Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of California: A History & Guide

by Remi Nadeau

Book by Nadeau, Remi A.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

324 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1965

About the author

With a bachelor's degree in history from Stanford and a PHD in history from UC Santa Barbara, Nadeau combines authentic story-telling, drawn from thorough research, with a highly readable literary style.

Reviews

[Maria Zieno Aebi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and very detailed accounts of the times in California during the Gold Rush. Humorous throughout. I was not as interested in that many tales of that many towns, but I loved reading about the towns we recently visited on our Gold rush tour on Route 49. But, if you can't get enough, this is the book for you.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tourist guide to ghost towns that's a bit out of date with muddy black and white photos. Also includes a bit of local history.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes forget why California is called "The Golden State" or why the Cantonese name for California is "Gold Mountain" - it turns out prospectors found a ton (excuse me tons) of gold in the Sierra Madre mountains and deserts of the future state of California. In fact the world's known gold reserves would double as a result of the gold discovered/mined in this state. Remi Nadeau is a charming writer and brings a 1950's nostalgia to the California Gold Rush of 1849. Nadeau brought to life such wildcat gold camps as Nevada City, Volcano, Frenchman Flats, Calico, and Skidoo. A fun and quick read.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of California" is an entertaining history of the Gold Rush towns and mining camps in California based on letters, journals, newspapers, and more. The stories were mainly from 1848 to 1856, though he'd briefly tell the rest of the town's history if it lasted beyond that. The author gave a brief history of the gold rush and then shared amusing tales about what life was like in each of the main camps and towns. The stories included Christmas balls, racial clashes, and tales of local robbers. He also described what the towns looked like, how & why that changed, and what's left of them (even the smallest ones) now. He included black and white photographs of the towns, digs, and miners as well as maps and information on what's left of each camp or town today and how to find them.

The book didn't really describe how the mining was done but focused on the towns and social interactions. It's an entertaining read for anyone remotely interested in the subject, but it'd also be a great research resource for authors who want to set their novel during the Gold Rush. This is also a good book for anyone who'd like to track down the old mining camps and towns, though the information given in my 1965 version is probably a bit dated.

[Lyndsey Silveira]

Informative, I'll admit that I skimmed over certain parts but it's actually a pretty entertaining book.