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Lowell Hill was a mining town located on the ridge between Steephollow Creek and the Bear River, about 10 miles east of Nevada City and about 4 miles north of Alta, as the crow flies. It was part of Little York Township and the center of what was generally called the Lowell Hill mining district, a rich channel of gold bearing ore that ran from around Remington Hill to the north down to the Bear River and then crossed over towards Dutch Flat and Alta.[1]

Lowell Hill
Former settlement
Lowell Hill Location in California
Coordinates: 39°15′57″N 120°47′42″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada County
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)

Early History

Lowell Hill was established In the early 1850s. It received its name from early settlers George and J. M. Lowell.[2] In 1853, an observer noted that "Lowell Hill, about ten miles up the ridge from Little York, is growing into a place of importance. Several stores have been opened this season and filled with goods. Miners are using the water from the Little York ditch, just introduced, and getting good results, Our informant who is an old settler in that region says the miners there are a very independent race of men and are generally abstinent from intoxicating liquors."[3]

The town prospered from the middle 1850s through the early 1870s. During that time, it became the principal town in the Lowell Hill mining district, with a population of several hundred. It had stores, saloons, a hotel and stable,[4] a blacksmith,[5] a laundry[6] and sawmills. It was connected by stage to Nevada City and points between.[7] The Towle Bros. logging railroad brought the town supplies.[8] The Lowell Hill election district cast 52 votes in the 1864 presidential election.[9]

The Lowell Hill school district was created in 1861 with 76 students.[10] In 1864, the Board of Supervisors consolidated the school districts of Little York, Liberty Hill and Lowell Hill, at the request of area residents. The school house was located midway between Liberty Hill and Lowell Hill.[11] The school continued well into the 20th century.[12]

Mining

For a long time, mining drove the town's economy. An 1854 newspaper report noted that the Lowell Hill mines were doing well, paying $10-$20 "to the hand per day."[13] Because the gold around Lowell Hill lay buried under hard, cemented clay and gravel, most mining was by drifting.[14] Drifting involved tunneling laterally into the gold bearing areas and then blasting with powder to break them up before washing the debris to retrieve the gold. There was little hydraulic mining around Lowell Hill, though that increased as improved water ditches brought more water to the area with adequate pressure to break up the cemented ground. The principal drift mines were the Planet, the Steep Hollow, the Morgan and the Swamp Angel. The Swamp Angel owned 226 acres and employed 40 to 60 men. The Morgan owned 300 acres and employed 75-100 men.[15]

The area was also noted for the presence of large gold-bearing rocks and boulders. One of the largest, weighing almost 7 pounds, contained 3 pounds and 7 ounces of pure gold.[16]

Ups and Downs

The 1870s saw a decline in prosperity, perhaps associated with the general depression which followed the Panic of 1873.[17]^{[circular reference]} A newspaper described the town as "once a thriving mining town with a population of several hundred people, containing a store, a hotel and several saloons. Its business to-day consists of a boarding house and saloon combined, owned and kept by John Regan. The town may properly be denominated as a finished one. The music of the saw and hammer does not echo through the deep canons as it once did; yet it may some of these days wake up from its Rip Van Winkle sleep and open into a new life."[18]

The paper's prediction came true, as the late 1870s saw a revival, largely due to a new spurt of mining development, often associated with changes of ownership and new infusions of capital.[19] The Planet and the Swamp Angel extended their drifting tunnels to about 2000 feet, opening up new veins of gold-bearing ore.[20] One indication of this boom is the establishment in 1878 of a post office which served the mining district. Charles Eastin, who owned a general store, was the first postmaster.[21] Alexander Drynan succeeded him as postmaster in 1886, and served until the post office was discontinued in 1918.[22] After 1878, the town was connected by telephone to Dutch Flat.[23] The Union reported that "Lowell Hill appears to be in a more prosperous condition than for years past. About seventy-five men are employed drifting in the various claims, and about $5,600 paid for labor monthly. A pretty good showing for a population of 250 to 300."[24]

Lumbering and Agriculture

Lumbering and agriculture also sustained Lowell Hill. The virgin pine forests which many early observers admired soon attracted the timber industry. Locally, lumber was milled to shore up the tunnels in the drift mines. In the early 1860s, the Towle Bros. built a narrow gauge railroad which ran from their base north of Alta to mining camps on the Washington Ridge. A spur stopped close to Lowell Hill, where the Towles had a logging camp. Logs were hauled out of the area to be used, among other things, for mining timber and for railroad ties used in building the Transcontinental Railroad.[25]

Settlers quickly realized the suitability of the land around Lowell Hill for agriculture, especially apple orchards. The Levee Bros. had one of the principal orchards, growing seven varieties of apples, as well as tomatoes and beans.[26] Another grower, William Keskey, produced apples reportedly weighing 1 1/2 lbs. each.[27] The Sacramento Union opined that "Lowell Hill has always been noted for its fine fruit, and as an apple-producer it certainly cannot be excelled."[28]

Later History

In 1876, farmers around Wheatland, the confluence of the Bear and Sacramento rivers, led by James Keyes, filed a lawsuit to restrain the dumping of mining debris into the Bear River, claiming the debris was ruining their farmland. The suit bounced around state and federal courts for many years. After Judge Sawyer issued his famous injunction in the Yuba River case, he issued a similar ruling in the Bear River case.[29] Because there were no hydraulic mines at Lowell Hill, the injunction did not affect it to the degree that it doomed towns that were tied principally to hydraulic mining, such as neighboring Liberty Hill.

Gold mining continued to keep Lowell Hill alive well into the 20th century. The town got a further boost from PG&E‘s efforts to build dams and electrical power lines in the area.[30] Still, the town began to decline. The post office was closed in 1918, and residents had to use the Dutch Flat post office.[31] Only 13 votes were cast in the 1916 presidential election.[32] Today, Lowell Hill is in a remote part of the Tahoe National Forest not readily accessible except by a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The road to the townsite is barred by a gate. Some of the old homes in the general area are still standing. None of the principal mines are believed to be active and there are no readily visible remains of the tow

References

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