Senator William McKendree Gwin's Forgotten Gold Mine
By
Sue Meinyer Rocha, Ed. D.
There has been an abundance of information written about William McKendree Gwin over the years, including the fact that he and John Fremont were California's first Senators. In spite of this abundance of information, there is very little written about Senator Gwin's residence in Calaveras County, California and his gold mine there. These little-known facts invoke the question about how William McKendree Gwin, a native of Mississippi, became the owner of a gold mine in Calaveras County, a remote area of Northern California.
In order to fully understand how William McKendree Gwin became an owner of a mine in California, it is necessary to understand a little bit about his background. William McKendree Gwin was the son of Reverend James Gwin and Mary Adair Gwin. He was named after Reverend William McKendree, the first Methodist bishop born in the United States, and a close friend of his father. Young William McKendree Gwin received a superior education. At the age of twenty-one, he passed the bar exam; however, he was a lawyer with a desire for additional education. At the age of twenty-three, he received a medical degree from Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky. Reverend James Gwin was best friends with President Andrew Jackson, and this friendship was extended to Reverend Gwin's sons. William McKendree Gwin became very active in politics, as a result of his father's friendship with President Andrew Jackson, even though he had a medical degree. He practiced medicine in Clinton, Mississippi; however, when tragedy struck and his first wife and 2 children died by 1833, due to a Malaria outbreak. He was so distraught at not being able to save his loved ones, he never practiced medicine again. At that point, President Andrew Jackson invited him to go to Washington D. C.; he became the President's personal secretary for several months. While under President Jackson's wing William McKendree Gwin learned the essential elements of political patronage. By late 1833, President Andrew Jackson appointed William McKendree Gwin as a United States Marshal in Mississippi, setting him up for stepping stones to further his political career. He was elected to the 27th Congress and served as a Representative from Mississippi from 1841-1843.
William McKendree Gwin married his second wife in 1837. He moved his family to San Francisco, California in 1849, which was at the beginning of the gold rush. He also moved to California with the desire to continue his political career. He participated in the 1849 California Constitutional Convention. He was elected as one of the first two Senators of the new state of California. He served as Senator from September 10, 1850-March 3, 1855. He was re-elected as Senator from 1857-1861. He continued to be involved in politics until the late 1860s.
During the time he was campaigning to be one of the first Senators of California, William McKendree Gwin visited Calaveras County, in Northern California. In 1850, Bayard Taylor, an American author and newspaper correspondent in California during the gold rush, met with William McKendree Gwin at the Lower Bar on the Mokelumne River, in Calaveras County, California. This meeting became an important event in William McKendree Gwin's life. As a result of this meeting, and retiring from politics, William McKendree Gwin returned to Lower Rich Gulch, in Calaveras County, California, 17 years after his initial meeting with Bayard Taylor, with the desire to enter into the mining industry in the area.
Gold was discovered in 1850 in the Rich Gulch in Calaveras County, California. The Paloma Mine was mined by Dr. Toland in 1853. The J. H. Alexander & Company developed the Paloma ledge, which included the location of the Paloma Mine. The Paloma Mine is located in the Paloma District, about 4 miles southwest of Mokelumne Hill, and one-mile northeast of what is now the town of Paloma, in Calaveras County, California. It was one of the first gold-quartz mines to be opened in California. It was originally prospected in 1850, when $100,000 period value was recovered from surface pockets. Soon after this, a 200-foot shaft was sunk, which produced additional ore. The mine was idle for many years, and then was purchased by William McKendree Gwin and his son in 1867. The name was changed to the Gwin Mine after it was purchased by William McKendree Gwin and the property was incorporated under the name of the Gwin Mining Company. It was one of the most profitable mines in Calaveras County; most of the gold produced in this area came from this mine. The mine was operated on a large scale from the 1860s through the 1870s. The 1870 Census shows William McKendree Gwin and his family residing in Calaveras County, California. It seems that during this period, the family was residing at their home near the Gwin Mine, and not just spending time there during the summer.
William McKendree Gwin earned millions of dollars from this mine. It is estimated that it produced an output of between 6-7 million dollars at the period gold values. There were two principal ore bodies within the main Gwin gold-quartz vein which produced the gold. William McKendree Gwin later purchased adjoining mines: Alexander and Smith claims. He consolidated these with the Gwin Mine under the Gwin Mining Company. At the peak, William McKendree Gwin's mining operations was comprised of the North Paloma claim, Gwin Mine, Gwin Mine Mill site, Alexander and Smith claims, Queen Consolidated, Boston Hill Placer, and Leonid Placer claims.
The 1880 Census shows that William McKendree was living at his residence in San Francisco, California. The mining operations in Calaveras County were shut down by William McKendree Gwin in 1882. This was probably due to William McKendree Gwin's advanced age. William McKendree Gwin died on September 3, 1885. After William McKendree Gwin's death, the Gwin Mine was sold several times, and currently is not an operational mine.
REFERENCES
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Gwin Mine (Paloma Mine: Gwin Extension No. 1 Mine), Paloma Mining District, Mother Lode Belt, Calaveras Co., California, USA. Retrieved from https://www.mindat.org/loc-8120.html.
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Tucker, W. B. (1914). Calaveras County, Gwin mine: California state mining bureau. 14th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist. p. 84-85.
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