History And Production — JOSEPHINE County

Source: Tom Ashworth's Prospectors Cache (tomashworth.com / Mike Higbee / 49erMike). Author: Tom Ashworth. Original page: josephine_or.shtml. State index: https://web.archive.org/web/20040830075749/http://www.tomashworth.com/goldloc.shtml Area: History and Production. Map coordinates are an approximate county centroid — not a precise claim site. Placer gold was discovered along the Illinois River at the mouth of Josephine Creek in 1850, and by 1911, most of the principal placer deposits in the county had been found and were being worked. Hydraulic methods were introduced as early as 1856 and proved to be very effective wherever the gravels were not cemented. Around the turn of the century, bucketline dredges and dragline excavators were introduced and proved to be effective along certain waterways. A number of small mining camps sprung up, some of which, like Waldo, can no longer be found. Josephine County is credited with 1,250,000 ounces of lode and placer gold production, but actual production figures are much higher. Much of the placer gold production has not been recorded. Some mining activity by small companies and individuals continues to this day.