The Bohemia mining district is an area of about in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

of the U.S. state of Oregon. Near Bohemia Mountain in Lane County, about southeast of Cottage Grove, the district was the most productive of the mining areas in the

Western Cascades The Western Cascades is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon between the Willamette Valley and the High Cascades. Deposits of Western Cascades age are also found in adjacent southwest Washington state. The range contains many extinct shield vol ...

. Beginning in the 1860s, mines in the district extracted mainly gold and silver but also copper, zinc, and lead, then valued at a total of about $1 million. In 1858, W. W. Oglesby and Frank Bass, miners from California, found placer gold on Sharps Creek, a tributary of the

Row River The Row River is a river, approximately long, in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It rises in the Cascade Range and flows into the Coast Fork Willamette River near Cottage Grove. The stream was originally known as the "East Fork Coast Fork", ...

flowing out of the mountains. In 1863, Ivan (John) Hoŕky using the Celtic alias James "Bohemia" Johnson, originally from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

in central Europe, and George Ramsey found lode gold while 'dressing out a deer on lamb from the law for killing an American Indian'. He and other miners formed the Bohemia Gold and Silver Mining District in 1867. Eventually, the district included several mines, the most productive of which were called Champion, Helena, Musick, and Noonday. Gold, silver, and other valuable metals are found in a strip wide where the Western Cascades, old and deeply eroded, run west of and parallel to the younger volcanic peaks of the high Cascades. The strip includes five major mining districts: the Bohemia and Fall Creek in Lane County; the North Santiam in Clackamas and Marion counties; the Quartzville in Linn County, and the Blue River in Linn and Lane counties. The Bohemia mining district had its own post office for about 30 years. It was established in 1893 and shut down in 1922. The first postmaster was John B. McGee. The surrounding community, ''Bohemia City'', included houses, saloons, and a hotel, all depending on provisions from Cottage Grove.

References

{{reflist Mining in Oregon Geography of Lane County, Oregon