The Desert Queen Mine in the
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
was one of the more long-lived gold mines of
Southern California's high desert region. The abandoned mine is located in
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
within the boundaries of the
Joshua Tree National Park and is included on the
National Register of Historic Places. A hiking trail leads to the mine.
The mine is associated with
Jim McHaney, a local cattle rustler, and Bill Keys, a noted rancher. The mine facilities are largely ruinous. The mine was not spectacularly successful but was sufficiently productive to remain in operation for nearly seventy-five years.
The mine itself consisted of several vertical and horizontal shafts, of which four vertical shafts, five inclined shafts, and ten horizontal
adits remain. Tailings piles appear in several places, with quantities of machinery scattered about the site.
The mine was established by a man named Frank L. James in the early 1890s. The rich ore initially found prompted local outlaw gang leader and cattle rustler Jim McHaney to take over the mine. McHaney sent two of his men, Charley Martin and a man named Myers, to demand the mine from James. James refused, and Martin shot and killed him with a gun borrowed from Myers, after forcing James to sign over the property. Martin was acquitted of murder charges on grounds of self-defense.
When the mine was first claimed by Jim McHaney, it was reported to be the Lost "Peg-Leg" mine
of prospector
Thomas Long "Pegleg" Smith.
McHaney initially prospered but borrowed heavily to expand and fell behind on payments to the bank, ultimately losing the mine. The mine passed into the hands of William F. Keys around 1917, who operated the mine until 1961.
See also
*
Cow Camp
Cow Camp, located in Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca ...
, home of the McHaney Gang
*
Keys Desert Queen Ranch
*
Wall Street Mill
The Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree National Park was a complete and operable gold ore crushing mill featuring late-19th century two- stamp mill machinery. Consequently, the significance encompasses the mill machinery, the building which houses i ...
References
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Landmarks of Riverside County, California
Mining in Riverside County, California
Colorado Desert
National Register of Historic Places in Joshua Tree National Park
Gold mines in California
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California
National Register of Historic Places in Riverside County, California
1894 establishments in California
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