EXPLORE FURTHER

Red Dog, You Bet, Malakoff, Empire Mine, Idaho Maryland, North Star, Lola Montez, Brett Hart, and Mark Twain: these words inspire excitement, in-trigue, and curiosity about the gold rush to California. During my years as an educator, I have shared an enthusiasm for teaching students about our local history with my colleagues. This community project provided hands-on experiences that involved students while they learned the history and geography of Nevada County. The outcome of student participation included publishing a book of Community Treasures for Thomas Bros. Maps Educational Foundation and developing a web site about Our Town using state-of-the-art technologies. The book will be on display at the California State Capitol in Sacramento in conjunction with the California State Sesquicentennial celebration this coming year. At a later date, Thomas Bros. Maps Educational Foundation will take the books on a tour of the United States on horseback along the old Pony Express Routes to share California communities with other children.

During this Sesquicentennial year, marking 150 years since the gold rush to California, it is appropriate to write about our local history. Students conducted research at libraries, museums, city offices, Nevada County Historical Society, and The Union Newspaper. They examined diaries, books, documents, archives, photographs, newspaper articles, and artwork. Cooperative teams also worked in partnership with local businesses and residents who were directed by common goals. Many parents, community members, and businesses offered information and assistance (see Resources). This project could not have been completed without their generosity and help.

Fifth grade students and high school mentors met one day a week after school for an enrichment class. They formed cooperative teams and selected subject areas to study. Each team made appointments to interview and videotape local people and historical experts. They included.

• Norman Wilson Ph.D. - noted anthropologist and Native American authority for the Smithsonian Institute
• David Beasley Ph.D.- college professor, historian, and author
• John Christiansen - President of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Association
• Harry Stewart – Mayor of Nevada City during l998
• Priscilla Vanderpas - President of the Nevada County Historical Society
• Mike Miller- president of the Original Sixteen to One Mine
• A 90 year old senior citizen and nun from Mt. St. Mary's
• Ed Tyson – historian, the Nevada County Historical Library

The interviews were a valuable experience that provided interesting information and oral histories. Some of the people also visited the school and shared information. The Cornish choir performed an assembly of traditional Cornish Christmas carols at our school. Mike Miller, President of the Sixteen to One Gold Mine, visited the classroom and talked about hard rock mining and shared the 18-pound gold specimen called the Whopper. The class photographed an object QTVR of the Whopper, which you can locate in the Mining section of our site. John Church, educational director for the local community accesses cable TV videotaped a program about the project. Harry Stewart, the mayor, also visited the classroom for an interview. Students made presentations to the Nevada County Historical Society and the Nevada County City Council. During the City Council meeting they made a proposal to establish a monument that would honor contributions made by the Chinese people who had resided in Nevada City during the gold rush years.

The class took several field trips and visited many historic sites. Students noted geographic locations on the maps furnished by Thomas Bros. Maps. The trips included: The Chinese Cemetery, Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, California State Railroad Museum, and Ford Theater, located in Old Sacramento. One of the highlights included a field trip to an operating gold mine called the Original Sixteen to One Mine located near the town of Alleghany, California. Parents drove into a sudden and unexpected snowstorm to reach their final destination. Touring the mine was a marvelous experience for everyone. Parents also transported students to Empire Mine State Park, Malakoff Diggins State Park, Mt. St.Mary's Academy, and many other historical sites included in the Web site.

Students used technology and the writing process to complete their final reports. They compared, contrasted, and integrated the continuity and changes of history that resulted from the gold rush to Nevada City and Grass Valley. There were many joys and surprises, which resulted from completing this project. Some of the hardships included the inclement weather El Nino brought, times when the Internet lines were very slow or not working, weak video camera batteries, and film that would run out at the most inopportune times. The web page information and scanned photos had to be saved on Zip drives and delivered to Rich Webster, our web mentor and businessman who helped us complete the Web pages on our Apple Macintosh Computers.

The highlight for everyone was the trip to the Original Sixteen-to-One Gold Mine where the Whopper had been discovered. Students learned as they set goals, used cooperation, worked hard, and experienced history. They also gained a sense of pride while they worked as team members with the parents and community who made everything possible.

Plans for the future include showing a live on-line presentation of the Web site to the Nevada County Historical Society. The projects sponsored by Computer Learning Foundation, Thomas Bros. Maps, and Apple Computers helped to bring the community and schools closer together. The Web site can now be used as a teaching tool where kids and teachers can learn about Our Town’s rich gold rush history.

We hope you enjoy our Web site. The best compliment you can give us is to recommend the site to someone else.

C. Mendenhall
Teacher