It was a temperature inversion of sorts; over 100 degrees Fahrenheit at my home in the Rancho Cucamonga area, and only 90 degrees in the desert! Indeed, this was a great day to pay another visit to the Alvord Mine!
Like many old mines, the Alvord Mine was named for a person. In this case, one Charles Alvord, a prospector in the area, who, in 1860, came across manganese ore in which gold was embedded. His partners, laughing at him, ignored his discovery, because he was inexperienced (i.e. a "tenderfoot"), and because they were looking for the fabled "Lost Gunsight" silver mine, anyway.. Well, that's one version of events. Another version has him finding the gold by himself and then keeping the find from his partners. Either way, Alvord's sample was assayed, and it did, in fact contain gold. What's more, is that Alvord's sample was more valuable than any of the other samples obtained during the expedition.
From here, things get a little murky. For, as with many mine stories, the discoverer was unable to re- locate the site.
More to come...
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