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Los Angeles,CA - Los Angeles & Kern counties - 1863 - Antelope Copper Mining Company Stock :

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
Los Angeles,CA - Los Angeles & Kern counties - 1863 - Antelope Copper Mining Company Stock :
Incoporated in July 1863. Cert. #89, issued to L. Sawyer in 1863 for 10 shares. Signed by president Wm. H. Shark and secretary John S. Gunt, Jr. Vignette of large stag at top center with snow-capped peaks in background. Black border and print. San Francisco printed at top. Uncancelled. Printer: Drouaillet, SF. Revenue stamp applied at lower right. 5.5 x 10.” If this is the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles and southern Kern counties (apparently there are nine Antelope valleys in California), it is in the high desert terrain of the Mohave, situated in a closed basin encompassing 3000 square miles. It includes the communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, Rosamond and Mojave. According to the County of Los Angeles Public Library website: California's Gold Rush began southwest of the Antelope Valley, contrary to the popular belief that James Marshall found the first gold in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in northern California. The big discovery occurred in 1842 at what was then called Live Oak Canyon when Francisco Lopez, stopping for lunch while searching for stray cattle, pulled some wild onions and found flakes of gold clinging to their roots. In the subsequent gold rush, the canyon was named Placeritas, meaning "Little Placers," and today is called Placerita Canyon.

(http://www.colapublib.org/cgi-bin/colapl/history/showpic.cgi?c=antelopevalley&p=faqs&file=45.jpg )Gold rushers soon flocked to the canyon and took an estimated $100,000 of gold from the region before heading north to the more exciting discovery at Sutter's Mill. Mining changed the region's history in profound ways, as gold seekers settled permanently in the valley's southwestern corner during the 1850s and 1860s. The area further grew during the Civil War, as gold, silver, and copper were extracted from the Soledad Canyon region and Fremont's Pass was enlarged to facilitate and speed up ore shipments [Ref: www.colapublib.org/history/antelopevalley/faq.html].