Grass Valley, Calif.— On Saturday, October 10th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., California State Parks is inviting former Empire Mine State Historic Park staff and the descendants of the Empire Mines’ employees to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Empire Mine State Historic Park.
The park opened to the public on July 4th, 1976, and on October 7th, 1976, the Empire Mine unit was classified as a State Historic Park in the California State Park System.
Many of Grass Valley and Nevada City’s residents are descended from the miners that worked at Empire Mine, or other mines that were incorporated into the Empire Mines operations over its first century – such as Pennsylvania, Rowe, Orleans, Daisy Hill, WYOD, and others whose ruins on the Empire Mine SHP grounds tell of their past activity. North Star Mine was combined with Empire Mine in 1929 to form the Empire-Star Mines.
An Oral History recording station will be available at the park to record stories that have been passed down through the generations, of miners’ experiences working at the Empire Mine and associated properties. Descendants are also invited to bring historical ephemera relating to their ancestor, such as photos and historical family documents, for park staff to scan and build out the life stories of the mine’s individual workers.
Former park staff attending the event is also invited to lead “What Used to Be Here” tours, record their own oral history of their time at the park, share ephemera, or join a speaker panel. To arrange to lead a tour or suggest a speaker panel topic, please contact the event coordinator, State Park Interpreter Jean Rhyne at Jean.Rhyne@parks.ca.gov or (530) 686-7110.
More information about activities celebrating the park’s 50th Anniversary can be found at www.parks.ca.gov/EmpireMine.
Event admission is free for former park staff, and for those who wish to share their family’s historical documents for the park’s historical archives. Regular park visitor entrance fee is $5 per person; age 5 and under are free. Fourth Graders and their families get in free with the California State Parks 4th Grade Pass (please obtain pass prior to arrival; visit www.parks.ca.gov/4thGrade for information).
When:Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (oral history station open until 5 p.m.) RAIN OR SHINE
Where: Empire Mine State Historic Park, 10791 East Empire Street, Grass Valley CA.
Directions: From Auburn, drive 24 miles north on Highway 49 to Empire Street exit in Grass Valley
Cost: $5 per person; age 5 and under are free.
Fourth Graders and their families: free with the California State Parks Fourth Grade Pass
Free admission for former staff and those sharing related family history.
Empire Mine State Historic Park is the site of one of the oldest, deepest, and richest gold mines in California. In operation for more than 100 years, the mine extracted 5.8 million ounces of gold before it closed in 1956. The park contains many of the mine’s buildings, the owner’s home and restored gardens, as well as the entrance to 367 miles of abandoned and flooded mine shafts. The park also encompasses 856 acres of forested backcountry and fourteen miles of trails.