Black Bear itself has a multifaceted post-colonial history. The discovery of gold in the region in the 19th century attracted miners, loggers, settlers, government and others who used the land without respect for the lives of the indigenous people. The the land on which the ranch now stands was once a mill site fed by ore carts traveling along steel capped wooden rails from the nearby Black Bear Mine. At that time, Black Bear was an incorporated town, at one time supporting a post office, general store and thousands of people. The mill site was owned by John Dagget, the Lieutenant governor of California, who raised two daughters there. During that same period a huge sawmill operated out of the nearby town of Sawyers Bar. Powered by hydroelectricity generated by the waters of the Salmon River the mill flourished. With timber depleted and the closure of Black Bear mine large mining and timber production ceased, replaced by recreational mining and much more limited logging under the management of the Forest Service. The rich soils of the area allowed it to once again become a flourishing forest of second growth timber.
In 1968 the land known as Black Bear Ranch was collectively purchased by members of the San Francisco Digger diaspora who came to live on the land. Now held in trust by past and current residents, it has supported a changing residential commune for over 50 years.
(More to come soon)…
(Are you past resident with history, art, photos/vidoes, or related info? Contact us, as we are looking for submissions!)
(Looking for the old site? Check out archive.org’s Wayback Machine blackbearranch.org entry)