{"nrhp_refnum":"85003522","name":"Hattie (Gold Bug), Priest and Silver Pine Mines and Stampmill","other_names":["Hangtown's Gold Bug Park"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"2501 Bedford Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Placerville","county":"El Dorado County","state":"CA","lat":38.74399279100004,"lon":-120.79843633395201,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 61.45-acre mining district in Placerville, El Dorado County, California, made up of four original mining claims. It contains the Hattie (Gold Bug), Priest and Silver Pine mines, an 8-stamp stamp mill, and a dam and holding pond, and is now operated as Hangtown's Gold Bug Park.","why_significant":"The district represents the range of technologies used to extract and process gold from the early Gold Rush years to the mid-twentieth century. The mines and stamp mill remain on their original sites in a setting that keeps much of its mining-era character. The nomination calls it the last remaining historical evidence in Placerville of what was once the community's major economic activity.","narrative":"Hangtown's Gold Bug Park covers 61.45 acres on the eastern side of the Mother Lode near downtown Placerville, California. Four original mining claims make up the district, which holds the Hattie (Gold Bug), Priest and Silver Pine mines, an 8-stamp stamp mill, and a dam and pond. The Gold Bug tunnel runs 362 feet into hard slate and still shows the quartz veins that miners followed by blasting and hand tools. The Priest tunnel, 147 feet long, keeps visible tool marks on its walls. The stamp mill sits on its original site, with a frame designed by Joshua Hendy Iron Works, and once served custom crushing for local miners. Together these resources illustrate how gold was mined and processed from the Gold Rush into the twentieth century. The nomination points out that mining once drove Placerville's economy and that this complex is the last surviving local evidence of that activity. The city acquired the land in the 1960s and 1980s and developed it as a park.","period_of_significance":"1860-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Placerville and operated as a park with tours. The Gold Bug Mine is open to the public. The Priest Mine is closed after vandalism and slated for reopening. The Silver Pine Mine entrance is collapsed. The stamp mill building is deteriorated and awaiting restoration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.561228-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85003522.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003522/d9202983da-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003522/d9202983da-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ROY KLOTZ, M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GOLD_BUG_MINE_IN_PLACERVILLE,_ELDORADO_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">ROY KLOTZ, M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GOLD_BUG_MINE_IN_PLACERVILLE,_ELDORADO_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858613","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141632320"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/el-dorado-county/hattie-gold-bug-priest-and-silver-pine-mines-and-stampmill-85003522/"}