Joe Walker Town, California
Joe Walker Town | |
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Coordinates: 35°25′20″N 118°29′35″W / 35.42222°N 118.49306°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Kern County |
Joe Walker Town is a former settlement in Kern County, California.[1] It was located in the Walker Basin near Joe Walker Mine.[1] The place was named after Joe Walker (as was the mine and basin).[1] At least 100 single miners lived in the town, along with 12 families.[2] The town largely existed to support operations at the Joe Walker Mine.[3]
Joe Walker Mine
The Joe Walker gold mine was founded on 20 March 1866 by Hamp Williams, father of another Hamp Williams who discovered silver at Randsburg. Williams sold the mine for $2,000 to investors who could properly equip it. A 20-stamp mill was hauled in from San Francisco. The mine quickly proved to be one of the most profitable in the area, netting $12,000 in six days and a total production over its lifetime of $600,000. However, the mine began to flood faster than it could be pumped out, despite a Cornish engine being shipped in from England.[3]
After several changes of ownership and attempts to restart operations, ending with senator
References
- ^ ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ Powers, Bob. High Country Communities, p. 35 (1999)
- ^ a b c Eugene Burmeister, "Little mountain valley through the years...little has changed: Walker Basin", The Fence Post, January 2013.