Cerro Gordo: Read All About It Hardcover – February 26, 2023

This book tells the story of the famed Cerro Gordo mines in newspaper clippings. A town with no law, no church, no school, Cerro Gordo is said to have had at least one murder each week. The town did have saloons, brothels, and back-breaking work for as many as 4,000 residents perched atop the Inyo Mountains with no water and a long wagon trail to the nearest town.Cerro Gordo mines have been credited for the growth of Los Angeles. At one time, California's largest producing silver mine, the Union mine in Cerro Gordo extracted silver, lead, and zinc from the hills. And by 1900, roughly $17 million in precious minerals had come from Cerro Gordo (adjusted for inflation, that number is closer to $500 million today). Much more than just a mining den in the mountains, Cerro Gordo had blossomed into a fully functioning town, including 4,000 residents, 100 outhouses, seven saloons, and three brothels. Newspaper readers of the day were hungry for news of Cerro Gordo. Newspaper reporters fed that hunger with frequent reports written in colorful language. Real stories about real people - follow their daily lives, their politics, their money - all presented in scores of actual newspaper clippings. Read all about it! Read more