Picacho, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Picacho
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 Picacho
Location in California
Picacho
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Imperial County |
| Elevation | 203 ft (62 m) |
| Official name: Picacho Mines | |
| Reference #: | 193 |
Picacho is a historic place in Imperial County, California. Its name means "Big Peak" in Spanish. It is located on the Colorado River. Picacho was once a busy gold mining town. Today, it is known as a ghost town. This means most people have left, and it is no longer a lively place.
The original town of Picacho is now under the Imperial Reservoir. However, you can still see parts of the old ore mills above the water. The area is inside the Picacho State Recreation Area. This historic site is officially recognized as California Historical Landmark #193.
Contents
History of Picacho
People might have started looking for placer gold here as early as 1780. This was when Spaniards were in the area. The gold rush really started in the early 1860s. A prospector named Jose Maria Mendivil found gold veins in the nearby hills.
At first, miners used a method called "dry placering." There was not enough water for regular gold panning. Dry placering involved shoveling sand onto a blanket. Miners would shake the blanket. The heavier gold particles would stay behind. A single blanket full of sand could yield a lot of gold back then.
Town Life and Growth
Mendivil helped create the townsite, first called Rio. It was soon renamed Picacho. At its busiest, Picacho had about 2,500 people. The town had three stores and three elementary schools. There were also many saloons.
Steamboats of the Colorado River connected Picacho to other mining towns. Besides mining, people worked on stages or as ranchers. Many also cut wood in the desert. This wood was used to fuel the boilers of the steamboats.
Mining Operations
The ruins of the Neahr Stamp Mill are still visible today. This large building was built in 1877-1878. It was made from hand-cut stone. David Neahr, a businessman, made the mill bigger. He used it to crush ore from Mendivil's Apache Claim. Neahr bought more claims. However, his manager stole money, and Neahr went bankrupt. Other owners tried to run the mill, but it was never very successful.
Later, Stephen A. Dorsey started the California King Gold Mines Co. He built a large stamp mill. A narrow gauge railroad carried ore from the mines to the mill. The best years for gold production were 1904 to 1906. Dorsey then left with his profits. At its peak, the mine employed 700 men.
Decline of the Town
Around 1910, the quality of the gold ore started to decline. There were also accidents at the mill. These problems caused most of the organized mining to stop. In 1938, the Imperial Dam was built. The lake behind the dam flooded what was left of the original town.
A post office operated in Picacho from 1894 to 1926. It then moved away.
Picacho in Fiction
Picacho was the setting for a novel by Zane Grey. His 1923 book was called Wanderer of the Wasteland. This book was later made into a silent film.
California Historical Landmark
Picacho is recognized as California Historical Landmark number 193. The landmark sign says:
- NO. 193 PICACHO MINES - Opened by placer miners after 1852, the gold mines expanded into hard rock quarrying by 1872. Picacho employed 700 miners at its peak from 1895 to 1900. Mill accidents, low ore quality, and the loss of cheap river transport with the building of Laguna Dam led to numerous periods of inactivity. With ores far from worked out, the Picacho Mines, using modern techniques, again resumed operations in 1984.
