Black Star Canyon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black Star Canyon |
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Black Star Canyon Road, at the mouth of the canyon
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| Location | Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County, California |
| Official name: Black Star Canyon Indian Village Site | |
| Reference no. | 217 |
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Black Star Canyon is a wild and beautiful mountain canyon located in the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California. It's a part of the Santa Ana River watershed. Many people love to visit Black Star Canyon for mountain biking and hiking because of its amazing natural views. This area is also a California Historical Landmark because of the ancient village of Puhú.
Contents
History of Black Star Canyon
The Tongva People
Black Star Canyon is very important to historians because it tells us a lot about the daily lives of the Tongva-Gabrieliño people. They were the native people who lived in this area long ago.
The Tongva often came to the mountains in the summer. They were looking for cooler weather and for acorns, which were a main part of their diet. The canyon had many large oak trees, making it a great place to find acorns.
It's likely that the Tongva settlement, located in the upper part of the canyon, was used only during certain times of the year. This ancient village site is now known as California Historical Landmark number 217. The Tongva people had to be careful because there were many grizzly bears in the Santa Ana Mountains.
The village of Puhú was a big home for the Tongva, Acjachemen, Payómkawichum, and Serrano people in the area. In 1831, a historical event happened here.
An early settler named J. E. "Judge" Pleasants shared a story about a battle. He said it was between American fur trappers, led by William Wolfskill, and a group of Tongva Indians.
The story of the battle, the bloodiest in the history of the Santa Ana Mountains, was told seventy years ago by William Wolfskill to J. E. Pleasants, and was repeated to us by Mr. Pleasants. The Indians were very fond of horseflesh. Ranchos were lacking in means of defense in the days when the missions were breaking up and Indians from the mountains and desert used to have no trouble in stealing herds of horses from the Spaniards. A party of trappers came across from New Mexico in 1831. Their long rifles and evident daring offered to the troubled dons a solution to their horse-stealing difficulties. Americans were not any too welcome in the Mexican pueblo of Los Angeles, and it was with a desire to please the Spaniards [Mexicans] in this foreign land a long way from the United States that the American trappers agreed to run down the Indian horsethieves.
The trail of the stolen band of horses was followed across the Santa Ana River, eastward through what is now Villa Park and up the Santiago Canyon to the mouth of Canyon de los Indios... Here, the trail turned into mountain fastnesses, into the unknown mountains, covered heavily with brush. With every turn a favorable spot for ambush, the frontiersmen made their way carefully. The trail took the men up a steep mountainside, and, after two or three hours of climbing there was laid out before them a little valley with grassy slopes and hillsides [today called Hidden Ranch], upon which horses were quietly grazing. Smoke was coming from fires in the age-old campground of the Indians at the lower end of the valley. The Indians were feasting on juicy horseflesh. Perhaps it was the crack of a long rifle, the staggering of a mortally wounded Indian that gave the natives their first warning of the presence of an enemy. Among the oaks and boulders an unequal battle was fought. There were no better marksmen on earth than these trappers. They had killed buffalo. They had fought the Comanche and Apache. They were a hardy, fearless lot, else they would not have made their way across the hundreds of miles of unknown mountain and desert that laid between New Mexico and California. The Indians were armed with a few old Spanish blunderbuss muskets and with bows and arrows.
The battle was soon over. Leaving their dead behind them, the Indians who escaped the bullets of the trappers scrambled down the side of the gorge and disappeared in the oaks and brush. Of those who had begun the fight, but a few got away. The stolen horses were quickly rounded up. Some of them were animals stolen months before. The herd was driven down the trail to the Santiago and a day or two later, the horses were delivered to their owners. In the battle, not one of the frontiersmen was wounded.
More recent studies have looked closely at this event. They suggest it was a communal massacre. New research has also shown that some parts of the old story might not be completely accurate. For example, the idea that the villagers were eating horse meat was a common story told by Spanish officials at the time. However, scientific tests of the village's ancient trash piles show no signs of horse or other European animal remains. This means the Tongva people likely did not eat horses.
Spanish, Mexican, and Early American Times
When the Spanish and later the Mexicans ruled the area, the canyon was called Cañada de los Indios, which means "Canyon of the Indians." Much of the land to the west was part of a large Mexican land grant called "Rancho Lomas de Santiago" (Ranch of Saint James' Hills).
This ranch later belonged to a pioneer named William Wolfskill, and then to James Irvine. In the late 1880s, it became part of the Cleveland National Forest.
The canyon got its current name, Black Star Canyon, in 1879. This happened when August Witte found coal deposits there and started the Black Star Coal Mining Company. The coal was first dug from a shallow pit near the canyon's entrance.
About six to ten tons of coal were dug out each day from the mine's 900 feet of tunnels. Mule teams then carried the coal by wagon to Anaheim or Los Angeles.
However, it was later discovered that the mine was actually on land belonging to the Irvine Ranch, not government land. James Irvine lost interest in the mine and sold it back to its original owners, which ended its chances of making a profit.
Later, the Santa Clara Mine took over from the Black Star mining operation. This new mine was more successful and supported the town of Carbondale, which used to be at the mouth of Silverado Canyon. The AT&SF Railroad eventually took over this mine.
Because of the 1831 conflict between the trappers and Native Americans, many urban legends say the mine is haunted today. The mine operated on and off until it finally closed in the early 1900s.
Black Star Canyon Park
You can still find signs of the old Black Star mining operation in the canyon. There are rusted mining tools, old mine shafts, and piles of coal scattered around.
In the early 1920s, the United States Forest Service built a road up Black Star Canyon. This road made it easier for hikers to explore the upper parts of the canyon. Today, you can still access the upper canyon in the Cleveland National Forest through a county path. However, Orange County officials do not maintain this road.
The lower part of the canyon, along Black Star Canyon Road, is owned by OC Parks. This area is open for special programs only, which are managed by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. This part of the canyon is also a National Natural Landmark, known as the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. You can find a list of programs on the Landmarks' website.
At the beginning of the canyon, there are signs saying the road is private. This is partly true because the lower part of the road is privately maintained. However, the county and the forest service have a public right-of-passage on the road, which they have had for many decades.
