Visit Jacksonville's Historic Sites
Julian S. Smart arrived at the spot where Woods Creek joins the
Tuolumne River in the spring of 1849. Liking what he saw, Smart decided
to settle down. Clearing the land of trees and brush, he planted the
first garden and orchard in the county and named his small ranch Spring
Garden. Smart’s orchards provided a succession of fruits from April
until November, consisting of peaches, pears, apples, cherries, plums,
grapes, apricots, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, pomegranates,
figs, blackberries, and strawberries. Among his other crops were many
varieties of vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, turnips, and beets
from which he prepared a vegetable plate dinner, priced at a mere $2.50.
These dinners soon became as widely known throughout the Southern Mines
as were the rich placers of the area.Vegetables were an important part of the miner’s diet, necessary for
the prevention of disease. During the early days of the Gold Rush,
fruits and vegetables were often not available in the camps and the
miners suffered. William Kelly, an Irish miner who arrived in California
during July of 1849, relates the consequences of an unbalanced diet in A
Stroll Through the Diggings of California: “We found that sickness
prevailed to an alarming extent, particularly land scurvy, owing to the
constant use of salt and greasy provisions without vegetables. In many
instances it assumed a fearfully loathsome shape, swelling the limbs to
an enormous size, changing the skin to a deep purple hue, contracting
the muscles and main tendons of the legs and arms, so that those members
were rigid and useless; enlarging the gums immensely, and imparting to
them a gangrenous appearance, not only disgusting to look at, but highly
offensive in smell.”Colonel Aldan Apollo Moore Jackson, a Mexican War Veteran, is
responsible for discovering the mineral wealth of the area in June of
1849. Within a month, about forty people were working the placers and a
small town began to grow, located on the north side of the Tuolumne
River where Woods Creek joins that stream. Jackson established the first
trading post here and the camp was christened Jacksonville in his honor.The town became an important supply center for miners from Moccasin
and Woods creeks, providing both necessities for mining and amusements
for relaxing. The town grew quickly, and by April of 1851, the census
reported 252 inhabitants. The post office was established here on
October 7 of 1851, and within a year the camp was challenging Sonora in
size and importance.The Tuolumne River underwent extensive mining operations during the
1850’s, with most of the activity occurring during August, September,
October and November, when the river was at its low stage. Along with
the many individual miners working the river, several large companies
were organized. They built giant dams, wing dams, and a series of flumes
in order to turn the course of the river, hoping to clean its bed of
enough gold to pay the high costs of labor and material, and to provide
a nice profit. They had to work quickly, for when the winter storms
began, the Tuolumne would turn into a swift, unworkable torrent. Many
times the dams and flumes were washed away before completion, resulting
in a total loss to the company. When the river was high, the miners
would turn their attention to the gulches and flats of the surrounding
hills, generally uncovering enough gold to survive the winter. After the
rains had passed, the larger creeks and streams would subside, daring
the miners to recover the gold washed down from the recent storms.Generally the miners in any new camp would get together and create a
set of mining laws for the new diggings. The rules would include such
things as claim size, time limits on not working a claim, how disputes
would be settled, who could own claims, &c. The miners of Jacksonville
were typical of the Gold Rush era and the first entry in their mining
laws reveals the general attitude towards foreigners. “All American
citizens may locate and hold claims.” (A miner’s definition of
foreigner would be any non-English speaking miner.)
Smart’s orchards and gardens were eventually ruined by the mining
activity; the diligent reworking of the area by Chinese miners was
particularly damaging. By this time; however, Smart had become quite
prosperous. Entering into a partnership, he invested a large portion of
his wealth in outfitting a sailing ship. During the long voyage, he kept
the rest of his savings on his person, supposedly in the form of $50
gold slugs. While resting at one of the Galapagos Islands to replenish
supplies of fresh water and meat, they got Smart. Someone crept up from
behind and knocked him cold. When he awoke, his gold was gone and so was
his ship. He was rescued by a passing ship and eventually returned to
California.Today the few bits and pieces of what was once Jacksonville lie
beneath the waters of the Don Pedro Reservoir, named for Pierre “Don
Pedro” Sainsevain, an early day pioneer and member of the California
Constitutional Convention. A perfect example of how a large and
prosperous mining camp can completely disappear, the only reminders of
the vanished town of Jacksonville today are an occasional foundation
ruin poking above the reservoir’s surface. Take the time to pull off the
road at the view point and read the stone monument.