Manchester, Monterey County, California

Big SurSanta Lucia Range

Manchester (sometimes known as Mansfield) was a mining town in the Los Burros Mining District in the southern Big Sur region of Monterey County, California from about 1875 to 1895. The town was reached by a 20 miles (32 km) road from King City to Jolon. From Jolon travelers could ride or take a stage or wagon to the Wagon Caves, followed by a difficult 14 miles (23 km) trail over the steep Santa Lucia Mountains to the site, about 4 miles (6.4 km) inland of Cape San Martin. Prospecting began in the area in the 1850s. In the spring of 1887, after 10 years of varied success, William Dugay Cruikshank discovered lode gold at the head of Alder Creek. He opened the Last Chance Mine, later known as the Buclimo Mine. The Last Chance mine produced about $62,000 (or about $1,135,000 today) in gold ore. The mines were not very productive, and most mining activity ceased by about 1895. Renewed attempts at exploiting the ore in the early 1900s failed. Cruikshank lived on the site of the town until his death in 1937.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Manchester, Monterey County, California (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).