The Longfellow was originally known as the Butler Mine. In the 1860s it was acquired by Dearborn Longfellow and has carried his name ever since. By 1899 the Longfellow had produced 24,200 ounces of gold. But in those early days, digging was relatively near the surface. It was too expensive to dig shafts deep into the rocky ground.
The hills around Big Oak Flat came to life around 1850 with the discovery of gold. By 1860 when the town was incorporated, there were over 2000 people living and working here. One of the fortune seekers was a young man named Dearborn "Derb" Longfellow who came here from Maine. Derb was a distant cousin of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it's said that he liked to let people know this. Derb purchased the Butler Mine in the 1860s and changed its name to the Longfellow Mine in 1873. Derb also operated a livery stable in Big Oak Flat which burned down in the fire of 1863. He had a ranch in Deer Flat where he lived with his wife and children
Some of the ranchers were also mine owners. Dearborn Longfellow, known always as "Derb," was one of these. A pertinent letter from Mrs. Frank Cassaretto of Piedmont, California, who was Lula Longfellow, gave us first-hand information: The Longfellow family came from Maine where their son Dearborn was born. They were reserved and competent and Mr. Longfellow was proud to tell that he was the nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Primarily he was a rancher and soon moved over the divide from Big Oak Flat into Deer Flat where a number of households were already living comfortably in the midst of their fields and herds.
When Dearborn Longfellow was twenty-nine and Louisa Wootton was fourteen they were married and took up housekeeping on the Longfellow Ranch where they raised cattle and race horses. Louisa had five children; but Civil War days, no matter how comfortably upholstered with money, were not easy for children in the Mother Lode. There were never enough doctors and often it was not possible to get any trained help in time of sickness. Two of the five died in the terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1879 while another succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound. But the ranch and the rich Longfellow Mine came down to those who remained. The name will be remembered.
The hills around Big Oak Flat came to life around 1850 with the discovery of gold. By 1860 when the town was incorporated, there were over 2000 people living and working here. One of the fortune seekers was a young man named Dearborn "Derb" Longfellow who came here from Maine. Derb was a distant cousin of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it's said that he liked to let people know this. Derb purchased the Butler Mine in the 1860s and changed its name to the Longfellow Mine in 1873. Derb also operated a livery stable in Big Oak Flat which burned down in the fire of 1863. He had a ranch in Deer Flat where he lived with his wife and children
Some of the ranchers were also mine owners. Dearborn Longfellow, known always as "Derb," was one of these. A pertinent letter from Mrs. Frank Cassaretto of Piedmont, California, who was Lula Longfellow, gave us first-hand information: The Longfellow family came from Maine where their son Dearborn was born. They were reserved and competent and Mr. Longfellow was proud to tell that he was the nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Primarily he was a rancher and soon moved over the divide from Big Oak Flat into Deer Flat where a number of households were already living comfortably in the midst of their fields and herds.
When Dearborn Longfellow was twenty-nine and Louisa Wootton was fourteen they were married and took up housekeeping on the Longfellow Ranch where they raised cattle and race horses. Louisa had five children; but Civil War days, no matter how comfortably upholstered with money, were not easy for children in the Mother Lode. There were never enough doctors and often it was not possible to get any trained help in time of sickness. Two of the five died in the terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1879 while another succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound. But the ranch and the rich Longfellow Mine came down to those who remained. The name will be remembered.
The Longfellow was originally known as the Butler Mine. In the 1860s it was acquired by Dearborn Longfellow and has carried his name ever since. By 1899 the Longfellow had produced 24,200 ounces of gold. But in those early days, digging was relatively near the surface. It was too expensive to dig shafts deep into the rocky ground.
The hills around Big Oak Flat came to life around 1850 with the discovery of gold. By 1860 when the town was incorporated, there were over 2000 people living and working here. One of the fortune seekers was a young man named Dearborn "Derb" Longfellow who came here from Maine. Derb was a distant cousin of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it's said that he liked to let people know this. Derb purchased the Butler Mine in the 1860s and changed its name to the Longfellow Mine in 1873. Derb also operated a livery stable in Big Oak Flat which burned down in the fire of 1863. He had a ranch in Deer Flat where he lived with his wife and children
Some of the ranchers were also mine owners. Dearborn Longfellow, known always as "Derb," was one of these. A pertinent letter from Mrs. Frank Cassaretto of Piedmont, California, who was Lula Longfellow, gave us first-hand information: The Longfellow family came from Maine where their son Dearborn was born. They were reserved and competent and Mr. Longfellow was proud to tell that he was the nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Primarily he was a rancher and soon moved over the divide from Big Oak Flat into Deer Flat where a number of households were already living comfortably in the midst of their fields and herds.
When Dearborn Longfellow was twenty-nine and Louisa Wootton was fourteen they were married and took up housekeeping on the Longfellow Ranch where they raised cattle and race horses. Louisa had five children; but Civil War days, no matter how comfortably upholstered with money, were not easy for children in the Mother Lode. There were never enough doctors and often it was not possible to get any trained help in time of sickness. Two of the five died in the terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1879 while another succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound. But the ranch and the rich Longfellow Mine came down to those who remained. The name will be remembered.
The hills around Big Oak Flat came to life around 1850 with the discovery of gold. By 1860 when the town was incorporated, there were over 2000 people living and working here. One of the fortune seekers was a young man named Dearborn "Derb" Longfellow who came here from Maine. Derb was a distant cousin of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it's said that he liked to let people know this. Derb purchased the Butler Mine in the 1860s and changed its name to the Longfellow Mine in 1873. Derb also operated a livery stable in Big Oak Flat which burned down in the fire of 1863. He had a ranch in Deer Flat where he lived with his wife and children
Some of the ranchers were also mine owners. Dearborn Longfellow, known always as "Derb," was one of these. A pertinent letter from Mrs. Frank Cassaretto of Piedmont, California, who was Lula Longfellow, gave us first-hand information: The Longfellow family came from Maine where their son Dearborn was born. They were reserved and competent and Mr. Longfellow was proud to tell that he was the nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Primarily he was a rancher and soon moved over the divide from Big Oak Flat into Deer Flat where a number of households were already living comfortably in the midst of their fields and herds.
When Dearborn Longfellow was twenty-nine and Louisa Wootton was fourteen they were married and took up housekeeping on the Longfellow Ranch where they raised cattle and race horses. Louisa had five children; but Civil War days, no matter how comfortably upholstered with money, were not easy for children in the Mother Lode. There were never enough doctors and often it was not possible to get any trained help in time of sickness. Two of the five died in the terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1879 while another succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound. But the ranch and the rich Longfellow Mine came down to those who remained. The name will be remembered.
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