H4160.1

1849; 1964
52 in HIGH
(132.08 cm HIGH)
Gift of Trinity County Historical Society
H4160.1

Early California Art and History, Science Special Gallery, December 2007 - September 2009

Shovel, handle is replacement (?). Material: Iron with wood handle. Date: ca. 1849. Description: Shovel may be worn in half, very rusty. Used in 1849 at Reading's Bar, site of the first gold discovery in Trinity County, California. Used by Mayor John C. Houlihan of Oakland, February 24, 1964 at the ground-breaking ceremony for Oakland's new museum. From the History Information Station: Object: Steel shovel with wood handle. History: One miner made the famous claim that "I made $10.00 damn easy, by working damn hard." He probably spent his days shovelling dirt into a rocker or into the communal Long tom. The work wore down the shovel by half, and probably the miner's fingers as well. There was nothing easy about mining. This shovel was used in 1849 at Reading's Bar, the site of the first discovery of gold in Trinity County. In 1964 the shovel was used by Mayor John C. Houlihan as part of the ground-breaking ceremony for the Oakland Museum. (D. Cooper, 5/97) The shovel blade is riveted to the shank holding the handle. This is an earlier type of manufacture, before one-piece shovel blades were made. Note: this shovel is pictured in 2000.0.31, a photograph from the groundbreaking ceremony (A. Nilsen, 10/23/2009).

Used: Reading's Bar ~ Trinity Co. | John C. Houlihan ~ mayor ~ Oakland | Ground-breaking ceremony ~ Oakland Museum

Bookmark and Share