Four Wheeling Into History The El Paso Mountains - Part III...... The Vanished Town of Goler.

After looking around the inside of the Edith E. Cabin, we drove on.  There wasn't really that much to see inside the cabin- it was virtually empty.  There is room for several people in sleeping bags to spend the night here.  Personally, I'd rather sleep outside under the stars, but the cabin does provide shelter against the elements.

About a mile past the Edith E. site, we came into the old town of Goler.  Well, actually, it used to be a town.  Long ago.

Ther year was 1867.  A blacksmith/wagon maker by the name of John Goler was on his way from Death Valley to Los Angeles.  He stopped in the El Paso Mountains for a drink of water.  And, I don't mean water of the bottled variety.  Goler was drinking from a spring, when he supposedly noticed some gold nuggets lying on the ground.  Fearing hostile Indians, and figuring that there was a lot more gold in the area, Goler kept moving.  His plan was to return at another time, and he stuck his rifle in the ground in order mark the spot.  Why a man who was afraid of hostile Indians would abandon his rifle is any one's guess. 

At any rate, Goler did return to the El Paso's several times with another prospector by the name of Grant Cuddeback.  They did find gold elsewhere, but they were never able to find Goler's spring, nor his rifle.  Still, Goler never forgot about his "lost" gold.  He went off on his search again - alone, this time- and disappeared into the mists of history.

Although Goler never found his "lost" gold, others flocked to the area that Goler initially explored.  In fact, gold was ultimately found in the area that is now known as "Goler Gulch".  By 1893, several hundred people were living in and near Goler Gulch; several saloons and a school were built.  Sadly, there wasn't enough gold to support the town for very long, and today, all that can be seen of Goler, as we drove the 1/2 mile past the Edith E. site are some dugouts, a few crumbling foundations, and a few sections of rusty pipe scattered about.

A piece of history....during its heyday, the town of Goler

featured a school and several saloons.

Photo by Scott Schwartz. All rights reserved.

One of the few remnants of the town that is recoginzable

as having once been a building...

Photo by Scott Schwartz All rights reserved.

Virtually nothing remains of Goler...the author

drove his Jeep Cherokee where horse, or mule-drawn wagons once tread!

Photo by Scott Schwartz.  All rights reserved.

To be continued...