pagani, this is the oldest building in Mountain Ranch.  Constructed of stone, adobe and hand-hewn beams with a full basement, this old building has withstood time and tribulations with very little sign of stress.  Material was dug from Adobe Gulch just south of town.

The 24-inch stone wall, iron shutters on the windows and doors, wooden plank floor and high ceiling make this one of the true marvels of the Mother Lode.  There are glass windows inlaid in the floor about six inches square to give light to the basement.  The large hooks for lowering heavy items into the basement are still visible.

It was purchased by the Domenghini  family in 1872.  This building was used as a saloon, pool hall and dance hall until 1901.  The Domenghini brothers remodeled the interior into a general store in late 1901.  It has been in continuous use ever since.  The house next to the store burned down and was rebuilt in 1905.  This same house was moved across the street in 1938 and is still in use today.

This business was known as Domenghini Brothers General Merchandise until Cash Domenghini’s death in 1925.  Then Louis Domenghini, son of Attilio and Clorinda Domenghini, came home from business college to help his dad with the store operation.  It became known as A. Domenghini and Son from that day on.  With Attilio’s death in 1952 his son Louis continued to operate the general store under that name.

After Louis died in 1963 his widow continued the business under the faithful management of Francis Devoto who had worked for the Domenghinis for some thirty-odd years.

The business, buildings and Domenghini property was then sold in July 1965 to Phil O. Alberts and family.  They have donated all of the old store fixtures and some merchandise that has survived all these years and now is on display at the Red Barn Museum.

The round glass candy case, McCaskeg charge account register, old scales, coffee grinder, tobacco cutter, old photos and so much more.  Stop by and see this and all the other displays at the Museum.


Clorinda’s Family History

Genoa, Italy, is the place of departure for Mrs. Clorinda Domenghini’s mother in 1862.  Janie Cuneo, Clorinda’s mother, was born in Plan De Cunei Turri, Italy, a suburb of Genoa.  In her younger years she set off from Genoa to America in search of her two brothers.  The brothers were mining around the San Antone Camp.  After Janie had reached her destination, she set up housekeeping for the boys.  A year after she arrived, in 1863, she married Angelo Canavera.  After they were married they moved to Esmeralda and there they established a store.  Then Janie gave birth to two boys, John and Henry.  A few years after they had been married, Angelo died as the results of an accident.  After her first husband’s death she married Steve Valente.  At this time they moved to Indian Creek.  This was a little mining community about three miles from Sheep Ranch and approximately five miles from Murphys road.  After moving to Indian Creek Mr. Valente built a little store.  It was not too long before the mines closed down and when they did the Valentes lived on their ranch.  During the cold winters to follow the Valentes kept boarders that would occasionally work in the mines.  Clorinda’s sister Mary lived in this house her whole life; it was burned down in the Old Gulch Fire.


Clorinda’s Youth
When the mines opened again the Valentes kept the boarding house to hep support the new addition to the family.  This addition came in 1879 which was Clorinda.

There was not much going on in Clorinda’s life until she started school.  She just had the usual chores boys and girls had at that time.  Clorinda and her two half-brothers, John and Henry Canavera, and sister Mary would attend school in Sheep Ranch.  At this time Sheep Ranch had quite a few people.  The school at which they attended had two rooms.  There were over a hundred students that went to this two room school.  Clorinda, John and Henry would walk three miles on nothing but a cow trail.  On their way to school they had to cross San Antone Creek on a log bridge.  They never had to worry about the bus being late or if it was going to run.  They just hoped that the bridge would not wash out.  The bridge did wash out a few times.  When it did  this would cause them to miss school for several weeks before it would be repaired.  They would come home from school by walking or hitch a ride on wagons driven by wood choppers or vegetable men, leaving from Sheep Ranch Mine. One person that they rode with had his wagon pulled by an oxen team.

There were other incidents that would happen to Clorinda and her brothers also.  Several times, a wood chopper, who would cut wood for the mine, would stop them on the trail and ask them to get a few items in town for them.  These items were tobacco and matches.  When school let out Clorinda would take the items she got for the men and leave them on a certain stump that had a dime or some reward left for this little task.  She attended school up to the fifth grade.  Then her mother became ill and she was needed at home so had to quit school.  From this time on she stayed at home and worked on the ranch at Indian Creek.

On January 10, 1950, Clorinda and Attilio celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  And two short years later Attilio died on January 17th, 1952, just before his 84th birthday.  After Louis’ father died he took over the store.  And after 11 more years the Domenghini family suffered another death in the family.  This time it happened to Louis.  He died May 31,   After Louis’ death Clorinda passed away a few years later in San Andreas.  The last of the gracious ladies of Mountain Ranch.

Calaveras Prospect Excerpts, 1899

The year 1899 was a busy and prosperous year in and around old El Dorado.  Here are a few of the local happenings!

When and where you will find the County Assessor:
All persons who have purchased real estate within the past year are requested to appear:

Fourth Crossing:  March 8
Calaveritas:  March 9
San Antone:  March 10
El Dorado:  March 11
Jesus Maria:  March 22
RailRoad Flat:  May 8
Sheep Ranch:  March 13


Sat. March 4th, 1899  
The Ritter Mine.  Recent Developments Very Encouraging to the Management.
Hard to Estimate the Average Value of the Ore -- Some Will Go Away Up In the Thousands.

The Ritter Mine, situated on Murray Creek Ridge, about two miles north of El Dorado, is proving itself, from recent developments, to be a very valuable property.  It is an old location covered by a U.S. patent, and was prospected to a considerable extent in the early fifties but abandoned.  It was taken hold of several times during the seventies and eighties by different parties but no encouraging developments were made and it was as often relinquished until recently when it was taken in hand by E.C. Rigney.



March 25th, 1899
EL DORADO MINES.
What is Being Done in That District.
A Favorable Clean-up at the Rose Hill-- Flattering Results at the Alpine and Extension Mines

The latest clean-up at the Rose Hill quartz mine near El Dorado proved very satisfactory.  In view of the encouragement thus given and the favorable outlook for the future, Lewis Emery, the sole owner of the property, has ordered new steam machinery for use on the mill  The heavy rains have assured a bountiful supply of water for other power.  The management has spent something over $60,000 in repairing a large reservoir and in constructing an extensive ditch and laying pipe at different points in order to bring water to the mine.  This work was completed last January.  The water from this ditch will not only be used for power but also for sluicing and hydraulicking, as Emery & Co. own quite a large tract of placer land in connection with the Rose Hill property, upon which they will  commence operations in the near future,  Mr. Emery is erecting a large building on the El Dorado road about 1 1/2 miles from El Dorado.



May 13th, 1899
Ordinance NO. 92
Granting to the Sheep Ranch Mercantile Company,
a corporation, the right of way, privilege and franchise to
construct, maintain and operate a telephone and telegraph
line between the towns of Sheep Ranch and San Andreas,
in the County of Calaveras



July 15th, 1899  
A Suicide at Murphys.
Frederick Peterson Ends His Life with Giant Powder.
He Placed a Stick of the Explosive In His Mouth 
and Fires It -- Complete Decapitation the Result.

An old man named Frederick Peterson, protege of Rev. M.J. Luark, the resident minister at Murphys. He formerly lived at Chee Chee Flat where for a long time he eked out a scanty existence in mining.


July 15th 1899
El Dorado and Sheep Ranch.
The Progress of Mining in Those Districts.

The Live Oak Mine to be Sold--The Maine Mine Sold--Other Properties Showing up Well

The Live Oak mine, about one mile north of El Dorado on Sheep Ranch road, is abourt to pass into the hands of parties from San Francisco.  It is at present owned by Tiscornia & Company who have done a good deal of development work therein.  The purchase price is$10,000, $4,000 of which is about to be paid down before work commences.  The ledge from the top down averages about two and one-half feet in width and prospects from a few dollars to $150 to the ton in fine gold.  There is a large pile of pay ore on the dump and plenty more in sight in the mine.  This mine is opened by a tunnel 300 feet long and also by a shaft forty feet deep.

The Ritter mine which is being developed by Lewis Emery of the Rose Hill mine is looking all right.  Some very rich bunches of ore have been struck, although the ledge on an average prospects well.  The results from recent tests in the Rose Hill mill were better than they have been before.  For reasons known only to the management, work was suspended for a while.

Emery & Company have been working the Rose Hill gravel mine by the hydraulic process.  It is reported that some nuggets of gold can be seen in the sluice boxes, which would indicate good results from the next clean-up.

Sept. 9th, 1899  
Sheriff Thorn, accompanied by his wife, left for San Francisco last Wednesday.  Mr. Thorn since recovering from his recent sickness is now suffering with ear trouble so he has gone to the city to consult a specialist.

Lewis Emery who lives at La Chapelle Flat near El Dorado is moving his dwelling house from he Rose Hill mine to a more convenient locality near the road.  The fish with which he stocked his reservoir near his home recently are doing well.


Oct. 28th, 1899  Baling Out The Water.
That Work at the Sheep Ranch Mine Advancing Rapidly.
Without any Mishap the Water Will be Out by the End of Next Month -- Other Notes.

The work of unwatering the Sheep Ranch mine is in progress and at present the shaft is freed of water as far down as the eight hundred foot level.  In this level there are a great many drifts holding an immense quantity of water which will of course make progress very slowly.  Between levels rapid headway is made and the water has been lowered as much as twenty-one feet in a single day.  Baling has been done with two huge buckets holding 589 gallons each, but this week one of these buckets was replaced by a larger one, holding 720 gallons.


November 18th, 1899
MINING NEAR EL DORADO.
Emery Making Preparations for Hydraulicking.

Will Raise the Water Dam Fourteen Feet --
Six Thousand Feet of 30-inch Pipe to be Laid.

Extensive preparations are being made for work on a large scale on the mining properties near El Dorado, of which Lewis Emery is the principle owner.  The dam, which is situated about two and a half miles above El Dorado, will be raised fourteen feet, which will insure the storage of an immense body of water.  This dam is fed from ditches taking water from Jesus Maria creek, the Little Mokelumne and other streams in the mountains.

A tunnel for a tail-race is being dug from Murray Creek toward La Chapelle Flat.  This will be about 1400 feet in length.


Accident at North America.

A. Cuslidge of El Dorado met with a bad accident at North America last Tuesday.  He was engaged with other workmen in hoisting hay with a derrick  when the boom fell, striking him on the head and right arm, making an ugly cut on the former and breaking the latter in two places.  He was taken to his home where his injuries were attended to by a surgeon.


Nov. 25th, 1899
The News From Jesus Maria.
Frank Towle as a Temperance Lecturer.
The Institute at the Hill--A Heavy Thunder Storm--A Couple Accidents--Local Notes.

Jesus Maria, November 20th.  F.Z. Towle of the Banner mill delivered an able lecture on temperance at the Negro Gulch school house.  The audience was a very large and appreciative one.  Nearly every man, woman and child of the whole community attended in a body.  He spoke with an eloquence and enthusiasm that carried conviction to every listener's heart.


One of Our Soldier Boys Returns Home.
Edward Zwinge Arrives From a Sojourn in the North.

Edward C. Zwinge, who enlisted on the 24th of June, 1898, in Battery A, Third Artillery, U.S.A., is at home, having received his honorable discharge on the 4th of last June, and arrived here Thursday last.  Mr. Zwinge enlisted at San Francisco with the expectation of being sent to the Philippines, but in this respect he was disappointed, for instead of going to the Orient his company was ordered to Rapid City, Alaska, where he remained up until the time of his discharge.  Mr. Zwinge, who has a fine physique, makes a good appearance in the habiliments of Uncle Sam's boys, and he does not appear to have suffered in the least from his sojourn in the frozen north.  He was forty-seven days in making the journey from his post, during which he had to travel 1000 miles in a row-boat.  Ed is an exemplary young man and to say that his many friends here were pleased to greet him once more, expresses it mildly.


The Petticoat and Poorman.
Developments In a Couple of Properties at RailRoad Flat.

At the Petticoat mine near RailRoad Flat a station has been cut at the 550 foot level, sinking for the 650 mark is in progress and drifting is being carried on in the 550 foot level.  Everything looks very favorable.

At the Poorman mine near the same place the work of sinking from the 250 to 350 level has just been completed and a level is being run north to tap the pay chute, which is 500 feet from the shaft.


Dec. 9th, 1899
A Runaway At San Antone.
The Extreme Darkness at Wally Hill was the Cause.

On Friday evening Frank Cuneo of San Antone and another resident of the same place whose name we did not learn, had a rather unpleasant shake-up on what is known a the Wally Hill grade, near above place.  They were returning from San Andreas in a one-horse cart, and when they reached the grade, the night was so dark that it was impossible to see the road, so they gave the horse free line, permitting him to pick his own way.  The animal was evidently over-cautious, for he favored the inner side of the road to the extent that he ran one wheel upon the bank and upset the cart, spilling the occupants down the steep hillside.


Dec. 30th, 1899  
He Drops While Playing the Violin on the Music Stand.

Earl Gilman of El Dorado, a musician while playing for the dance here on Christmas night, was suddenly taken sick about 1:30 o'clock and was carried into the hotel in a semi-unconscious condition.

A Pioneer of '52 Laid To Rest.
Daniel Bagley Succumbs to Death In His Seventy-Seventh Year.

As the golden sun sank to rest on last Friday evening, with the departing day fed the gentle spirit of a good man, at the County Hospital.  For many long years Daniel Bagley hads been a patient sufferer from disease which seemed to culminate within the last three or four months in the fatal affliction of cancer of the stomach.  Most of us who knew him when he lived in Mountain Ranch can remember his well known attributes of honesty and sobriety and always found him a friend true to his obligation in every respect.

Daniel Bagley was born June 21, 1822 in County Cork, Ireland.  He came across the plains to California and arrived at Hangtown August 15, 1852.  He came to Mountain Ranch in 1861 where he was engaged in work at Holmes' store and afterwards followed mining about Cave City.

The Ballad of Johanna Rodesino, by Tim & Kate Laddish of Sheep Ranch

Last Feb. we wrote an article about this stage hold-up.   

The Monument 

We thought this would be a great ending to that story.

Reprinted today by special permission of Tim Laddish, from The Ghost...

The Ballad of Johanna Rodesino

You can yell and stamp and fire your guns
To celebrate this plaque

But when you're done and had your fun

I'd like to take you back

I heard the blast; I saw the flare

Of the shotgun's wicked play --

And if I'm asked, I'll tell you fair

See, I was there that day.

'Twas the thirtieth of April back

In eighteen ninety-two;

We were ratt-l-ing along by stage,

The dust was flying through.

I chatted with Johanna

And with our chaperone,

We three had gone to San Andreas;

Only two would reach dear home.

Johanna and I were girls together

We'd shared a desk at school

From pigtails to longer skirts

We'd lived the Golden Rule

Sewing patchwork by the Summer's creek

Watching Winter's creek in flood

Together since we were little girls,

We were sisters in all but blood.

Now 15 we'd caught the eyes

of local older boys,

Like Sheep Ranch's Babe Raggio,

Seventeen, with strength and poise.

Our stage came round that curve right there,

Babe was driving us that day;

Mike Tovey rode as shotgun, he'd

Protect the miners' pay.

Then two blasts were shot by someone else;

No warning did he give.

Babe slumped and groaned and looked as if

He had not long to live.

Mike tied Babe on, then took the reins,

To find both help and hope;

The gunman made no move to rob;

He vanished up that slope.

I looked about and saw, I thought,
Johanna slumped in faint;
But when I bent to comfort her,
I saw the dark red seeping taint.

"Oh robber", I cried, "you can take my purse,

"Take my gold and freely spend,

"But villain, you've done so much worse,

"You've robbed me of my friend."

Your plaque says I was a girl "unhurt,"

But I am here to say

My heart still bleeds for what it lost

When Johanna died that day.

My heart still bleeds for what it lost

When  Johanna died that day.

Outlaws of El Dorado

The most famous dirty deed of note locally was the attempted stage hold-up and murder on Mountain Ranch Road in April of 1892 where 15 year old Johanna Rodesino was killed.  She is buried in Mountain Ranch.  No treasure was taken and the bandit was never apprehended.

In Dec. of 1864 a Chinaman stabbed a storekeeper in Cave City and he was brought to El Dorado after his capture.  The storekeeper died so the good people of El Dorado hung the Chinaman.  It is believed the huge oak tree across from the Blunder Inn is that tree.

In 1883 that iron-willed lawman of Calaveras County played a prominent role in the manhunt for Charles E. Boles, alias Black Bart.  Ben Thorn’s first law job was in the spring of 1853 when he helped search for Joaquin Murrieta.   Joaquin spent time in old El Dorado getting supplies, especially from the bakery operated by Julin Paterey which was located behind the present candle shop.

Ben was involved in the capture of long hair Sam Brown in 1855 which started in Upper Calaveritas and ended on O’Neil Creek.

Ben Thorn died on Nov. 15th, 1905 and was a law officer in Calaveras County for 50 years.  His home still stands in San Andreas today.

In 1851 at Whiskey Slide, just north of Mountain Ranch, a miner was found murdered in his cabin one morning.  The whole place had been ransacked.   Fifteen years later another miner came and built a new cabin on the hill.  He heard from a dying companion that the murdered man had hidden his treasures under the floor of the cabin.

The man who built the second cabin finally found the gold over $10,000 worth... but then became obsessed by the idea that the gold was haunted.   At last, in terror he reburied it, shortly after telling his story he went mad and was confined in the Stockton Asylum, where he died.  No one has ever reported finding this hidden treasure.  Another tale of the Gold Rush days that lies buried forever.

The San Andreas Independent of Dec. 4, 1858, tells of a desperate fight at El Dorado in which two Americans were killed.  Two Mexicans escaped but the third was captured.  He was later freed for want of sufficient testimony.   The Mexicans did not live in El Dorado.  Because of early racial problems with the Mexicans in San Andreas, very few were ever known to live and work near El Dorado or  Mountain Ranch.

As early as 1849 Ned Bushyhead, born in the Cherokee Nation, was the constable  of El Dorado Mining District.  Before 1849 El Dorado Camp was a gathering place for individuals looking to get away from the law.  These were just rough and tumble gentlemen who did not want to tow the line when it came to  community betterment ideas.


There were many law abiding citizens in El Dorado so as a complete community we were pretty safe.  The Zwinge family was involved in law enforcement for a couple generations.

So if you are lucky enough to live in Mountain Ranch, then you are lucky enough.

The Great Oak Tree Murder

It was not a dark and stormy night, it was a bright blue sky day.  As the appointed time grew  near, the witnesses to this horrible event started to gather.

The doers of this dirty deed appeared out of nowhere as they surrounded the intended victim.  The crowd slowly sunk back across the street waiting for the first silent scream.

Small pieces fell to earth little by little with little respect for its life long contributions to the comm’‘’unity.  As the larger parcels begin to fall the instigators of this unfortunate event slowly moved to the back of the crowd that had gathered to witness this dastardly deed as if they were not sure the correct decision had been made.

As the last chunk hit the ground you could feel the sadness in the air.  The despair of the moment was like a cloud over the small crowd that by now was standing silent.

No longer will little children frolic within the shade of this Mother Oak, little girls will no longer set up their tea for the dolls, little boys will never climb among its protecting branches, old ladies will never rock and knit under its protecting branches.  

The event of this day will go down in history as one of the saddest days the Ghost from Dirty Gulch has ever witnessed.  

Old men will never again lean against its comforting trunk and tell tales of the days of yore.  That frustrated mother Elvira bird must look for a new home to raise her young and that lively gray squirrel Melvin who had so much fun running up and down must now move on to unfamiliar territory.  

The jury of that twenty seven who voted guilty completely ignored the petition signed by 126 concerned citizens

The investigation into this tragic event will continue until all facts are presented to the citizens of the village.

One of the beauties of Mountain Ranch is gone now, but the rich memories of what was remains.  We have had our moment in time, and while some may go on forever, others must be content to be memories of the past.

So it is with this small and unforgettable memory.

Black Bart in Mountain Ranch?

Sat. Nov. 3, 1883 was cold and clear with a sharp wind.  R.E. McConnell, driver for the Nevada Stage Company had been up early preparing for his run to Milton from Sonora.  He was carrying no passengers, only a small amount of gold coin and 228 ounces of amalgam (a gold and mercury mixture).

After Jimmy Rolleri had taken McConnell and his stage acress the Stanislaus River on the ferry he operated, he suggested that he ride over to Copperopolis with him, hoping he could find something to shoot.

As the stage stared up Funk Hill, Jimmy got off in hopes he would find better game.  He could cut cross country and meet the stage on the other side.  As  McConnell neared the top of Funk Hill he turned his head to look at some movement in the bushes and he looked straight into the muzzle of a shotgun.

Black Bart had been watching the stage through a powerful field glass and he saw a driver and a boy on the front seat.  Between the hillside and his position Jimmy had dismounted.   When the stage drew up and was halted by Bart, his face concealed by a flour sack slipped over his head, at once demanded:  “Where’s the other man.”

McConnell said he had gone hunting and that it was a boy not a man,, to which Bart responded in his usual deep voice, “Get Down.”  Bart did not use his usual command of “Throw down the box” because he knew that in this case the chest was inside the stage and fastened securely to the floor.  Bart had visited the Patterson Mine earlier in the week and found out all the details of the shipment.

McConnell dismounted and unhitched as he was told.  Bart ordered him to take his horses on up the hill and over the crest out of sight.  Bart then hammered open the treasure box with an old axe he carried just for this purpose.

McConnell could hear Bart hammering away at the box so he did not hear the movement in the brush until Jimmy Rolleri was almost upon him  He attracted Jimmy’s attention and signaled him to walk in detour around the foot of the hill and come to him out of sight of Black Bart.  Jimmy was a smart boy so he knew something was wrong.  

When Jimmy got up to the driver they made their way to the crest of the hill just as Black Bart was backing out of the stage with his treasure.  They fired three shots with Jimmy’s rifle.

On the last shot Bart stumbled and dropped a bundle but held on to the sack and disappeared into the brush.

McConnell and Jimmy gathered up what had been scattered, hitched up and drove to Copperopolis to report.  Wires were sent to the Calaveras County Sheriff at San Andreas and Wells Fargo and Co. at San Francisco.

Sheriff Ben K. Thorn was a quite thorough man.  He found many clues, a leather case for field glasses, a belt, a quartz  magnifying glass, a razor, a handkerchief, two linen cuffs, and two flour sacks.  He also found the laundry mark on the handkerchief .F.X.0.7.

Sheriff Ben Thorn, J.B. Hume of Wells, Fargo and Co., his special detective Harry Morse , and Capt. Stone of the San Francisco police went to work on the case.  In just one week Nov. 12th the mark was traced to a laundry at 316 Bush St., San Francisco, operated by Thomas C. Ware.  The mark belongs to a Mr. C.E. Bolton, a mining man  A family bible and discharge from the 116th Illinois Volunteer Infantry listed his name as Charles E. Boles. 

Mr Bolton was a man dressed elegantly, carrying a little cane.  He wore a small Derby hat, a diamond pin, a large diamond ring, and a heavy gold watch and chain.  He was five feet seven inches tall, straight, broad shoulders with blue eyes and a large gray mustache.

Bart was arrested and taken to San Andreas.  Sheriff Thorn met the boat at Stockton along with a large group of curious.  Bart was photographed at Stockton adn kept in jail overnight.  The next morning they started early for San Andreas by way of Milton.  At San Andreas there was another crowd who for the first minute or two mistook  Morse for Black Bart and took the well dressed prisoner for the detective.  This seemed to please Bart a great deal.  Bart was kept in the San Andreas jail.

On Nov. 16th, Bart appeared before Justice P.H. Kean of San Andreas and said he wanted to plead guilty.  On the next day Bart was brought before Judge C.V. Gottschalk and asked the court to pronounce judgement.  The minutes of these proceedings read:  “Whereas the said C.E. Bolton has been duly convicted of robbery by his own confession, it is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the said C.E. Bolton be punished by imprisonment in the state prison of Calif. for the term of six years.”

Sheriff Thorn escorted Bart to San Quentin Prison on Nov. 21, 1883.  He was committed as prisoner number 11046.  Bart settled into prison routine and was a model prisoner.

On Jan. 21, 1888 Charles E. Bolton was released from San Quentin, his term completed, the law satisfied.  There is no sound proof that anybody anywhere ever saw Black Bart again.  There were many stories of stage hold-ups and personal visits by Black Bart but nothing was ever proven.  It is a matter of record, however, that Bolton spent much of the two years of his parole in Calaveras County after his release.

Charles E. Bolton was born in New York in 1828.  His early years remain a mystery as do his later ones.  He came to CA as a young man in 1850 to seek his fortune in mining like so many young men of his day.  He left a wife and two daughters behind in Hannibal, Mo.  In 1863 he returned to serve in the 116th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the civil war.  In 1865 he again returned to CA to teach school in Concord, CA but lost this job due to his fondness for gambling.  For the next 10 years he traveled northern CA never holding one job very long.

On July 26th, 1875 the Milton-Sonora stage was held up and this is where Bart left his famous poem;

“I’ve labored long and hard for bread

 For honor and for riches

 But on my corns too long you’ve tread

 You fine haired sons of bitches”

Over two years later he held up his second stage on Aug. 3rd, 1877 on the Russian River.  Here he left his second poem and his last.  In Black Bart’s twenty eight stage hold-ups he wrote only two poems, but they were enough to earn him the title of PO-8 for the rest of his life.  His second poem was;

“Here I lay me down to sleep

To wait the coming morrow

Perhaps success, perhaps defeat

And everlasting sorrow

Let come what will I’ll try it on 

My condition can’t be worse

And if there’s money in that box

‘Tis munny in my purse”

Two men claim to have seen Black Bart following his release from prison in 1888.  John Ross has a picture that supposedly shows Bart in about 1892.  It was taken at the Union Copper Mine  Boarding House in Copperopolis.  The small boy in the picture is Ross.  

According to Ross’s father, the highly respected Gilbert Ross, Bart came to visit his friends in Copperopolis and this picture was taken.

Romi Rolleri says that he also saw Bart when he visited Angels Camp after his release.  Rolleri says that Bart came and stayed at the old Calaveras Hotel in Angels Camp

Bart came to see Jim Rolleri who had been instrumental in Bart’s arrest and conviction .  Jim Rolleri had died while Bart was in prison, but one of his brothers revisited the site of the robbery on Funk Hill with Black Bart.  The visit was common knowledge with the old timers in Angels Camp according to Romi.

In Sept. of 1968 both the Stockton Record and the Calaveras Enterprise reported that Phil D. Alberts discovered, on his property in Mountain Ranch, Calaveras County, a smooth moss-covered stone at the head of a mound of dirt and rocks that resembled a grave site.  An initial has been chiseled on the stone.  Initial “B”.  Its location remains a well-guarded secret.

Alberts himself a historical writer, has made inquiry among many of the old timers in the area who might have some knowledge of what definitely appears to be a grave.  No one can recall a local buried on the property.  Until Alberts purchased the land a few years ago it had been part of the Domenghini Ranch since 1872, and before that it had belonged to a man named Pugini.

For many years there has been more than a little speculation among old timers here that Black Bart was secretly buried in Calaveras by well-meaning friends to prevent  possible desecration of his grave or body, as was done in the case of Joaquin Murietta.

Those who follow this theory say that Bart was pleased with the use of his initials and often used them instead of a full signature.  They contend that the simple letter “B” would have pleased Charles Bolton, alias Black Bart.

Even if it does not contain the remains of Black Bart, the grave still presents a mystery, and, who knows, perhaps the ghost of Black Bart is close to Mountain Ranch and the Ghost from Dirty Gulch than many suspect.

Phil D. Alberts, 

“the Ghost from Dirty Gulch”

A Dentist in Town

In 1916 Doctor C. L. Butterfield set up his dental practice in the Dughi Builiding renting the top floor.  This building is now owned by Frank and Judy Brockman.  He ran his office for 10 years before retiring to his ranch which is now part of the El Dorado Ranch.

Charles Lincoln Butterfield was born in 1860 at Watsonville, CA.  After getting his dentist license upon the advice of a family friend, Mrs. Henry Swank, he moved to Sheep Ranch in 1881.  His office was in the hotel building.  The Swank family was very active in Railroad Flat and Mrs. Swank discovered the famous Petticoat  Mine in 1867.  Their daughter Elizabeth Swank grew up in Railroad Flat and married Doc Butterfield in 1882.  They had 7 children. Their son Don lived in Mountain Ranch most of his life.  Don’s wife Virginia was post master in Mountain Ranch in 1956 for almost 20 years.

In 1904 Doc Butterfield’s health started to fail so Doc came up with the idea of a family tour.  He bought a wagon from the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and started the tour.

Each of his children played a musical instrument.  They lived out of the wagon and toured Northern California especially the towns of the Mother Lode.   That wagon is on display today at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.

Their last concert was held in the Mountain Ranch Dance Hall in 1912.  Doctor Butterfield was a lover of music and poetry and all his children became fine musicians in their own right.

Here is one of his well known poems, published in the Calaveras Prospect in 1926.

GOOD OLD CALAVERAS

When angels in their robes of white

Flew ‘round this world, to find a site

More  lovely than their heavenly sphere,

They folded wings and parked right here;

Saying, “We never more shall roam,’

For we have found on earth, a home,”

And then a village pure and meek,

Was built upon the Angel’s Creek,

In Calaveras,

Now in this town, there is no guile,

They greet you with a holy smile.

There, ladies speak in accents low.

Lipstick and rouge, they do not know.

And for their “grub” they take no loot.

For cash, of evil is the root.

No purse or scrip is needed there,

For Angels’ food is free as air,

in Calaveras.

Man-angels, you will never know,

Their skins’s so tough, their wings can’t grow.

And when they reach on earth their end,

And up to heaven they would ascend,

A wet cloud they must sit astride,

Or in a fiery chariot ride.

So rubber suits they have to buy,

Or in asbestor mount on high,

In Calaveras.

The day will come when I must die,

And choose my mansion in the sky,

Then when you gather ‘round my bier

And on my grave you drop a tear

Tread softly, or I might awake

And say “That mansion is a fake.

Its gilded dome and golden stair

Are junk, and never did compare---

With Calaveras.

Mark Twain once wrote about a frog

That could out-jump the largest dog.

Where did he find him?  Not in Maine;

Nor on the hills of sunny Spain;

Not in the mountains of Peru,

Nor on the plains of Timbuctoo;

Not in an ancient Irish bog,

He found him sitting on a log

In Calaveras.

And now proud city by the slough,

What has our county done for you?

She furnished you with all your soil,

Furnished the water that you boil,

She furnished your electric juice

Furnished the wood to cook your goose;

She furnished you your men of brains,

Who came from good old mountain strains,

Of Calaveras.

Ye men of Stockton, listen now!

Bring out the nanny goat, your cow;

Bring out your fairest beauty queen,

Bring out your fat men and your lean;

Bring out your editors of fame,

Bring out your deaf, your blind, your lame,

Assemble on some old mud scow,

Please face the east, and make your bow

To Calaveras.

O, beauteous land!  Oh, land of skulls!

Well filled with brains, a few are culls!

Land of the orange, fig and vine,

Land of the fretful porcupine,

Land of the apple, peach and pear,

Land of fair ladies with bobbed hair,

Land of manhood, brave and strong,

Sing, brothers, sing! and boost with song,

Old Calaveras.

Dr. C.L. Butterfield,

Mountain Ranch, California

And also this frog poem published in 1879.

In  Mountain Ranch we train our frogs

To use in place of hunting dogs,

‘Tis common up at Emery Lake

To see a frog bring out a drake.

In “Tule-town: a dog will do

To hunt mud-turtles on the slough,

But for us, they are too slow,

We need more speed up here, you know

In Calaveras

Our fleas are surely very wise,

And grow to an enormous size

Listen and i will tell you, how

Our farmers use them here to plow,

When on our roads, one often sees

A rancher with his span of fleas

To Valley people, this seems queer,

But not to us who live up here,

In Calaveras

In Stockton, bedbugs do affright me,

Crawl up my back, and scratch and bite me.

Here they are very meek and mild

And harmless as a little child.

I will admit they bob their hair,

Rolled stockings and short skirts they wear.

Please Stockton, don’t throw any mud,

For in their veins flows good blood,

Of Calaveras

By C.L. Butterfield, Mountain Ranch

(This was published in a local newspaper in 1879).

The Monument

The monument erected on Mountain Ranch Road 

January 12, 1963, reads:

ATTEMPTED STAGE ROBBERY

At this place April 30, 1892 without warning

 a lone bandit fired two charges of buckshot

 into the stage carrying the payroll for the 

Sheep Ranch Mine.  Miss Johanna Rodesino a 

passenger was instantly killed.  Babe Raggio 

driver was severely wounded. Mike Tovey 

messenger was slightly wounded, Miss Agnes 

Filipini and Mrs. A.Lloyd passengers were unhurt.

  No treasure was taken and the bandit was

 never apprehended.  

Erected Jan. 12, 1963

by

Matuca Chapter E. CLAMPUS VITUS

and 

CALAVERAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The monument was erected in memory of Miss Rodesino who was 15 years old.  She was from one of the pioneer families of Mountain Ranch.  Her grandfather, G. Rodesino, built the two-story stone building which housed Senders Market before it burned down Christmas of 1968.  She is buried at the Mountain Ranch Cemetary, marked by a beautiful head stone.

You can still see the marks of the buckshot on the oak tree behind the monument.  You should stop some time and read the monument.  

The following story appeared in the San Andreas newspaper:
April 30th, 1892

A BLOODY TRAGEDY
A LONE ROBBER’S WORK NEAR SAN ANDREAS
MURDER OF MISS RODESINO
The Sheep Ranch Stage Fired Upon on Willow Creek.  Chase of the Villain.

Last Saturday morning between nine and ten o’clock the people of San Andreas were startled by the reappearance of the Sheep Ranch stage, which only about two hours beforehand had left this place for its usual trip.  They were more than startled when it was learned from the lips of the messenger the extent of the tragedy which had occurred.  The details of the case are known to most of our readers probably before they will see this, yet we shall endeavor to give it a truthful account.

When the Sheep Ranch stage left here Saturday morning, it continued besides the driver Well’s Fargo & Co. messenger, Mike Tovey, Miss Johanna Rodesino, Miss Aggie Fillippini and Mrs. A. Lloyd, and quite an amount of coin for the Sheep Ranch mine.  Everything went along all right for about five miles, when as the stage was ascending a slight incline just above the forks of the road, where a branch goes through the Agostini Ranch to Old Gulch, suddenly without a word of warning a shot was fired into the stage from the left hand side.  With scarcely a groan Miss Rodesino who was on the middle seat fell into the arms of one of her companions, shot through the head.  

The messenger who was on the front seat sprang to the ground, but as he did so young Raggio, the driver known to all as “Babe”, pitched forward with an apparently mortal wound through the chest.   As he fell he explained, “They have killed me Tovey, but look out for the horses.”  Miss Fillippini also sprang out and managed to catch a glimpse of the robber, who seeing that he had failed to kill the messenger, which was his evident intention, immediately fled.  

Tovey drove the stage to Sperry’s house, about a quarter of a mile distant, where the extent of the tragedy was soon seen.  The wounded girl just gasped and expired as she was being lifted from the stage, and it was found that she received three shots one in the head causing death and the others in the body.  Young Raggio had two shots about an inch apart, and ranging into the lung, one shot in the right shoulder and one grazing the neck.  The messenger had one shot through the right arm near the shoulder, but nothing serious.  The top of the stage was shattered by the shot, which was fired from above.  Evidently most of the shot that took effect, first cam through the top of the stage.  Probably a sudden lurch of the stage saved the messenger’s life.  

On examining the ground it was found that the assassin had located himself in the most favorable position for his nefarious purpose.  A complete wall of rock, screened by trees formed a fortress from which a dozen men could not have dislodged him by possibility of an attack in front.  From this position at less then forty feet he had poured the contents of his gun upon the unconscious victims.  The man was evidently a coward for he made no attempt to follow up his first attack.  

After the dead and dying were in good hands messenger Tovey took the stage team and drove back to town with the coin, and left it at Well’s Fargo & Co. office.  It did not take long for the news to spread through the town, and instantly all was excitement.  The streets were quickly  crowded with excited and angry men, who almost instantly dispersed again for arms and horses, and soon nearly every able bodied man was on the way to the scene.  Sheriff Thorn with constables Masterson and Hawes, and deputy constable Getchell, were among the first to go, and deputy Getchell and Frank Washburn were the first to arrive on the ground.  Search for the trail was quickly begun, and the well defined track of the man was soon found.  The country is extremely wild and brushy and the fugitive took the roughest and most difficult routes.  

In the party were many that were familiar with that wilderness of mountains and deep ravines, and they managed to follow the trail pretty closely, though at times losing it in the dense thickets.

The trail led across Murray Creek, which he crossed between George’s place and Hodes.  Up over the limestone hill the hunters followed to where the man had evidently stood for a time taking observations, the imprint of a butt of a gun being plainly visible.  From there he turned westward, and shortly afterward the track changed as though he had taken off his shoes, or wrapped them in something.

Late in the afternoon the severe labor began to tell on the searchers, and one by one they returned to their homes.  Only C. W. Getchell and his father continued on towards the old Doak place, near which place Mr. Getchell found a stick of giant powder, evidently dropped by the fugitive.  Night was coming on and the search was reluctantly abandoned for the night, the trail being lost in what is known as the big chaparral, near Doaks.

Sunday detective J.B. Hume of Wells Fargo & Co. arrived in town, and took charge of the search.  Very little clue is in the hands of the officers, but no stone will be left unturned to bring the wretch to justice.

Sunday morning the coin was taken to Sheep Ranch by a special messenger, on the usual stage.  It shows something of the stuff that our California boys are made of, that driver a little older than the wounded Raggio, should be found ready to take the vacant seat, beside a shot gun messenger, and safely take that fateful coin to its destination.  

The heroic “Babe” thinking only of his duty while writhing from what he thought to be his death wound, and the brave Waters who was ready to take his place, will perhaps never be known outside of their own circle, but “Don’t give up the ship,” was not more heroic than “They have killed me Tovey, but look out for the horses.”