The history of mining on Mt. Gleason begins in 1869 when George Gleason and his crew built a road up to the timber filled slopes of a prominent mountain south of present day Acton. George Gleason was the superintendent of the rich Eureka Mine, located in the Soledad Mining District, and the postmaster of Ravenna, a small town that served the local mines. The road was built in order to supply the town and mines far below with lumber, and a sawmill was soon built near the peak of the mountain. Along with the timber, several gold bearing quartz veins were discovered to run through the mountain. The prominent peak was named Mount Gleason and the Mount Gleason Mining District was organized. Claims were filed on the Gleason and Lyon lodes, and the Lyon Mining Co. and Scott Mining Co. were formed. An arrastra was built near the mines and ore was hauled down the mountain in wagons pulled by 8-mule teams. Logs were attached to the back of the wagons to slow the descent. This flurry of activity would soon calm down, as George Gleason and others would focus their attention back on the Soledad mines. The work done during this period was relatively small, but better times would lie ahead for the Mount Gleason Mining District.
It wasn’t until about 1887 that activity began to pick up again on Mount Gleason. During that year, the Padre Mine was discovered (or rediscovered) showing fine ore. Other mines would soon pop up on other veins. In 1889, the Mount Gleason Mining and Milling Company, owned primarily by John Hall, A.F. Mackay, and J.A. Jones, was incorporated. Their mine, known simply as the Mount Gleason, worked the Eagle Vein. The same year, this company would haul a 5-stamp mill up the steep mining road using a block and tackle system. The crown plate of the mill weighed a whopping 30,000 pounds! On July 3, 1889, the owners of the Padre Mine filed a claim for the Bay State Mine. That same year on September 5th, the Mount Gleason Mining and Milling Co. filed a patent for the Eagle and Last Chance mining claims. It turns out these two claims and the Bay State overlapped, and a 3-year court battle ensued. In the end, the Mount Gleason Company was awarded their patent. From 1890 to 1891 the Mount Gleason Mine’s mill was still in construction and the Padre Mine would receive a two-stamp “pony” mill. Both mills were powered by steam. In April 1891, there was a fatal accident at the Mount Gleason Mine. Superintendent and owner John Hall fell 40 ft. from a stope in the mine. He suffered broken ribs and other internal injuries that led to his death several days later.
The next few years were looking promising for the Mt. Gleason Mining District. In January 1892, the Mount Gleason Mine produced a large bar of gold from a 65-hour mill run. The Padre Mine’s two stamp mill was being operated by Tom Kelly regardless of rain or snow. On a side note, Tom Kelly’s name seemed to pop up a lot in my research of these mines. Over the years he has owned the Padre Mine, the Champion Mine, the Bay State Mine, and even the Last Chance claim at one time. There’s also a mention of the Kelly Bro’s mine on Mount Gleason, which was presumably owned by Tom and his brother Henry. In 1896, disaster struck the Mount Gleason Mine once again when it’s steam mill blew up. This brought operations to a halt for an unknown amount of time. By 1899, operations seemed to return to normal at the Mount Gleason Mining & Milling Co.’s property. The ore was averaging $25 per ton and a 20-ton cyanide plant was nearly complete. However, the activity on Mount Gleason must have subsided as reports on the district nearly disappeared for the next twenty years. In 1920, there was a mention of a milling plant being constructed on the mountain (Could the milling equipment we saw at the end of the video be from this?), and in 1927 there were reports of minor work at the Mount Gleason Mine. In 1937, there was a report on the Mount Gleason Mine that included a map of the underground workings. The mine had four adits, 700-200 ft. long, and was idle at the time. The same report also mentions the Padre Mine, which was undergoing minor activity. There was one man employed, who was constructing a small ball mill.
Today the mines of Mt. Gleason lie overgrown and mostly forgotten, and it's apparent that this area is scarcely visited. The mines are definitely not easy to get to, especially due to road closures from the 2009 Station Fire. Even then, the whole canyon is surrounded by thick, unforgiving brush. I actually found this adventure to be harder than my recent Allison Mine trip. Despite this, I will probably be back on Mount Gleason eventually. The area around the mines that survived the station fire is absolutely gorgeous and there are still a couple mines I need to find and a few questions I need to answer.
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