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 (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Near

Bohemia Mountain Bohemia Mountain is a mountain in the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon, within the Umpqua National Forest. Its elevation is . A trail traverses the mountain and leads to the summit. There is a location east of the trail's end where on a ...

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 or Old Cascades are a sub-province of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon, between the Willamette Valley and the High Cascades. The Western Cascades contain many extinct shield volcanoes, cinder cones and lava flows ...

. 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, James "Bohemia" Johnson, originally from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

in central Europe, found

lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fracture (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from th ...

gold at higher elevations nearby. 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 Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

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 Mining districts in North America

See also

References