Old Eureka Mine

Old Eureka Mine. Established 1852. The Old Eureka Mine was first opened in 1852 and comprised the Amador, Maxwell, Alpha, and Railroad claims. At various times it was known as the Hayward, Eureka, Hetty Green, Badger and Wolverine, and Amador Consolidated mines., One ore shoot encountered a vein of metallic gold as large as 3/8” thick, that was also struck in the adjoining Badger Mine, 1000 feet to the south. This is the only instance of a true vein of metallic gold, not disseminated gold, having been found in California., Alvinza Hayward, for whom the city of Hayward is named, acquired control of both the Old Eureka and Badger mines in 1859 and consolidated them under the Old Eureka Mine. He incorporated the mine, and sold shares of its stock, making the Eureka the first mine in California to be so incorporated., In 1866 it was reported that 30,000 tons of ore yielded $27 per ton at a working cost of $5 per ton, but by 1875 the ore was declining in quality. In 1886, after the mine had attained a depth of about 2000 feet and had produced about $16,000,000, it was closed and remained idle for a period of 30 years., Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street,” assumed control of the Old Eureka in 1902, but refused to operate or sell the property until 1916, when she finally sold out to a reconstituted Consolidated Amador Mining Company for $500,000., Consolidated spent another $200,000 to reopen and rehabilitate the mine. They deepened the shaft to 3500 feet and drifts were run north and south, but this exploration failed to reveal paying ore., All mining was shut down in 1942, but resumed in 1946, after the war. Due to increased costs, the mine finally closed in the early 1950s., The Jackson-Plymouth district was the most productive mining district of the Mother Lode belt, with an estimated total production of about $180 million., The mine is now owned by Jeff Campbell, the 2023/2024 President of Native Sons of the Golden West, Amador Parlor No. 17, and his wife, Jessie., Dedicated January 27, 2024 , Native Sons of the Golden West , George A. Adams, Grand President , and , Amador Parlor No. 17, Jeff Campbell, President.