Hites Cove (also Hite's Cove; less commonly Hite Cove) is a ghost town in Mariposa County, California.[1] The site is on the South Fork of the Merced River, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west-southwest of El Portal, within the Sierra National Forest.[2] It is reached via Hites Cove Road off State Route 140.
Hites Cove | |
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 The 2018 Ferguson Fire burned through the Hites Cove trail corridor; the trail was restored and reopened in 2021. | |
  Hites Cove Location in California  Hites Cove Hites Cove (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 37°38′27″N 119°50′57″W / 37.64083°N 119.84917°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Mariposa County |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Elevation | 1,578 ft (481 m) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1656072[1] |
The settlement takes its name from gold prospector John Hite, who discovered a gold-bearing quartz vein at the site in 1861 and developed it into one of the more productive mines in the southern Mother Lode region.[3] Today the site is best known for the Hites Cove Trail, a hiking route through the Merced River Canyon celebrated for its spring wildflower bloom.[4]
History
editGold mining
editJohn Hite discovered a gold-bearing quartz vein at the site in 1861 and recruited a crew of men to dig a tunnel along the vein and construct a stamp mill.[3] The mine workings eventually extended roughly 1,400 feet (430 m) into the hillside, with additional lateral drifts.[5] Hite built a ten-stamp mill that was destroyed by flood, then replaced it with a twenty-stamp mill later expanded to forty stamps, powered by water.[3] He also erected a hotel, a store, and a two-acre garden with a fountain.[3]
By the mid-1860s the camp had a population of over 100, including Chinese workers who built the Hites Cove Road and occupied a Chinatown at the south end of the settlement.[6] The mine was worked continuously by Hite and partners through about 1879, then passed through various changes of ownership. Total recorded production reached approximately $3 million, most of it before 1900.[5][7]
The Hites Cove post office operated from 1868 to 1869, and again from 1878 to 1889. A separate Hite post office operated from 1901 to 1902.[2] The settlement buildings burned in 1924. In 1968, stone foundations, retaining walls, and rusted mining machinery were still visible at the site.[6]
Trail and wildflowers
editThe Hites Cove Trail runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) one-way along the South Fork of the Merced River from a trailhead at Savage's Trading Post on State Route 140 to the former settlement. The trailhead marks the confluence of the South Fork with the main Merced River and the site of James D. Savage's 1850 trading post.[4] The trail falls within the Sierra National Forest, managed by its Bass Lake Ranger District.[8]
The canyon is known for a spring wildflower bloom, peaking from late February through May, that includes California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), western redbud, shooting stars, lupine, Mariposa lily, Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), and Indian paintbrush.[9][10]
The Ferguson Fire (July–August 2018), which started near Savage's Trading Post and burned 96,901 acres (39,214 ha) of the Merced River Canyon, closed the trail due to landslide and rockfall risk. Extensive trail restoration was carried out from 2019 onward by Mariposa County volunteers; the trail reopened in spring 2021.[4] The trail is seasonally closed in summer and fall due to extreme fire danger.[11]
The South Fork Merced River in this corridor carries both federal Wild and Scenic River designation and a California Wild Trout Stream designation.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hites Cove, California
- 1 2 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 782. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- 1 2 3 4 Chamberlain, Newell D. (1936). "John Hite, Millionaire Miner". The Call of Gold. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Hite Cove Trail". California Wilderness Coalition. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "Hite Mine (Deposit ID 10310629)". U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Data System. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- 1 2 Klette, William (January 28, 1968). "Hites Cove—Remnant of a Golden Age". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ↑ Clark, William B. (1970). Gold Districts of California. Bulletin 193. California Division of Mines and Geology. p. 64.
- ↑ "Merced River Recreation Area". Sierra National Forest, U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Hite Cove Wildflowers" (PDF). California Native Plant Society, Central Sierra Chapter. January 2026. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
- ↑ Krizan, Tony (April 22, 2010). "Flowers ablaze with color at Hite's Cove". Sierra Star. Oakdale, CA. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ↑ "Hite's Cove Trail" (PDF). Mariposa Trails (volunteer trail organization). Retrieved May 6, 2026.
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