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The historic silver mining town Cerro Gordo after the 4,600' drive up at 8,200'

Noondueler > albums > The Alabama Hills and Cerro Gordo P...

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2 comments

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    • photo of stoneycreeks
    • In the early 1970's, Jody Stewart, a native of Inyo County, bought part ownership in the town from an uncle who was left as caretaker. The story, as Jody would tell it herself, was that she worked in Hollywood, for the game show Password, when her uncle called and asked for her help. She drove up the Yellow Grade Road in her sports car; I believe Jody said it was a Porsche. She climbed out of that car in her high heels and her fur coat, and her uncle took her around and told her about the Fat Hill. She fell in love with the place, and became a part of its history. In 1984, she took full ownership of the town and moved into the L.D. Gordon House. She restored the Belshaw House, and the bunk house for guests to stay in. The Beaudry General store was turned into a museum of original mining day artifacts, and the downstairs of the American Hotel was opened for occasional banquets and meals. The town is billed as the only bed and cook your own breakfast, ghost town in the world.

    • said stoneycreeks

    • 2008.05.25 at 11:23:56 PDT
    • photo of stoneycreeks
    • Cerro Gordo, Fat Hill, was discovered to be rich in silver deposits by a group of Mexican miners led by Pablo Flores. The year was 1865. By 1866, Victor Beaudry, a French Canadian, now a merchant at Fort Independence in Owens Valley, realized there were opportunities at the Cerro Gordo mining camp, and opened a general store on the mountain. He began acquiring mining properties in lieu of overdue accounts and by January of 1868 arranged with Pierre Desormeaux to build ore furnaces. By April of 1868, Beaudry acquired more properties which included the richest claims on the hill, the Union, the San Lucas, the San Felipe and more. By the early 1900's silver prices dropped, and the once booming Fat Hill was dying down. In 1910 L.D. Gordon began extracting zinc ore, and production was resuming once again. New deposits of silver were found in the mines, as well as lead. In the years that followed, buildings were refurbished, electricity came to town, and for a time the town continued on. As time passed mining ceased completely at Cerro Gordo. The town literally turned into a ghost town.

    • said stoneycreeks

    • 2008.05.25 at 11:23:22 PDT

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