The Kentucky Mine
The Kentucky Mine began development during the late 1850’s, when the renewed interest in mining the Sierra Buttes prompted miners to once again tunnel into the mountain in search of gold. A five-stamp mill was built at the mine during the 1860’s, which was increased to a ten-stamp mill in 1888. The mine was later abandoned, only to be relocated in 1910 by Emil Loeffler of Sierra City. Emil ran the mine with his son, Adolph “Dutch” Loeffler, until 1944 when Dutch was killed in a mining accident. The mine closed for good in 1953. Today the grounds of the Kentucky Mine have been transformed into the Sierra County Historical Park, which contains an excellent museum as well as an intact and fully operational stamp mill. A little higher on the side of the mountain is the portal of a fifteen hundred foot horizontal mine shaft from which a cool breeze always flows. The Kentucky mine is located a short distance north of town along Hwy 49.
