Sageland (formerly, El Dorado Camp) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County comprise ...

. It is located near Kelso Creek west-northwest at the base of the

Piute Mountains The Piute Mountains are a mountain range located in the Eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California. Geography The range crosses Interstate 40 at Mountain Springs Summit, 2,770 feet abo ...

, at an elevation of . Quartz was discovered in the area in 1866 by miners from nearby Claraville. The New El Dorado Mining District was formed that year; the first mining settlement, El Dorado Camp, was renamed Sageland in 1867. By the spring of 1868, Sageland had become a

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

with a population of almost a thousand, complete with multiple saloons, a billiard room, hotel, two stage lines to

Havilah Havilah ( ''Ḥăwīlāh'') refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; the one mentioned in , while the other is mentioned in . Biblical mentions In one case, Havilah is associated with the Garden of Eden, that mentioned in ...

, and an opera house. Later that year, a silver rush occurred in

White Pine County White Pine County is a largely rural, mountain county along the central eastern boundary of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,030. Its county seat is Ely. The name "(Rocky Mountain) white pine" is an old ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, attracting legions of miners from Sageland and other California boom towns, an exodus known as 'White Pine Fever'. The St. John Mine closed in 1875 and by the next year, Sageland was essentially a ghost town. No structures remain from the original settlement, only fragments of stone walls. The area was the site of a large village of

Kawaiisu The Kawaiisu (pronounced: ″ka-wai-ah-soo″) are a Native Californian ethnic group in the United States who live in the Tehachapi Valley and to the north across the Tehachapi Pass in the southern Sierra Nevada, toward Lake Isabella and Walker ...

Indians. They were frequently accused of cattle rustling by white settlers, who would often retaliate mercilessly. Cup holes and pictographs are present in the vicinity.

References

Unincorporated communities in Kern County, California Populated places established in 1866 Unincorporated communities in California 1866 establishments in California {{KernCountyCA-geo-stub