Blue Tent, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blue Tent
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Mining community
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Ice Harvesting on Rock Creek near Blue Tent
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Township | Nevada |
| Population
(1860)
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| • Total | 300 |
Blue Tent was a historic gold mining town in the 1800s. It was located about six miles northeast of Nevada City, California.
You can find its approximate spot where N. Bloomfield Road and Blue Tent School Road meet today. It was part of the larger Nevada Township area.
Contents
Blue Tent's Gold Rush Story
Blue Tent was built on an old river bed that held lots of gold. This gold channel stretched from the San Juan Ridge through other towns like Scotts Flat and Hunt's Hill, California.
How Blue Tent Started
Blue Tent was founded in 1850. It got its name from its very first building, which was a tent made of blue denim fabric. The town quickly grew and became a major spot for hydraulic mining. This is a type of mining that uses powerful jets of water to wash away hillsides and find gold.
Soon, Blue Tent had many buildings. There was a store, a dance hall, a blacksmith shop, and a place for miners to stay. A church was also built in 1861.
Life in the Mining Town
Blue Tent also supplied goods to other, more distant mines. Supplies were sent out by pack train (animals carrying goods). In 1853, a stagecoach line started. This connected Blue Tent to Nevada City, California and Downieville, California.
We don't have exact numbers for how many people lived there. But in the 1860 election, 60 votes were cast for Abraham Lincoln, 15 for Stephen A. Douglas, and 33 for John C. Breckinridge. This suggests that between 300 and 500 people lived in Blue Tent at that time.
Blue Tent School Days
A school opened in Blue Tent in 1868. By 1879, the school had 37 students and one female teacher. The school building was first near N. Bloomfield Road. In 1892, it moved to its current spot on Blue Tent School Road. The school stayed open until 1961, though it sometimes closed if there was no teacher.
The Chinese Community
Blue Tent also had its own "Chinatown." This area was located near a lime kiln about two miles south of the Yuba River. More than 500 Chinese workers, mostly miners, lived there. This community eventually became smaller over time.
Modern Connections and Fun
In 1878, Blue Tent got connected to the world's first long-distance telephone line. This line linked mining towns around the San Juan Ridge. A US Post Office opened in 1878, but it closed in 1889.
For fun, people in Blue Tent enjoyed ice skating when the town's reservoir froze. They also had horse races and dances. Some people even tried Hydrotherapy (water treatment) from a local lady.
Other Businesses in Blue Tent
While known for hydraulic mining, other types of mining also happened. For example, drift mining involved digging tunnels into hills to find gold. One time, miners used a huge amount of black powder to blast a tunnel.
Hydraulic mining needed a lot of water. A ditch was built in 1857 to bring water from Rock Creek. It was made much bigger in 1860 to help the growing mines.
Mining also needed wood. Several sawmills were built in the area starting in 1857. There was also a charcoal pit, which made charcoal often used as a fuel.
The ditch and its reservoir led to another business: Ice cutting. In 1867, a company started harvesting large blocks of ice. They shipped this ice all over California. Ice harvesting continued until at least 1910. Blue Tent also had a lime kiln, which made a type of mortar used in building.
Hydraulic mining was most popular in the 1870s. The main mine, the Blue Tent Gold Mining Company, made a lot of gold in 1873. Between 1874 and 1876, another company spent a lot of money building a long ditch to bring water from the South Yuba River. By 1880, this ditch was 30 miles long.
The End of Hydraulic Mining
Like other towns that relied on hydraulic mining, Blue Tent began to decline after a major court decision in 1884. This decision, called the Sawyer decision, stopped mining companies from dumping their waste into rivers. This waste was harming farms downstream. By the early 1890s, the main Blue Tent mine had closed.
The mine was later operated as a drift mine until 1906. In 1907, it reopened for hydraulic mining again, but miners soon went on strike for an eight-hour workday. The mine closed in 1916. About a year later, a fire destroyed its large stamp mill, which was used to crush ore.
There were other attempts to restart mining. In 1914, the road to Nevada City was improved to help. There were also discoveries of rich ore at other mines. Some people tried to restart hydraulic mining, even trying to find ways to contain the mining waste. However, these efforts did not seem to succeed.
Farming in Blue Tent
As mining slowed down in Blue Tent, farming became more important. Two well-known families in the area were the Arbogasts and the Brindejohns. Jacob Arbogast came to Nevada County around 1860 and first mined for gold. He then bought land and started farming. His son, John Peter, took over the farm and made it even bigger and more successful.
The Brindejohn family came from Brittany in France around 1864. Louis Brindejohn bought a large amount of land and farmed it. His three sons attended the Blue Tent school and worked together to manage the family farm.
Blue Tent Today
Today, the Blue Tent area is mostly a quiet, rural place where people live. The most important reminder of the old mining town is the Blue Tent school building. It is still in the same spot where it was moved in 1892, but it is now a private home.
