MORRISTOWN

NAME: Morristown COUNTY: Sierra ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Snow in winter, hot in winter, lots of pine trees BEST TIME TO VISIT: May or June through first heavy snow fall

COMMENTS: Start in Downieville on Hwy 49 west to Indian Valley road, paved for first 11 miles then a good dirt road for another 20 miles. Town is all gone, but a few brick walls of old buildings. Total population in the 1880's was about 300. They did hydraulic and tunneling to mine the gold. REMAINS: A few brick walls, some pipes and heavy wire, watch-out for the big hole just west of the flat ground.

Town started in the 1860's and lasted until about 1905, they mined gold by way of washing the mountain side, when there was no water they would make tunnels in the mountain sides, and some hard rock minning, they had a fire in the 1880's wiped out the town and they rebuilt the town using some basalit columns from devils hill. here are many small towns in the area. Poverty Hill, Scales Diggings, Port Wine, Hepsidam, La Porte and many others. Read "Over North in Sierra County" by James Sinnott, for much more information about Sierra County during their Gold rush. Submitted by: Bill Mardon

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