Showing posts with label Mining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mining. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Photo by Foster, Tulare.  Circa 1895


An old image of Goshen, CA. Circa 1887.    The photographer is C.C. Curtis, from his Traver studio.
Written on the back: "This is our place of business that was burned. Post office, saloon and butcher shop. - Victor Colon. Goshen."   Victor Colon is listed as Goshen's postmaster between June 1886 and June 1888.   C.C. Curtis had his Traver photography studio from 1885, to May of 1888.
The writing and photographer's stamp, on the back of the Goshen photo:

A photo postcard image of Tulare High School girls basketball team, 1908.


From an old photo postcard, postmarked 11/9/1907.
It's an image of a magnesite mine, east of Porterville.


The studio stamp on this photograph states: "Robinson & Weishar, Holt Block, Visalia, Cal". Circa 1904.      On the back of the photo someone wrote "Elsie Chatten".      
Elsie Amelia Chatten (1889-1961) was the daughter of John Chatten and Celeste Reynolds, of Orosi.   She married Logan Joseph Lindley, in 1908, and they had four children.   In 1925, she married Arvid Roman.    Elsie and Arvid had one child, in 1930, a daughter named Karin.      Apparently after Arvid's death in 1937, Elsie could no longer take care of Karin.    Karin was adopted by her eldest half-sister and her sister's husband, Dorothy Lindley and Charles Smith.    Dorothy was 22 years older than her sister Karin. According to an online family history, Karin passed away in 2015, and she appears to have lived a very happy life.    Elsie was buried in the Visalia Cemetery, under the name Elsie A. Roma

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Below are images sold as being from the Visalia area.     They are by "Ansley".    I believe that they are by Frank S. Ansley of Visalia,  circa 1902.


A couple close-ups:







A couple close-ups:







(Update 7/22/21)  Many thanks to Joseph L. Noell,  who recognized this scene from one of his old family photos.     This is a family gathering at the Visalia home of  Norbourne Noell, in April 1902.   Norbourne owned the Visalia-Millwood Stage during this time period. 
Standing in the back row, from L to R:    George McClellan Noell, Judith A (Pierce) Noell,  Etta (Fly) Noell, Carl Milton Noell,  Walter Raleigh Kightlinger,  Cynthia Ann (Grubb) Kightlinger. 
Front row (L to R):   Louis Noell (with long hair and dress),  Avery Noell Roser,  Cornelia Jane "Jennie" (Noell) Roser,   Carol Roser (on Jennie's lap),  Julius Alden Noell,   Edith (Kightlinger) Noell - wife of Norbourne,   Dewey Noell (in front of his mother, Edith),   James Noell,  Norbourne Noell holding his son Myrle,  Edgar Roser,  Martha W. (Casey) Noell,  Martha Olivia Noell.


Close-up:









Close-up:


Close-up:


Close-up:







I did a blow-up image of the dog,  it looks an awful lot like one of the dogs in a Frank S. Ansley print I own  (Different angle, but many of the same markings on the dog).









Sunday, March 18, 2018

Photograph by Eschol M. Hammond, of Porterville.    It's an image of Porterville's  1922 Armistice Day parade.     This is the intersection of Main St. and Putnam Ave.    The Pioneer Hotel is in the background, with  Claubes' Drug Store on the hotel's first floor.    A car race on Main Street was held, as part of the celebration.    A few of the cars are visible here.    It looks like quite a few  men wore their WWI uniforms to the parade.
Close up:


From an old photo postcard.   It's postmarked "Portersville, Cal., 1911". 
 It's addressed to a Mrs. Thomas Pulford of Los Angeles.
The message written on the back of the postcard reads:   "Oct 21 -- Can you find me here?   We went thru this tunnel 1400ft on the little car.    I received your card & two packages of papers today: Thanks for sending them.       H. and I are thinking of going to Porterville this P.M.    I hope my pictures are good.   H. took this. ---- Bertha".
I'm guessing that this was the magnesite mine east of Porterville, that was owned by the Tulare Mining Company.    Several mining journals, of the period, state that this mine had a 1400 foot tunnel.    One journal, published in 1911, indicates that this tunnel was new... So I'm guessing some 'locals' were curious enough to check-out the new tunnel.
Close up:


Photo postcard, circa 1912.   Porterville's  First Congregational Church was built in 1908.   The church still stands today, with some modifications due to a fire.  i.e. The church was built with a gymnasium, auditorium and pool; these areas suffered damage from a fire in 1937; and were taken out.     
It is located on the SE corner of  Mill Ave. and 4th St.    It was added to the  National Register of Historic Places, in 1999.


An old photo postcard, circa 1910.     The photographer was Lindley Eddy.
This is an image of the Lemon Cove railroad depot with a Visalia Electric Railroad passenger car to the right.   These passenger cars were basically electric trolley cars. 


Postcard circa 1916.     This building housed Dinuba's branch of the Tulare County Library as well its  Chamber of Commerce.


Photo postcard, circa 1919.    Dr Shrodes was a physician and an inventor.

Thursday, April 3, 2014



White River, California
Photograph by:   "E. M. Davidson,  Visalia, Cal.".     The large piece of machinery in this photo is a  10-stamp mill.  There is no location on the photo but this might be at  White River, CA, circa 1889.         E.M. Davidson's Visalia studio existed around  the years of 1886 to 1894  (e.g. Davidson apparently moved to Woodland CA by September of 1894).
In an attempt to determine the location of the photo,   I've looked through some  mining literature to see if there were any 10-stamp mills near Visalia, during these years.   Fresno County had at least two of these mills in use between 1886-95,  i.e. One mill at the Abbey (McNally) mine and another at  the Last Chance mine.   And Tulare County had at least one mill of this type  at White River.
These particular stamp mills would have been used to help extract gold from the rocky ore.
The man sitting in this photo appears to be Asian.   Many 19th century miners in California were Chinese.
(Update 4/27/14)  I just realized that this photograph is in one of Annie R. Mitchell's books:  The Way it Was. (1976),  pg. 152.   The image in the book is reversed, and it has a fuller view of the stamp mill.   This is in fact at White River.  Mitchell's book identifies the man on the right  as David Bice James.   James is an important character in both Tulare and Kern Counties' histories,  e.g. Some credit him with starting the Kern River 'gold rush' of the 1850's.  (Article about David B. James:  PDF file)

 Photo postcard view of Porterville,  circa 1910.   This is at the corner of Putnam Ave. and Roche St.,  facing east.  The three closest homes here on the right side are still  at this location.   Notice the spelling of Portersville on this card, which was the spelling that the U.S. Postal Service used at this time.  "Putman" is apparently just a misspelling of Putnam.
The photograph is by John Bowers of Long Beach, CA.    Bowers produced photo postcards of scenes throughout California.    On  1/17/1911,  Bowers was shot to death by one of his employees, under a rather controversial set of circumstances.

 Close-up:
  Note the  horse drawn carriages on Putnam Ave. and the unpaved street.    


Photograph by S.W. Watrous of Visalia,  circa 1891.
   "Holt Block" refers to a large two-story building that was on the NW corner of Main and Court Streets.