June 2022 Big Bear Today Magazine

Page 6—June 2022
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 selfguided
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 the area was home to Belleville,
the largest mining town that sprang up in
Holcomb Valley during Southern
California’s largest gold rush. 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
Belleville on
Gold Fever Trail;
Hangman’s Tree
and inside the
cabin
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 prospectors
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
Big Bear Today
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 diggings
just down the path from the building.
Ore was crushed in the middle with a
post-and-stone setup powered by donkey
or mule walking endlessly in a circle. Slow
and tedious to be sure—it took four hours
to crush a decent pile of ore—but there
were a hundred such arrarastres in operation
during the heyday.
Ross’ Grave is unique in that no one
really knows why somebody bothered to
bury him in the first place, given the frantic
mining town pace. Apparently he was
accidentally killed cutting down a tree and
a picket fence was built around the grave.
Vandals and souvenir seekers have done a
number on the site.
Pygmy Cabin Site aroused curiousity
for years with its 6 ft. ceiling and 4 ft. door.
The point is moot now because fire and
scavengers have reduced the remains down
to original stone chimney and cabin footprint.
Still worth seeing, and the 900-foot
trail to the site is stunning.
Metzger Mine is an underground
horizontal passage dug out by miners still
visible today. Duck under the quartz ledge
and enter the mine remnants, provided you
Continued on page 7