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CA - Ballarat,Inyo County - June 1, 1937 - Ballarat Photos Collection - Gil Schmidtmann Collection

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
CA - Ballarat,Inyo County - June 1, 1937 - Ballarat Photos Collection - Gil Schmidtmann Collection
Session D is a Mail-Bid Only Auction. Absentee bids will be accepted only. No live bidding will be allowed. All winners will be contacted after the auction. BIDDING ENDS MONDAY JUNE 27 AT 5PM PACIFIC TIME!!!
Lot of 8 real photos of Ballarat in the early part of the 20th century. Two are 8 x 10”; one shows the deserted main street and the second shows the town at a distance, at the foot of the Panamint Mountain Range. The remaining smaller snapshots show: a deserted adobe house, 3 men (“Short Harris” is named) standing in front of an early touring car, in front of a dilapidated adobe building (the near wall is propped up by boards), old adobe saloons standing vacant on a dirt street, main street scene (smaller version of one of the large photos), and two snapshots of residents or prospectors—Chris Wicht and Pete Augerberry. The town had its beginning just about the turn of the last century—1897—as a supply point for the mines in the Panamint Mountains. It was given the name by George Riggins, an Australian miner, who took the name from the mine in his country where the first gold was discovered in 1851 and where the largest nugget in the world was discovered, weighing about 143 pounds. The major mine near the “new” Ballarat was the Radcliff, which produced 15,000 tons of gold ore between 1898 and 1905. Within a year or two, Ballarat could boast of 7 saloons, 3 hotels, a Wells Fargo station, post office, school, and jail—but no churches. Several legendary characters called the town home—one of whom was Frank “Shorty” Harris (note photo above), as well as “Seldom Seen Slim,” and Wyoming gambler and gunman Michael J. “Jim” Sherlock. When the Radcliff suspended operations in 1903, the town’s demise began. Other mines followed the Radcliff’s departure and by 1917 the post office was closed. Shorty Harris stayed there until he died in 1934. Seldom Seen Slim (aka Charles Ferge) was the last of the old time prospectors to live in Ballarat, calling himself “half coyote and half wild burro.” He died in 1968, and those words were engraved upon his tombstone. In the 1960s Neil Cummins bought land east of Ballarat to create a tourist mecca, even building a cinderblock store and setting up a trailer park, but had to give it up in 1988 when all his efforts failed to bring visitors. Today Ballarat is a virtual ghost town, although there remain a few stalwart residents [Ref: www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-ballarat.html].
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