Glendale’s Gold Mines

We have a lot of old abandoned mines locally – gold mines in Big Tujunga Canyon, especially up near the top at Mill Creek, a graphite mine in the Verdugos, across the freeway from the former golf course, the myriad of water mines in each canyon of the San Gabriel Mountains above CV, and now we find an account of a couple of mines in Glendale of all places!

While exploring the History Room of the Glendale Central Library (you just have to visit it! It’s fascinating!) I found a folder marked “Glendale Mines.” There are quite a few articles in the folder and two stand out.

The Glendale News Press from July 1954 relates that a boy out exploring the hills above his house at the top of Kirkby Road (near Glendale College) came across a mineshaft. The shaft was 10 feet deep, but then straightened into a tunnel about 35 feet in length. In the ceiling of the tunnel was another smaller shaft going up that may have been for ventilation or a hoist.

The reporter did some legwork and tracked down Dora Verdugo, descendant of the Verdugo clan. She claimed it was her father Theodoro’s mine. Dora said, “The location was in the hills east of Verdugo Road. It was reached by going up Kirkby Road and then climbing the hill in a northeast direction. Its origin was in this fashion: a woodchopper working for my father said he had found gold there and asked permission to work the place. My father gave his permission so the woodchopper and four of his friends started a shaft and tunnel.

“I don’t remember how long they worked but it was a considerable time. Some of the ore was assayed in Los Angeles and reported to contain gold, but the mine didn’t advance to the stage where it paid off. I know that my mother once said, ‘All the gold those men will get is what they get out of my husband’s pocket.’” Dora remembered that the mine was abandoned about 1904.

But back to the newspaper report. Candy wrappers and a candle stub were found in the mine, indicating kids had been playing in the mine. The reporter continued his legwork by following up to see if anyone had taken charge of the mine property and collapsed the mine to keep kids out. The reporter found no evidence of any safety measures taken on the abandoned mine and so surmised that it would still be there for some time.

But looking at a map today for that location it’s clear that the 2 Freeway would have destroyed this mine.

Another mine was farther back in the San Rafael Hills, almost to the Flintridge border, but still in Glendale, as reported in the Glendale News Press in March 1964. A developer clearing land for construction exposed an old mine, located about 100 yards west of Chevy Chase where it intersects with Figueroa. The tunnel was eight feet high, four feet wide, and went back about 100 yards before being blocked by debris. An accompanying photo showed the tunnel’s significant size.

A longtime local resident told the paper that a very old man told her the story of the mine. The old man indicated that more than one mine was worked by “Indians” for both gold and silver. From the mine, the ore was packed by mule toward Pasadena until a wagon could take the load to downtown LA.

Another local resident told a different story to explain the mine. “Old Mrs. Flint” hired two men to work a mining claim on the “Chevy Chase trail.” Supposedly the miners, besides working the mine, built a small cabin and a corral for the mules. And indeed as the developer cleared the property there was evidence of the ruins of a cabin and corral.

The article indicated that the Glendale Fire Dept. would make sure the developer closed off the mine. Looking at a map today, that area is solid houses. It’s obvious these two intriguing abandoned mines are no more.