Jesus Maria Town, circa 1900
About 20 minutes from where I live in Calaveras County, California, just Southeast of Mokelumne Hill along the very winding Jesus Maris Road, you can find all that's left of the 1850s mining town of Jesus Maria. It's a ghost town, and while there's not much as far as ruins go, who knows what can be found there.
The people who followed the miners during gold and silver rushes were there to supply goods, food, and transporting. Blacksmiths were essential because they forged and mended heavy mining tools, picks, drills, and shod horses. Carpenters built headframes, stamp mills, ore chutes, and all sorts of buildings from boarding houses to saloons to outhouses. Assayers were essential to test metal content and purity of extracted rock samples. Machinists and mechanics were needed to repair broken steam engines, pumps, and stamp-mill machinery.
Many saw business opportunities, so from merchants and store owners, we saw businesses selling shovels, pans, clothing, and tents. And yes, the miners were gouged by high prices. Boarding house operators and cooks provided meals and places to sleep in crowded boomtowns. Packers and freighters used teams of horses, mules, and oxen, some even used wild burros to haul heavy mining equipment and food into remote camps. And yes, Jesus Maria is a remote area. That was part of the reason that farmers and ranchers bringing in fresh vegetables, meat, and grain to sell to the mining camps were so welcome.
With the rapid influx of miners from all over the world, besides the boarding houses, livery stables, stores, as well as other essentials to civilization, Jesus Maria saw the building of saloons, gambling houses, and deadly "fandango" dance halls.
It's said that visiting an 1850s California fandango required you to oil your revolver cylinder and check your caps before entering due to the high likelihood of violence. There are all sorts of documented instances of altercations at local fandangos. It was routine for there to be stabbings, sudden gunfights, or even lawmen attacked and killed. And frankly, from what I've read in the way of newspaper reports, trouble in fandango dance halls would flare over just about anything. In some cases, prospectors and aggressive miners pushed their luck over the limited selection of dancing partners, claims, or what they believed was their honor.
Settled in the early 1850s, Jesus Maria almost immediately developed a reputation for violence, robbery, and murder. Because of the absence of legal authority, vice and violence thrived in mining camps. To add to the "diverse cultural tensions" going on, there were the saloon keepers who partnered with crooked gamblers, and prostitutes to take the miners' hard-earned cash. To exploit the massive male population of isolated miners, a wave of gamblers, sex workers, and outlaws poured into the mining camps, fundamentally shaping the region's frontier society.
LETTER FROM JESUS MARIA,
Jesus Maria, March 20, 1857. Mr. Editor: —Miners in this locality are doing well, making from four to fifteen dollars per day. On Wednesday last, the company of Oren, Plum & Foley, on Boston Hat, in ground-sluicing, picked up thirty-five ounces and twelve dollars; and on Thursday they set their sluices, and worked two hours and a half and washed out ninety ounces and three dollars. Dr. Hosier, visited the claim this morning, and thinks from the appearance, that they will be able to take out two hundred ounces today. This Flat has long been worked, with fair success, and the discovery of this rich deposit will give a new impetus to mining in this locality, and cause many a vigorous arm to strike with redoubled energy for the hidden treasure in the hills around this Camp. Money is plentier than it has been for two years, and times more lively; and equally as much shootings and knifings among the Chileano race. R. A. Wiggens & Co., on Saturday last washed out twelve ounces. Willmot & Pardner, washed out six ounces and four dollars on Monday last; these claims are on Jesus Maria Gulch. Should you think the above mining news worthy a place in your paper, I may write again. I), p [Write again, it is just such news, from working miners, that wc want.— Editor.']
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Among the groups to prosper during the California Gold Rush were the Italian immigrants who arrived in California during that time. Unlike many who were there to get rich and leave, Italians came to California to establish a permanent presence in Calaveras County. With hard work and diligence, it was only a relative few years after their first arrival, that Italians were bringing their families to the area. In fact, many Italians in the area were known to move away from gold mining and instead turned to agricultural pursuits early on. They ended up supplying vegetables and fruit to miners and working in service industries.
Records show that by 1854, there were stores, butcher shops, saloons, liveries, blacksmiths, dairies, at least one winery, hotels, restaurants, and farms established in the Jesus Maria area. Some notables in the area were the Ratto & Co’s. Italian Store, John Garnier’s Hotel de France, Francis Dauphine’s Vineyard, Joseph Gayon’s store, John Mandis’ Saloon, Mathews & Holmes Livery Stable, John Solari’s Store, the Boston Flat Ranch (BF-7), Louis Dulac's French Restaurant, Catherine Fischer's butcher shop, Thomas Phillips Livery & Trading post, and Harry Sing had a wash house. Yes, there was a very large French population there.
Of course, many of those enterprises were started by Italians who arrived with nothing other than a willingness to work hard and prevail. While the 1850 census for California listed relatively few Italians, that changed by 1870 when an "extraordinary 25 percent" of California's Italian population lived in the three Mother Lode counties of Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne.
By 1853, there was a significant male Chilean population in Calaveras County, concentrated heavily in an area known as Chili Gulch (or Chilean Gulch), located near Mokelumne Hill.
The nefarious bottom-feeders who followed the miners during historical gold rushes were all the same ilk, no matter if the gold strike was California or Colorado, silver strikes in Nevada or Arizona, they were primarily gamblers and con artists who targeted the miners to take their hard-earned gold through vice, fraud, and crime.
Gamblers and card sharps were well known to operated rigged faro and monte tables in tents and saloons to fleece unsuspecting prospectors. Saloon keepers in many cases were cheap bootleggers selling watered-down, toxic alcohol sometimes spiked with gunpowder or tobacco for coloring, all to part miners from their gold dust. Thieves and Highwaymen came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. All simply wanted to waylay lone miners on isolated mountain trails to rob them of their pokes of gold. Leaving a miner to bleed out was not a moral crisis for such outlaws. After all, that's what outlaws do.
Claim Jumpers illegally seized active or profitable mining claims by force, intimidation, or exploiting ambiguous boundary laws. And yes, the cast of the nefarious camp followers wouldn't be complete if swindlers and fraudsters were not recognized their contribution to lawlessness. They practiced "salted" claims, sprinkled gold flakes onto worthless dirt, and sold those fake mines to eager buyers.
Another shooting scrape occurred this week at Jesus Maria, between a Chileno and an Italian, which it appears was a wanton attack by the former on the latter. The Chilean was drunk, and had a pistol in his hand. The Italian advised him to put it up, which at first he refused, but afterwards pretended to do, but really slipped it inside of his shirt, declaring his intention to shoot somebody.
Afterwards he met the Italian and fired at him several times upon which the Italian took hold of the pistol and returned the fire, killing his assailant in his own defense. He was arrested.
In the meantime all the Chileans in camp met together and demanded the prisoner to hang him. This called out he Italians, who marched in from the surrounding camps to protect their countryman and support the authorities.
An investigation was held, and the prisoner acquitted, but it was not deemed safe for him to go at large. In this state of affairs, the Sheriff, C. A. Clark, Esq., immediately proceeded to the place. He took charge of the Italian, assisted by Under Sheriff Mulford, and marched him to town on Thursday morning, followed by both parties, horse and foot, armed to the teeth.
Owing to the prudent conduct of the Sheriff, a collision was prevented. The prisoner was liberated here, and shortly afterwards left town on the Sacramento stage, amidst the cheers of his Italian countrymen.
Another shooting incident reported in the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper, Volume 8, Number 1160, 11 December 1854:
The Calaveras Chronicle gives the subjoined particulars of a shooting affair at Jesus Maria:
On Saturday night last an altercation arose between an Italian named Peter Catarina and a Chilean, in a dance house. During the dispute another Chilean named Vicente Rodriguez came up abruptly, telling Peter to fight him. Peter declined, saying that he had on occasion, but not tonight. He would not fight him, and turned to leave.
Vicente then pulled off his coat and drew a large knife to commence the attack. He ran after Peter, who wheeled and shot at Vincente without effect. He then again retreated on a run, closely pressed by the Chilean, who seemed determined to wound him.
Many lookers on at this time advised Peter to shoot, or he would get killed, which he did with fatal effect, the ball entering the Chilean's forehead causing his death in a few moments afterwards. Peter then ran into the store of Matthews & Holmes, and secreted himself under the bed.
A mob of Chileans instantly appeared in town and commenced searching for Catarina, vowing vengeance. The greatest excitement ensued, Mr. Matthews preventing the enraged crowd from entering his premises, and the most serious consequences were anticipated.
The Jesus Maria Guards were called on and immediately twenty of them, under command of Lieutenants Holmes and Wiggins, were in readiness to aid in preserving the peace of the town. Justice A. C. Lewis then took Catarina and gave him in charge to the Jesus Maria Guards. With the militia in control, the case was examined the next day, and the prisoner discharged. The Coroner's verdict was in accordance with the testimony.
By 1853, there was a significant male Chilean population in Calaveras County, concentrated heavily in an area known as Chili Gulch (or Chilean Gulch), located near Mokelumne Hill.
Lawlessness was so bad there, that the town gained a reputation as being a "bloody place." As was common during the California Gold Rush, the gamblers and prostitutes and outlaws followed closely behind the miners. And with them, they brought trouble.
Gamblers and card sharps were well known to operated rigged faro and monte tables in tents and saloons to fleece unsuspecting prospectors. Saloon keepers in many cases were cheap bootleggers selling watered-down, toxic alcohol sometimes spiked with gunpowder or tobacco for coloring, all to part miners from their gold dust. Thieves and Highwaymen came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. All simply wanted to waylay lone miners on isolated mountain trails to rob them of their pokes of gold. Leaving a miner to bleed out was not a moral crisis for such outlaws. After all, that's what outlaws do.
Claim Jumpers illegally seized active or profitable mining claims by force, intimidation, or exploiting ambiguous boundary laws. And yes, the cast of the nefarious camp followers wouldn't be complete if swindlers and fraudsters were not recognized their contribution to lawlessness. They practiced "salted" claims, sprinkled gold flakes onto worthless dirt, and sold those fake mines to eager buyers.
Outlaws did what outlaws always do by targeting the vulnerable. Some succeeded and made their escapes. Some were helped out of town on a rail, tar and feathered. Some outlaws never left Jesus Maria. Hanged or shot by concerned citizens, many of them were found here and there after the critters pick through them. Many outlaws were caught and never reported to the local authorities. Instead, they were thrown in open pits for animals to devour, or simply tossed into old unused mineshafts never to be see again.
That's why the Jesus Maria Guards, a 51-man local militia, was formed to settle problems and restore law and order before the County Sheriff could arrive. That's why outlaws begged to be turned over to the County Sheriff in California County. They knew the people would rather throw them in a hole and take care of them that way. Taming lawlessness and trying to build a better civil society is hard work.
Having the sort of reputation of being vigilante and not allowing outlaws to get away with murder helped out the area to some extent. A place with reputation for citizen justice, especially one that's extremely deserved, worked wonders in the Old West if wanting to get outlaws to go outlaw somewhere else. Then again, it seems there were a lot of slow learning outlaw types in the Old West.
Below are a few archived newspaper reports of incidents that took place at Jesus Maria. While I can't post all of the newspaper reports from back then, I'm hoping these will give you some an idea of the lawlessness there. The first report below is of an interesting shooting incident that took place in Jesus Mara. It is probably the only shooting incident in the Old West where someone takes their assailant's pistol after being shot several times, and shots and kills his assailant with his own gun.
As reported in the San Joaquin Republican newspaper, Volume 3, Number 104, 25 October 1853:
Shooting at Jesus Maria —Excitement.
Another shooting scrape occurred this week at Jesus Maria, between a Chileno and an Italian, which it appears was a wanton attack by the former on the latter. The Chilean was drunk, and had a pistol in his hand. The Italian advised him to put it up, which at first he refused, but afterwards pretended to do, but really slipped it inside of his shirt, declaring his intention to shoot somebody.
Afterwards he met the Italian and fired at him several times upon which the Italian took hold of the pistol and returned the fire, killing his assailant in his own defense. He was arrested.
In the meantime all the Chileans in camp met together and demanded the prisoner to hang him. This called out he Italians, who marched in from the surrounding camps to protect their countryman and support the authorities.
An investigation was held, and the prisoner acquitted, but it was not deemed safe for him to go at large. In this state of affairs, the Sheriff, C. A. Clark, Esq., immediately proceeded to the place. He took charge of the Italian, assisted by Under Sheriff Mulford, and marched him to town on Thursday morning, followed by both parties, horse and foot, armed to the teeth.
Owing to the prudent conduct of the Sheriff, a collision was prevented. The prisoner was liberated here, and shortly afterwards left town on the Sacramento stage, amidst the cheers of his Italian countrymen.
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So a drunk Chilean started shooting at an Italian miner. The Italian took the pistol away from the Chilean and killed him with his own gun. That's not something that you hear about everyday.
A Man Killed.
The Calaveras Chronicle gives the subjoined particulars of a shooting affair at Jesus Maria:
On Saturday night last an altercation arose between an Italian named Peter Catarina and a Chilean, in a dance house. During the dispute another Chilean named Vicente Rodriguez came up abruptly, telling Peter to fight him. Peter declined, saying that he had on occasion, but not tonight. He would not fight him, and turned to leave.
Vicente then pulled off his coat and drew a large knife to commence the attack. He ran after Peter, who wheeled and shot at Vincente without effect. He then again retreated on a run, closely pressed by the Chilean, who seemed determined to wound him.
Many lookers on at this time advised Peter to shoot, or he would get killed, which he did with fatal effect, the ball entering the Chilean's forehead causing his death in a few moments afterwards. Peter then ran into the store of Matthews & Holmes, and secreted himself under the bed.
A mob of Chileans instantly appeared in town and commenced searching for Catarina, vowing vengeance. The greatest excitement ensued, Mr. Matthews preventing the enraged crowd from entering his premises, and the most serious consequences were anticipated.
The Jesus Maria Guards were called on and immediately twenty of them, under command of Lieutenants Holmes and Wiggins, were in readiness to aid in preserving the peace of the town. Justice A. C. Lewis then took Catarina and gave him in charge to the Jesus Maria Guards. With the militia in control, the case was examined the next day, and the prisoner discharged. The Coroner's verdict was in accordance with the testimony.
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A fire destroyed most of Jesus Maria on October 3, 1858. In 1861, a second destructive fire took place at Jesus Maria. It was reported that that fire destroyed $10,000 worth of property. Destroyed by fire and the surface placer gold picked clean, there weren't too many folks left there. No, there weren't many left there at all. Of course, as with most gold rush towns that met their fate by horrific fires, not everyone gave up on their places and simply moved away. Some stayed on, hell or high water -- including the outlaws.
Even back the day, there were those outlaws who thought they were smarter than everyone else, and they would avoid being caught, avoid facing a Miners' Court, avoid facing a Citizens Committee, never end up like their victims. And that's the rub, outlaws will whimper and cry a river of tears when faced what they themselves would not hesitate doing to the innocent. And yes, the innocent did go missing in the Old West.
And while the innocent did get waylaid, all in all, Jesus Maria was not a place for bandits, sluice robbers, highwaymen, and killers to practice their foolish ways. Then again, who really knows the character of those in our communities even today.
For the handful of folks left in Jesus Maria in the 1880s, it must have been a shock to learn 30 years latter, that they had serial killers doing business there. Unknown to everyone in the 1850s, Jesus Maria had serial killers who were harvesting gold and belongings from travelers.
This part of the town's history was not found out for 30 years after the town went bust and burned to the ground. Reported in the Daily Alta California, Volume 36, Number 12372, 1 March 1884:
The Ghastly Discovery Made by Calaveras Miners
TEN SKELETONS UNEARTHED
Of Men Supposed To Have Been Murdered In Early Days
Mokelumne Hill, February 29th. — Last Sunday, while Paul Lancelle and John Platt were engaged in mining at the foot of Nigger Gulch, in Jesus Maria, a small village about six miles southeast of this place, they unearthed ten human skeletons about five feet from the surface, and within a space of eight feet square. One skull was found with a bullet-hole through it. In early days the camp was full of the roughest characters to be found in the mining region, and the general impression is that the parties were foully dealt with, although a few persons are of the belief that it is an old cemetery; but from the fact that the skeletons were, found in what is supposed to be an old cellar, and that on the ' very ground where they were taken out once stood a large building, formerly used as a dance-house, lead others to believe that the whole party were murdered at various times, and secretly buried there.
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Morning Union, Volume 34, Number 5279, 4 April 1884
More Skeletons Exhumed
Four more skeletons have been found in a comparatively small compass, making in all, thus far, the remains of thirteen human beings exhumed. While the former were found lying in a horizontal position, the latter, however, were in nearly a vertical position, with the heads downward. As stated previously, the ground was a site of a "dancehouse," in the early years and "flush times" of the place, and the floors of the den of wild licentiousness and crime concealed the graves of the wretched victims of dark murder, only to he revealed by the discovery of their bones, which alone remain to tell a dark tale after the lapse of at least thirty years. Evidently, from the position of the skeletons, there was a hole under the house of infamy, and into it the bodies were slid one by one, head first. Wicked as were those rendezvous of amusement of early times, this place known as Jesus Maria had more than an ordinary record of dark deeds of bloodshed. Murdered For Gold. — Calaveras Chronicle.
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While it's true that folks in the Old West did not use the term "serial killer," as the phrase was not coined until the 20th century, frontier newspapers and locals typically called multiple murderers fiends, ghouls, monsters, assassins, or butchers. The California Gold Rush was marked by lawlessness, widespread violence, and murders involving miners, immigrants, and travelers whose names we will never know. All in all, I think the 13 bodies that were found in the old cellar of that fandango in 1884 are probably the oldest Cold Cases of missing people in Calaveras County/ Cases that will never be solved.
Another fire swept through there in 2015. And as strange as it sounds to just about anyone who lives around here, I really enjoy taking Jesus Maria Road sometimes on my way home. It is purely rural. It is quite a drive. In spots it's only one lane, and it has all sorts of blind curves. Jesus Maria Road connects directly to Highway 26 near Mokelumne Hill. The road itself spans roughly 13–15 miles in total length end to end.
For me, I like to drive down into that Jesus Maria canyon and try to find hints of the old town. In reality, there's not much left of the place. It's true. With very few ruins left, it's almost as if it were never there. So if you are one of those folks looking for Ghost Towns, old mining camps, that sort of thing, where the town of Jesus Maria was is 5 miles Southeast of Mokelumne Hill. You can find the old Jesus Maria Cemetery about 9 miles from Mokelumne Hill.
For me, I like to drive down into that Jesus Maria canyon and try to find hints of the old town. In reality, there's not much left of the place. It's true. With very few ruins left, it's almost as if it were never there. So if you are one of those folks looking for Ghost Towns, old mining camps, that sort of thing, where the town of Jesus Maria was is 5 miles Southeast of Mokelumne Hill. You can find the old Jesus Maria Cemetery about 9 miles from Mokelumne Hill.
Tom Correa
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