Belfort, Boulder Flat & Star City, California: Sweetwater Sister Towns

Searching for history in little-known ghost towns can be like prospecting; you search and search and find little to no treasure. A glint of promise teases, yet the vein is shallow and quickly runs out. This was my search for the trio of towns on Mt. Patterson. The information I found was sparse and had little depth. The few nuggets I found commented that there was little known about the former towns.

Miners were drawn to the Sweetwater Range in the 1860s to harvest trees for use in the mines and towns of Aurora and Pine Grove. While cutting lumber, prospectors explored the area and found promising mining locations. Half a dozen mining towns sprung up in the Sweetwater Range included Belfort, Monte Cristo, Star City and the largest and longest lasting town, Clinton.

Sweetwater, at the eastern base of the range, was the major supply center in the area. In the 1860s it was a station stop on the Carson to Aurora stage. The small town of fifty soles had a store that served local miners and a post office opened on January 26, 1870. A post office was opened in Clinton on April 13, 1882 to serve the smaller Mt. Patterson mining towns.

Star City was one of the earliest locations miners were active in the 1860s. Mining was limited until 1878 when J.H. Patterson and Anthony Hiatt located a silver and gold outcropping. Their strike became the Thoroughbrace Mine, the largest in the area. The mine consisted of three tunnels at 75′ and 150′ with the deepest shaft at a depth of 260′ and 500′ in length. Other mines in the area included Rattlesnake and Lucky Lady. A road continuing up Mt. Patterson from Star City was constructed in the late 1870s.

Miners were busy searching for the next big strike and didn’t have the time or energy to construct a home. As in many mining towns Star City was first a tent city where miners lived in small canvas structures. In the 1880s a few wood structures were built, the largest a boarding house. Around this time, Belfort and Boulder Flat were established, 1700′ up the Mt. Patterson Road above Star City at an elevation of 10,200′.

Mining was productive enough that the Patterson Mining District was formed in the 1880s. The most active years of the district was between 1882 and 1883 with a total value produced between 1880 and 1884 $500,000, $13M in 2021 value. Ore veins ran out within ten years and by 1888 only one mine in the Patterson district remained active. Star City was abandoned by 1890 and the town was dismantled and structures were relocated to new strikes. Postal service was moved from Clinton to Sweetwater on March 31, 1894. The Patterson District saw some mining activity in the early 1900s but Belfort, Boulder Flat and Star City remained ghost towns.

Star City

Heading up Mt. Patterson, the location of Star City is a large flat area. Mine tailings dot the mountain above the site. While Star City was one of the larger and older towns, it is the one with the least remaining. Other than evidence of mining activity, nothing remains.

Belfort & Boulder Flat

Belfort and Boulder Flat remain a bit of a mystery. Many sources say the remaining structures in a meadow are Belfort, sited on Boulder Flats. Other sources say Boulder Flat is a distinct town and the structures are located there. Two cabins above the flat area, one intact and the other a foundation, are the actual location of Belfort.

The 1909 USGS Map indicates Belfort and Boulder Flat as separate locations. Gudde supports this in his book California Gold Camps, He sites Belfort two and a half miles from Star City and Boulder Fla between Belfort and Star City.

Boulder Flat, the location most refer to as Belfort, has the largest remains. One cabin is intact, a second large cabin has all four walls remaining and a third has a façade held in place by a beam. The structures have hand hewn logs and round head nails. Round head nails would place construction in the early 1900s but it is possible the structures are older and were remodeled during the second active mining period.

Just above Boulder Flat is a log cabin. In his book, well known author Roger Miller identified the cabin below as the town of Belfort. The logs are weathered but the cabin is in good condition.

The foundation for another cabin sits along the road above the other cabins. A stacked rock foundation is built into the hill and you can see the remains of a fireplace.

If you continue past the foundation, the road continues to the top of Mt. Patterson and what many refer to as Stone Cabin, the Montague mine. My friend Gregg took me up Mt. Patterson in his turbo RZR. I love Honey Badger but a RZR is a lot of fun!

Visited 6-25-2021

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References

• Dangerous Roads: A mining road to Mt. Patterson California
• David Rumsey Map Collection: 1909 USGS Bridgeport, California
• The Diggins: Montague Gold Mine
• The Diggings: Patterson Mining District
• Durham, David L. California’s Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Word Dancer Press, 1998. Page 1146.
• Fourwheeler: Ghostly travels in the Sweetwater Range
• Gamett, James and Stan Paher. Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. Nevada Publications, 1863. Page 124.
• Ghosttowns.com: Belfort
• Ghosttowns.com: Boulder Flats
• Gudde, Erwin G. California Gold Camps: A geographical dictionary of camps, towns, and localities where gold was found and Mined: Wayside Stations and Trading Centers. University of California Press, 1975. Pages 31, 44, 57, 75, 334.
• Huegel, Tony. Sierra Nevada Byways: 51 of the Sierra Nevada’s Best Backcountry Drives. Wilderness Press, 2008. Pages 114-115.
• Mitchell, Roger. Inyo-Mono SUV Trails. Track and Trail Publications, 2003. Pages 24-28.
• Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 87.
• Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Desert Atlas. Nevada Publications, 2009. Page 204-205.
• Salley, H.E. History of California Post Offices 1849-1976. Heartland Printing and Publishing Company. 1977
• USGS: Belfort, California
• Western Mining History: Patterson District
• Western Mining History: Thoroughbrace Mine
• Wikipedia: Belfort, California
• Wikipedia: Sweetwater Mountains

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