STEDMAN(BAGDAD CHASE)
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STEDMAN(BAGDAD CHASE) |
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NAME: Stedman(Bagdad Chase) COUNTY: San Bernandino County ROADS: 2WD GRID: 2 CLIMATE: Cool in winter/Hot in summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: Fall/Winter |
COMMENTS: To get to this site take the I-40 to Ludlow and then turn off at a dirt near the old cemetery by the railroad tracks. It's located about 10 or 11 miles down the road. Nice scenic location with quite a few mines left, although most like death traps. Oddly enough when entering the site you see a trailer that looks as if it had a bomb dropped on it. Inside it lies a stove, which is to my best probaly used for some type of illegal activities. Your guess is as good as mine. Great article on Stedman. REMAINS: A few mines and crumbling buildings. |
| This site was founded by a Sante Fe Railroad road master, John Suter, who in 1898 found gold here while looking for water. He claimed the site naming it Bagdad and later sold it for $100,000. The site went through a few name changes, first called Rochester(the majority of the mine's board were Stedman family members from Rochester, New York.), then Stedman, and even Bagdad for the deep mine that's located just south of town. However Stedman was chosen when officals pointed out there already was a Rochester in the county. The owners built a mill on the Mojave River at Barstow as well as an 8-mile railroad south from the Sante FE tracks at Ludlow, the Ludlow and Southern. Even when the Panic of 1907 closed over half the mines in California and Nevada, the Bagdad stood firm for more than 10 years, ultimately it produced half the recorded gold in San Bernandino County. Eventually operations became less profitable and the eastern owners sold their holdings, and the mine went into recievership. In the mid-1930s, the railroad was sold and the track shipped to the Philippines. Some buildings still remain in Stedman after vandals set fire to the site. Submitted by: Nick Walrath |
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