Welcome to Western Mining History. My goal for this site is to document the historical, social, and political landscape of the American West through a study of its mining heritage. This is a huge and ongoing project. I currently have over 2000 images in the database and expect to add many more in the near future. I hope you find this site as informative and enjoyable to view as it was for me to create.
Town profiles have been added for Columbia, California; Fiddletown, California; Murphys, California; Volcano, California
I have scanned and uploaded 24 images from postcards and prints I've had lying around for a while.
I have finished scanning the entire book "Placer Examination - Principles and Practice" - a BLM publication:
Placer Examination - Principles and Practice with Glossary of Placers Terms
I Finally finished integrating the USGS mines place name coordinate database into Western Mining History. You can see the result here:
Database of Mines
I have setup a Facebook fan page here:
Click here to visit the Western Mining History fan page at Facebook
Town profiles have been added for Belmont, Nevada; Dayton, Nevada; Gold Hill, Nevada; Gold Hill, Nevada; Silver City, Nevada; Bodie, California
Latest Blog
- Images of America: Austin Nevada
- 4 new mining towns added to the database
- FAQ: Why are so many towns missing?
- Update 24 New Historical Photos
- Excerpt from the book “The Gold Rush” by Frank Lewis
- Update - Placer Examination - Principles and Practice
- Big Update - Database of Mines!
- 6 new mining towns & Facebook fan page
Featured Town
Articles
- Mining Towns Profiled: 104
- Mines Profiled: 29,598
- Total Images: 3,708