The Pokerville Mine
On the ancient bed of the Consumnes River in Amador County,
California there was a mining camp in the early 1850's called
Puckerville by some, but mostly Pokerville and Poker Camp (likely
after the miner's gaming habits). It was recorded as Puckerville on
the County map of 1866, but today it is known as Plymouth, the
current site of the Amador County Fair!
The Pokerville Mine
at the Amador County Fairgrounds was created to display
some of the methods and equipment that were used for
hard rock gold mining after the
California Gold Rush. A full-sized working
wood headframe from one of the many hundreds of small mines is
depicted. An old time gas engine hauls an ore bucket filled with ore
up from the mine shaft which typically was
put through a crusher, and then was fed into the working rotary stamp mill for further processing.
The Straub Rotary Stamp Mill
William Barton Straub moved to California in 1900 and founded the
Empire Foundry Company of Oakland in 1903. In 1909, he founded the
Straub Manufacturing Company of Oakland, California, and was
president of both companies. Straub Manufacturing specialized in
building mining machinery such as the Straub Rotary Stamp Mill, grinding
mills and gold dredges. The Pokerville Mine Straub 10 Stamp Mill
seen operating in the above video had a 5 ton
capacity, and was likely manufactured between 1909-1933. It was used
in a local mine and donated to the Fairgrounds.
It was installed in 2003.
In 2010, the Pokerville Mine had a
famous visitor. Huell Howser, creator of the PBS series
"California's Gold" and his film crew visited the Amador Fair, and
had a "Great Old Time" at the Sawmill and Pokerville Mine exhibits.
"Truly a big part of California's Gold"!
photo: 2010 L-R Huell Howser, Bob Wolin in front of the Pokerville
Mine
Ore Crusher and Engines
The Pokerville Mine gives local early gasoline engine collectors a chance to bring their pride and joy to the Fair and operate a gold mine! Several engines are required to run the mill, a jaw crusher, and the ore bucket up and down the shaft. A fun time for all!
Head Frame, Hoist and Ore Bucket
The Pokerville Mine headframe was constructed in early 2001, and has been repaired and oiled on a regular basis to maintain and preserve it. The workings are powered by both flat belts and a rope belt system. Future plans include building a roof over a good part of the structure to protect the stamp mill and other machinery. Most stamp mills were actually in buildings to protect both machinery and men from the weather.