Near Oroville in Butte County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Cherokee

Photographed by Karen Key, April 8, 2006

1. Cherokee Marker

Inscription.

Cherokee. . Led from Indian Territory by their New England schoolmaster, a band of young Cherokee Argonauts discovered gold here 1850. Town established 1853 when first stores erected by Welsh miners. During heyday of 1875, Cherokee boasted its own theatre, race track, and brewery; 2 churches, 3 lodges, 8 hotels, 17 saloons, and a population over 1,000. , First diamonds in U.S. discovered here 1858. Hundreds found since. Largest weighing 6 carats. , Site of world's greatest hydraulic gold mine, the Spring Valley, a consolidation of smaller claims comprising 26,000 acres, 100 miles of tunnel and canal, 9 miles of sluice box, 11 reservoirs, 18 monitors, world-famous inverted flume, and the 40-mile "Cherokee Strip" to impound tailings. Over 300 men employed day and night. Illumined by brilliant arc lights, gold production exceeded 15-million dollars. , President Rutherford B. Hayes and General W. T. Sherman toured workings 1880. Thomas Edison, W. R. Vanderbilt, and Vice President T. A. Hendricks held interests here. , Notable pioneers included Louis Glass, Mine Secretary and Telegraph Agent 1871-89; and Gardner F. Williams, Mine Superintendent 1880-84. Glass pioneered the telephone industry of California, serving as director and vice president, Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. 1889-1919. Williams subsequently sailed for South Africa, where he and Cecil Rhodes amalgamated renowned Kimberley Diamond Mines into DeBeers Consolidated, which he managed 19 years. , , Dedicated at the dawn of a new era, June 11, 1967, , Plaque placed by California Heritage Council, in cooperation with the Cherokee Nation, DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co., Butte County Historical Society, and Mr. and Mrs. James Lenhoff. Orator of the day: A. Gardner Williams, honored dignitaries: Governor Ronald Reagan, Chief W.W. Neeler, James G. Nisbey, Herbert Hoover III, Mattie R. Lund. , Monument erected from native Placer specimens, diamond ore from South Africa, and memorial stones from Cherokee Capitol and Hale Seminary, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Ken L. Brockman, Mason.

Led from Indian Territory by their New England schoolmaster, a band of young Cherokee Argonauts discovered gold here 1850. Town established 1853 when first stores erected by Welsh miners. During heyday of 1875, Cherokee boasted its own theatre, race track, and brewery; 2 churches, 3 lodges, 8 hotels, 17 saloons, and a population over 1,000.

First diamonds in U.S. discovered here 1858. Hundreds found since. Largest weighing 6 carats.

Site of world's greatest hydraulic gold mine, the Spring Valley, a consolidation of smaller claims comprising 26,000 acres, 100 miles of tunnel and canal, 9 miles of sluice box, 11 reservoirs, 18 monitors, world-famous inverted flume, and the 40-mile "Cherokee Strip" to impound tailings. Over 300 men employed day and night. Illumined by brilliant arc lights, gold production exceeded 15-million dollars.

President Rutherford B. Hayes and General W. T. Sherman toured workings 1880. Thomas Edison, W. R. Vanderbilt, and Vice President T. A. Hendricks held interests here.

Notable pioneers included Louis Glass, Mine Secretary and Telegraph Agent 1871-89; and Gardner F. Williams, Mine Superintendent 1880-84. Glass pioneered the telephone industry of California, serving as director and vice president, Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. 1889-1919. Williams subsequently sailed for

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South Africa, where he and Cecil Rhodes amalgamated renowned Kimberley Diamond Mines into DeBeers Consolidated, which he managed 19 years.

—Dedicated at the dawn of a new era, June 11, 1967—

Plaque placed by California Heritage Council, in cooperation with the Cherokee Nation, DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., Butte County Historical Society, and Mr. & Mrs. James Lenhoff. Orator of the day: A. Gardner Williams, honored dignitaries: Governor Ronald Reagan, Chief W.W. Neeler, James G. Nisbey, Herbert Hoover III, Mattie R. Lund.

Monument erected from native Placer specimens, diamond ore from South Africa, and memorial stones from Cherokee Capitol and Hale Seminary, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Ken L. Brockman, Mason.

Erected 1967 by California Heritage Council.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Natural Resources • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #40 Ronald Reagan series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1823.

Location. 39° 38.767′ N, 121° 32.312′ W. Marker is near Oroville, California, in Butte County. It is on Cherokee Road 1½ miles east of North General Sherman Way, on the

Hydraulic mining at Cherokee, California ca. 1880s image. Click for full size.

via Western Mining History, c/ 1880s

2. Hydraulic mining at Cherokee, California ca. 1880s

left when traveling north. It is across the street from the Cherokee Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4226 Cherokee Road, Oroville CA 95965, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Sacramento Valley

and specifically in the Central Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: 1879 Site of Messilla Valley School (approx. 2½ miles away); Nelsons Bar (approx. 3.7 miles away); Oregon City (approx. 3.7 miles away); Oregon City Cemetery (approx. 3.9 miles away); Yankee Hill (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oroville.

Also see . . . Cherokee, California. Western Mining History website entry (Submitted on May 19, 2026, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Karen Key, April 8, 2006

3. Cherokee Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2006, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 7,061 times since then and 116 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 9, 2006, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. 2. submitted on May 19, 2026, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3. submitted on April 9, 2006, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.