The Sweet Vengeance Mine was a
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
*Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD''
See also
* ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith
*Gold mining
...
in
Browns Valley, California
Browns Valley (also, Brown's Valley) is an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California. Browns Valley is located northeast of Marysville and is near Collins Lake.
History
Before the establishment of the Browns Valley community, th ...
, discovered by
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
miners during the
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
. The mine was later owned and operated by a French company, which used one of the first
stamp mill
A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operatio ...
s in California there.
African American gold miners
The discovery of gold in 1848 and
California's declaration in 1849 that it intended to become a free state were catalysts for
free Blacks to migrate to California in search of gold.
After finding gold in Brown's Valley, six African American men organized the Sweet Vengeance mine company to work the claim. The partners included Gabriel Simms, Fritz James Vosburg, Abraham Freeman Holland,
Edward Duplex
Edward Parker Duplex (1830 – January 5, 1900) was an American entrepreneur, politician, and civil rights activist in California. He was the first Black mayor in California, elected to office in Wheatland in 1888, and was a leader in the ...
, James Cousins, and M. McGowan.
Moses Rodgers
Moses Logan Rodgers (1835–October 22, 1900) was an African American pioneer of California, arriving in 1849—the beginning of the California Gold Rush. California was annexed by the United States and was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fi ...
, an African American engineer and metallurgist whose services were highly in demand, also became a partner in the Sweet Vengeance Mine.
In 1919, historian
Delilah L. Beasley wrote, “Judging from the title, it would seem to indicate that they were bent on proving to the world that colored men were capable of conducting successfully a mining business, even in the pioneer days in California.”
Although there was an "atmosphere of equality" among miners,
in the competition for gold, there was also a tendency for White miners and claim jumpers to try to drive out non-Whites.
The Sweet Vengeance miners were subjected to repeated attempts to drive them away.
On one occasion, Vosburg was attacked by a gang of White claim jumpers, and stabbed their leader with a long knife.
reported that he had acted in self-defense.
The partners owned and operated the mine profitably through 1854.
According to the journal kept by Vosburg, Holland, and Simms, the Sweet Vengeance Mine was especially profitable between April and May 1852, when they noted that they had found "rich dirt".
The men went on to use their profits from the mine to become entrepreneurs.
Gabriel Simms opened the Franklin Hotel on First Street in
Marysville, Yuba County. Edward Duplex went on to open a barbershop and later became the first African American mayor in California.
Later history
The Sweet Vengeance Mine became known as a "big producer" in Browns Valley.
It was the site of one of the first stamp mills in California, installed by a French company.
The mine's previous owners were Spanish and had been milling using a
primitive arrastra.
In 1935, ''Engineering and Mining Journal'' reported that Aladdin Gold Mining had started
unwatering operations at the Sweet Vengeance Mine.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Vengeance Mine
California Gold Rush
History of Yuba County, California
African-American history of California
Gold mines in California