Great Sierra Mine Historic Site

Great Sierra Mine Historic Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Lee Vining, California
Coordinates	37°55′39″N 119°16′5″W / 37.92750°N 119.26806°W / 37.92750; -119.26806Coordinates: 37°55′39″N 119°16′5″W / 37.92750°N 119.26806°W / 37.92750; -119.26806
Built	1881
Architect	Great Sierra Consolidated Silver
Architectural style	No Style Listed
Governing body	National Park Service
NRHP Reference #	78000382
Added to NRHP	May 24, 1978[1]

The Great Sierra Mine Historic Site preserves the site of the largest mining operation in what would become Yosemite National Park. The mine was located on Tioga Hill on the crest and eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, one of several claims intended to work the Sheepherder silver lode. The Sheepherder lode was discovered in 1860, and rediscovereed by shepherd Thomas Brusky, Jr., who staked a number of claims in the area. In 1881 all of the claims were bought out by the Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Mining Company and established the company town of Dana. Due to the 11,000 foot altitude the town was soon relocated to the bottom of the hill at Bennettville.

After an adit was driven 1784 feet into the side of the hill at an expenditure of $300,000, operations were closed down in 1884. They resumed with modern equipment in 1933, but did not find the Sheepherder Lode, and operations ceased for good.

Today, five stone cabins, a powder house and a blacksmith shop remain. The shafts have collapsed or have been filled in.^[2]

References

Yosemite National Park Attractions Yosemite Valley Yosemite Village Hetch Hetchy Glacier Point Badger Pass Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Tuolumne Meadows Tioga Pass Wawona Tree Chilnualna Falls Valley attractions Half Dome Northwest Face Yosemite Falls El Capitan Films: El Capitan, To the Limit The Nose Bridalveil Fall Happy Isles Mirror Lake North Dome Vernal Fall Nevada Fall Little Yosemite Valley LeConte Lodge Bracebridge Dinner Yosemite Firefall Yosemite Valley Chapel Hiking trails Mist Trail McGurk Meadow Ostrander Lake Taft Point Sentinel Dome Alder Creek Mariposa Grove Wapama Falls Lembert Dome John Muir Trail People John Muir Stephen T. Mather Galen Clark Shelton Johnson Buffalo Soldiers Chief Tenaya Ahwahnechee people Lodging & Camping Yosemite Lodge at the Falls The Ahwahnee Camp Curry Wawona Hotel Housekeeping Camp High Sierra Camps Camp 4 Natural Disasters 1938 TWA Yosemite crash (crashed due to inclement weather) 1996 Yosemite Valley landslide 1997 Merced River flood 2013 Rim Wildfire Transportation Nearby airports FAT MPI MMH YARTS Route 140 Route 41 Route 120 Nearby Municipalities Foresta El Portal & Arch Rock Entrance Yosemite West & Chinquapin Wawona Bootjack Mariposa Briceburg Oakhurst Midpines Lee Vining Mammoth Merced Le Grand Chowchilla Additional Information History of the Yosemite area Geology of the Yosemite area National Register of Historic Places in Yosemite National Park List of waterfalls Yosemite Category California Portal