Dog Town, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dog Town
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Site of Dog Town
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 Dog Town
Location in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Mono County |
| Elevation | 7,057 ft (2,151 m) |
| Reference #: | 792 |
Dog Town, also known as Dogtown, is a ghost town in Mono County, California. It was once a busy place during the California Gold Rush. Today, it's a quiet reminder of those exciting times.
You can find Dog Town near Dog Creek. It is close to where Clearwater and Virginia Creeks meet. The town is about 6 miles (10 km) south-southeast of Bridgeport. It sits high up, at an elevation of 7,057 feet (2,151 meters).
Contents
Discovering Gold: Dog Town's Beginning
Dog Town started around 1857. A man named Carl Norst set up a placer mining camp there. Placer mining is a way to find gold by washing it out of sand or gravel.
By 1859, more miners, including a group of Mormons, arrived. This led to a small mining camp growing quickly. Dog Town became the first place where people rushed for gold on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Miners came here after hearing exciting stories about gold near Mono Lake. A small camp and trading center quickly appeared. Dog Town helped draw attention to the whole area. This led to even richer gold discoveries nearby. Towns like Bodie, Aurora, and Masonic soon became famous.
Why the Name "Dog Town"?
The name "Dog Town" has a couple of interesting stories behind it. Miners often used this name for camps where life was very tough. It came from a common term for camps made of simple huts. What's left today are a cemetery and ruins of these makeshift homes. This is why it's also called "Dogtown Diggings."
Another story says the town got its name from the many dogs living there. The tale goes that a woman arrived with three dogs. These dogs had puppies, and the woman sold them to lonely male miners for pinches of gold. This led to even more puppies being born and filling the town. So, the name Dog Town stuck!
Mining for Gold: Success and Challenges
Dog Town was home to an amazing discovery. The largest gold nugget ever found on the Sierra's eastern slope came from here. However, the town didn't produce a huge amount of gold overall.
Within a few years, many miners left Dog Town. They were looking for places with more gold. A more successful town called Monoville was booming nearby. It grew to have about 700 people.
In its busiest time, from 1849 into the early 1900s, Dog Town was also a big hydraulic mining camp. Hydraulic mining uses powerful jets of water to wash away hillsides. Hundreds of men used giant hoses with strong nozzles. They washed down huge mountain slopes to find gold.
Dog Town Today
As of 2005, not much is left of Dog Town. You can still see the walls of some stone huts. There are also a few old roof timbers and one gravesite. Sadly, some of the ruins have been mildly damaged by people.
All that remains are scattered building foundations and a few wooden structures that are about to fall apart. Nearby ranches and a few newer homes now sit where the busy mining camp once was.
Even today, some people still search for gold in Dog Town. The older miners might have given up, but new prospectors believe there's still gold hidden in those hills and old digging sites.
Dog Town is recognized as a California Historical Landmark. A special plaque marks its location by U.S. Highway 395. You can find the ruins and the plaque on Highway 395 at mile marker 69.5, which is about 7 miles south of Bridgeport.
Gallery
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The California Historical Marker plaque for Dog Town
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Ruins of a stone hut
