May 19, 2021
Gold!
Gold and silver mines dot the Southern California landscape from the mines in the desert that supported towns like Randsburg to mines in the local San Gabriel Mountains. One of the most productive of these mines in the San Gabriels was the Big Horn Mine discovered by prospector Tom Vincent on the south side of Mt. Baden-Powell and whose cabin still sits in Vincent Gulch.
Who was Tom Vincent, aka Charles Vincent Dougherry? He was born in Ohio in 1838, fought in the Civil War and was injured seriously enough at Gettysburg to be discharged. He moved to Arizona to prospect for gold where he killed three men who where lying in wait to steal his mining claims and kill him and his mining partner. They fled to California, first to the north and later settling in the San Gabriel Mountains on the east slope of Mt. Baden-Powell(then called North Baldy). He was hunting Big Horn Sheep along the southern slopes of Mt. Baden-Powell when he discovered gold and filed a mining claim and named it the Big Horn mine. Tom lacked the capital for the type of mining effort needed to extract the gold, so he sold the claim to a mining company which tunneled into Mt. Baden-Powell and found a good supply of gold, as well as silver and copper. After selling his claim, Tom Vincent continued prospecting in the area of the gulch that is now named in his honor and passed away in 1926. He's buried at the National Cemetery in Westwood.
Read MoreGold and silver mines dot the Southern California landscape from the mines in the desert that supported towns like Randsburg to mines in the local San Gabriel Mountains. One of the most productive of these mines in the San Gabriels was the Big Horn Mine discovered by prospector Tom Vincent on the south side of Mt. Baden-Powell and whose cabin still sits in Vincent Gulch.
Who was Tom Vincent, aka Charles Vincent Dougherry? He was born in Ohio in 1838, fought in the Civil War and was injured seriously enough at Gettysburg to be discharged. He moved to Arizona to prospect for gold where he killed three men who where lying in wait to steal his mining claims and kill him and his mining partner. They fled to California, first to the north and later settling in the San Gabriel Mountains on the east slope of Mt. Baden-Powell(then called North Baldy). He was hunting Big Horn Sheep along the southern slopes of Mt. Baden-Powell when he discovered gold and filed a mining claim and named it the Big Horn mine. Tom lacked the capital for the type of mining effort needed to extract the gold, so he sold the claim to a mining company which tunneled into Mt. Baden-Powell and found a good supply of gold, as well as silver and copper. After selling his claim, Tom Vincent continued prospecting in the area of the gulch that is now named in his honor and passed away in 1926. He's buried at the National Cemetery in Westwood.
