Virginia, California - Historic Mining Camp

William Porter Jones wrote three letters while living in Virginia, California 1860-1861.    These letters provide a rare view of the life of a placer miner:  "I am mining and I now regard my prospects as better than they ever have been since I came here.  I have always had money to get what I needed and now I have a good claim and I owe no man in California a cent but have money owing to me.  My claim has paid better than I expected.  I have only been washing for three weeks and have done well - the expense of opening my claim has been great therefore I have saved but little but now I am ready to save what I take out of it so you see I am in fine spirits...I am still 'hoisting grit' some days making several dimes and others but precious few."  These excerpts express the optimism of a young man seeking his fortune while acknowledging the harsh realities of a placer miner.

Virginia was a placer mining camp located along the Aurora Ravine, about 20 miles south of Grass Valley.  While the town of Virginia did not survive, the site is located about half-way between Lincoln and Auburn.  It is interesting to note that most modern roads follow the alignment of the roads shown on the historic map dated 1892.

The William Porter Jones letters are housed in the Sharlot Hall Archives:
http://sharlot.org/archives/manuscripts/personal/Jones_William.pdf

Testimonial Letter

I received this letter from Joyce Sackett, thanking me for my historic research and song-writing work.  Joyce is the great-niece of William Porter Jones, the subject of my song, "A Miner's Letter Home":
"The first I heard of Robert Gibney was that he had seen the donation of letters...at the Sharlot Hall Museum.  My message said that he had written a song about our Great-Uncle, William Porter Jones, who was massacred by Indians in 1864 in Prescott.  In Bob's exploring of mining in the territory, he was drawn to the story described in the letters.  Bob came to meet my husband and me in Sun Lakes.  He had many photos of where the events occurred and sang as Uncle Will had expressed himself as he wrote home to his family (in Missouri).
A friend and I went to the 2012 Glendale Arizona Folk & Heritage Festival as Bob sang and told stories of the miners.  We were pleased to see that descendants of other miners came to see him.  Bob has a passion to explore Arizona history and to share it in song and story.  Also his passion includes remembering the miners and their contribution to Arizona history.  My sister and I are so pleased to share our heritage with others who want to understand the past." - May 2012

John Townsend Ranch - Then And Now

My research about John Townsend continues.  My prior blog posts include a short account of Townsend's life in Arizona, a description of his last day, and a historic survey map showing the location of the Townsend Ranch.  19th century newspaper articles and personal letters are very unclear about geographic locations.  It was common to refer to well-known ranches (i.e. Woolsey, Boggs, Townsend) as though everyone knew their location.   

Based on the available evidence (the historic photo in the Sharlot Hall Archives, historic descriptions of the area, and the historic survey map in my prior blog post), I set out to explore the Townsend ranch site and take a modern photo of the ranch.  The basalt cliff in the historic photo was an important visual clue to aid in my search.

Thanks to Cliff Hersted, the Archaeologist at Arcosanti, I was able to take the photo shown below which matches the location of the historic photo.  The experience of visiting the Townsend Ranch site brings to life the many stories of Townsend's life:  

• the rich farm land along the banks of the Agua Fria River was a natural location for Townsend to fulfill his contract to provide grain and hay to the troops Fort Verde
• Townsend accepted the inherent risks of settling away from the safety of Fort Whipple
• The Townsend Ranch encroached on the established Indian trails, water holes, and hunting lands
• Dripping Springs, the site of Townsend's death, is located four miles to the southwest.

Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival - March 24-25 - UPDATE

It is a memorable experience when a song really connects with the audience.  Two families who attended my performance at the Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival had a special connection to my songs.  Joyce Sackett is the great-niece of William Porter Jones, the subject of "A Miner's Letter Home".  "Uncle Will" left his parent's home in Missouri in 1858 at the age of 21 to search for gold out west.  William Jones spent the next six years prospecting and corresponding with his family and friends back home.  My song traces his experiences in the gold fields of Colorado, California, Nevada, and Arizona.  He was among the first group of prospectors to stake a claim along Lynx Creek in the winter of 1863.  His adventurous life was cut short in June, 1864 when he was ambushed by Apache braves while travelling along Big Bug Creek.

Three sisters of Onofre "Taffy" Tafoya attended to hear my newest song, "Los Mineros", which is based on Taffy's successful 40-year career working in the San Manuel Mine.  Mr. Tafoya wrote two books about his experiences in the mine:  "Los Mineros" and "Mother Magma".  Mr. Tafoya is proud of all that he accomplished during his working years.  His books recognize the contributions made by all of his co-workers toward the safe and productive record in the San Manuel Mine.

Thanks to everyone for making this such a memorable experience for me.

Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival - March 24-25

The City of Glendale is holding its annual Folk & Heritage Festival this weekend (March 24-25) at Sahuaro Ranch Park.  It is a free event full of original and traditional folk songs and workshops.  

I am scheduled to lead a workshop in historic and mining songs on Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00 at "Gilligan's Island".  I will perform my original songs about Arizona history and mining on Sunday from 1:30 to 2:00 on the Library Patio.

9802 N. 59th Ave.

Glendale Arizona 85302

Phone: (623) 930-4200

Here is link to the Sahuaro Ranch website:

http://www.glendaleaz.com/SRPHA/index.cfm

Here is a link to the schedule:

http://www.glendaleaz.com/ParksandRecreation/documents/Folk-HeritageSchedule.pdf

Photos from the Apache Leap Mining Festival, Superior, Arizona

Here are some photos from my performance at the Apache Leap Mining Festival in Superior on March 10.  The festival included mining skills demonstrations and entertainment from local performers celebrating Arizona's rich heritage.  I was pleased to perform my new song, "Los Mineros", in honor of my special guest, Taffy Tafoya and his family.  The song is inspired by two books written by Mr. Tafoya, "Mother Magma" and "Los Mineros", which describe his successful 38-year career in the San Manuel Mine.  The lyrics of "Los Mineros" pay tribute to the important role of Mexican miners throughout Arizona history:  "My name is Onofre Tafoya.  I worked forty years underground.  Like many who have come before me, Los Mineros will always be found."

Taffy and his wife Allison were joined by family and friends to hear the debut of "Los Mineros". 

Apache Leap Mining Festival - March 10-11 - Superior, Arizona

The Town of Superior is hosting the 24th Annual Apache Leap Mining Festival this weekend - March 10 and 11.  Miners will demonstrate traditional skills (drilling, mucking, spiking, and sawing) and compete for cash prizes.  There will be a variety of entertainment throughout the weekend.  I will perform my mining and history songs on Saturday from 5-6.  I can't think of a better venue for celebrating Arizona's rich mining heritage.