TITLE: Cargo Muchacho Mining District Aerial Photographs
DATE RANGE: 1980 (bulk)
CALL NUMBER: Y-PC 5
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: .75 linear feet (2 boxes)
PROVENANCE: Unknown donor.
COPYRIGHT: Unknown.
RESTRICTIONS: This collection is unrestricted.
CREDIT LINE: Cargo Muchacho Mining District Aerial Photographs, Y-PC 5, Yuma County Library District
PROCESSED BY: Linda Whitaker, January 2016
HISTORICAL NOTE: This district covers an extensive area in the Cargo Muchacho
(“Loaded Boy”) Mountains in southeastern Imperial County, California. It also includes Tumco or Hedges mining district. The Spaniards first mined this area in 1780s. It is believed that this was the first gold mined in California. Copper and silver have also been recovered. After the Mexican War in 1848, American miners arrived and by 1877 when the Southern Pacific Railroad to Yuma was completed, mining became firmly established. Large-scale mining flourished from 1890-1916, 1932-1941 and intermittently since then. Mines include: American Boy, American Girl, Big Bear, Blossom, Butterfly, Cargo Muchacho, Coffee Pot, Colorado, Desert King, Golden Cross,
Golden Queen, Guadaloupe, Little Bear, Madre and Padres, Ogilby group, Sovereign, Vitrafax, and White Cap. Source: Gold Districts of California, Bulletin 193 California Division of Mines and Geology, 1976.
http://www.westernmininghistgory.com/articles/482/page1 accessed 1-25-2016.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: The bulk of the photos were taken in a 1980 high altitude survey for the Hercules Mining Company. It includes a photo index and property map titled “Hercules Lode and Placer Claims.” Arranged in original order and interleaved with acid-free bond paper. Historical and Geological Background added to provide context.
CONTAINER LIST:
Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
1 | 1 | Historical and Geological Background | 1976, 1996 |
2 |
“High Altitude Photo Coverage, Color & Obliques” |
1972, 1981 | |
3 | Aerials: “Line 1 001-021” | 1980 | |
4 | Aerials: “Line 2 022-039” | 1980 | |
5 | Aerials: “Line 3 040-069” | 1980 | |
6 | Aerials: “Line 4 070-090” | 1980 | |
7 | Aerials: “Line 5 091-125” | 1980 | |
2 | 1 | Aerials: “Line 6 126-148” | 1980 |
2 | Aerials: “Line 7 149-180” | 1980 | |
3 | Aerials: “Line 8 181-208” | 1980 | |
4 | Aerials: “Line 9 209-241” (227, 229, 231 missing) | 1980 |