Baltimore Town, California: Difference between revisions

'''Baltimore Town,''' previously Wightman’s Camp, was a historic gold [[Mining community|mining camp]] in eastern [[Nevada County, California|Nevada County]], California that was founded in 19651865. After [[gold mining]] stopped in the area, the town faded away around 1869.

The Excelsior mining district was started by Henry Hartley, a [[Fur trade|fur trapper]] who built a cabin near [[Meadow Lake, Nevada County, California | Meadow Lake]] around 1860.<ref>Id. p. 29.</ref> In June 1863, he discovered gold and staked out several claims. Others followed and by the spring of 1865, rumors of gold in the area created a local [[gold rush]]. Not only was gold reported to be plentiful, unlike many mining districts, year-round water was readily and abundantly available. By the summer of 1865, hundreds of miners, many from the [[Virginia City, Nevada]] area, had flocked to the area, even though, as one historian observed, “[g]etting to the Meadow Lake country was no easy matter.“<ref>Id. p. 37.</ref>

In late 19651865, the town of Baltimore was started about two miles southeast of Summit City on the northwest side of Old Man Mountain near Wagon Wheel Lake.<ref>Id, map p. 2.</ref> The town was connected by a toll road to Summit City.<ref>Id, p. 40.</ref> Initially called Wightman’s Camp, it soon became Baltimore since Wightman was a native of [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]].<ref>Morning Union, June 22, 1875.</ref> Sometimes, the word Town or City appears after the word Baltimore to distinguish it from the one in Maryland.<ref>Fatout, Ibid, p. 37.</ref>