MANCHESTER

NAME: Manchester COUNTY: Monterey ROADS: 4WD GRID: 2 CLIMATE: Cool in summer, really cold in winter BEST TIME TO VISIT: summer

COMMENTS: Honor all "No Trespassing" signs, and there is much hazardous terrain. REMAINS: Gaping jaws of ancient tunnels, hulking remains of stamp mills, neglected steam engines, and gracefully curving ore bucket tracks are still visible to those who care to look.

Ever since David Douglas (The man noted for discovering the Douglas Fir) gave the first cry for gold in teh Santa Lucia Mountains, men have trecking there to mine for it. Still, records were not really kept untin the early 1850's, during the boom of gold mining in California. In 1875 and organization meeting was held at the New Year Company's claim. Old-time miner, H.C. Dodge was elected chairman, A.C. Frazier was the choice as secretary and W.T. Cruikshank was given the distinction of being the first recorder of claims. They called this organization the Los Burros Mining District. "The small town of Manchester suddenly found itself with a record population of 350 people. A hotel, two general stores, a barber shop, a restaurant, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a one-room school, mess halls, bunkhouses, a number of cabins, a small cemetery, and of course, a dance hall and a number of saloons made in the town. Today the town of manchester is truly a ghost of the past-often referred to as 'The Lost City of the Santa Lucias'. One old timer still living in the are accurately commentd, 'There's nothing left but a field of oats!' He then continued with a tale of how this came to be. 'One cold winter night, way back in the nineties, two miners living in a bunkhouse stoked the wood burner a little too full. Before they knew it, things got mighty hot. Not only did the bunkhouse go, but the whole damned town went along with it.'" Info taken from "Monterey's Motherlode" By Randall A. Reinstedt Submitted by: Barbara Swihart

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