Sageland (formerly, El Dorado Camp) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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 compris ...

. 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 Claraville (formerly, Kelso and Clarasillo) is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It ...

. 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 t ...

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

Havilah Havilah () refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; one is mentioned in Genesis 2:10–11, while the other is mentioned in the Generations of Noah (Genesis 10:7). In Genesis 2:10–11, Havilah is associated with the Garden ...

, 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 2020 census, the population was 9,080. Its county seat is Ely. The name "(Rocky Mountain) white pine" is an old ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, 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 . The area was the site of a large village of

Kawaiisu The Kawaiisu Nation (pronounced: "ka-wai-ah-soo") are a tribe of indigenous people of California in the United States. The Kawaiisu Nation is the only treatied tribe in California, Ratified Treaty (No. 256), 9 Stat. 984, Dec. 30, 1849. This Tr ...

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