Big Bear Today Magazine June 2020

Page 8—June 2020
Big Bear Today
Fact, fiction meet in Holcomb Valley along Gold Fever Trail
F
act, fiction, and some good old Wild
West lore come to life along the
Gold Fever Trail, an 11-mile self-
guided driving tour of Holcomb Valley.
Here Big Bear first took root, not with
skiing or boating but mining. It happened
almost overnight after William “Bill”
Holcomb stumbled across the valley one
ridge north of Big Bear that now bears his
name, finding yellow flakes and igniting
Southern California’s largest gold rush.
Over $100 million in gold is estimated to
have been taken in subsequent decades,
and the mother lode was never found!
Not a lot remains of the onetime mining
hot spot, save for a few well-placed
logs that once were buildings and the remnants
of a couple mines. But a century-anda-half
ago Belleville, one of the mining
towns that sprang up in Holcomb Valley
during Southern California’s largest gold
rush, missing out on becoming San Bernardino
County seat by just two votes. The
famed Gold Mountain “Lucky Baldwin”
Mine operated into the 1940’s, and late Big
Bear historian Tom Core, who passed in
2006, recalled hearing the massive stamps
pounding ore when he was a youngster.
Mostly the 12-stop Gold Fever Trail
(turn off North Shore Dr. on Polique Canyon
Rd.) visits stunning scenery that those
who never leave Big Bear Valley proper
while they’re here don’t see. Building remains
are mostly representations of structures
found in the bygone era, but when
the wind rustles through the trees you can
almost hear the sounds of yesteryear.
Pick up a free driving map at Big Bear
Discovery Center, climb into a high-clearance
vehicle and get psyched for a bouncy
dirt road ride, and set out to explore this
spectacular landscape where many a miner
sought their fortune (passenger cars not
recommended for road’s current condition).
As an alternative rent a Jeep that you
drive for the journey from Big Bear Jeep
Experience at (909) 420-5828.
Holcomb View Trail is the first Gold
Fever stop. Bill found more than just meat
in early 1860 when he followed the blood
trail of a “monster” grizzly bear he’d
wounded past a quartz ledge...gold! Once
word got out prospectors flooded the area.
This first spot takes visitors a short
distance up to a point along Pacific Crest
Trail, popular today with hikers instead of
miners, many making their way from
Mexico to Canada or vice-versa as part of
a 2,650 mile journey. PCT runs from the
Mexican to Canadian borders and travels
through three states, mostly at high elevation,
through six National Parks and across
57 major
mountain
passes.
About 39
of its
miles are
in Big
Bear.
Last
Chance
Placer is
essentially
a
big hole
in the
ground;
here pros-
Belleville on
Gold Fever Trail;
Hangman’s Tree
and inside the
cabin
pectors dug down to within several feet of
bedrock, removing “pay dirt” that was
sluiced. Water came from snowmelt in
manmade earthen ponds like the one a
short distance away. In 1860 some three
pounds of gold was taken in this area each
day, around $27,000 in current valuations.
Two Gun Bill’s Saloon is next on the
tour, really just a few rotting logs stacked
together, and not a watering hole originally
to begin with. This clapboard cabin was
believed to actually be a Valley Gold Co.
office, where the first telephone line came
into the Valley. The saloon by this name
some 1.5 miles west of this location,
ground zero for debauchery of all kinds.
Hangman’s Tree is also debatable,
with the real one thought to be just a stump
remnant to the east. No doubt it looked like
this one though, with branches cut off each
time justice was carried out. Which was
often; some 50 murders were quickly recorded
in Holcomb Valley the first two
years after gold was found, with up to four
outlaws swinging from a noose at one time.
Claim jumping, election fixing, Holcomb
Valley had it all in its heyday.
Belleville was a thriving little town in
this beautiful meadow, but through the
years wood and metal was removed from
buildings for scrap and souvenir hunters
took away what was left. The lone log
structure seen now was moved here and is
representative of the past.
Arrastres marks gold ore grinder dig-
Continued on page 9
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