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The effort to place Bickel Camp on the historic register was spearheaded in the late Sixties by Alex Apostolides, a writer, professor, artist, archeologist, and photographer who lived at the camp in the Seventies. His story can be accessed and read from the home page. The above scanned image of the original letter states that as of December 5, 1972 Last Chance Canyon was officially placed on the National Register of Historic places.
Some have claimed that since the letter doesn't specifically state Bickel Camp as a historic site that the camp was somehow not really deemed historical or the intended target of the declaration. Apostolides however was simply trying to protect many sites in the canyon. At the time Apostolides wrote letters and had meetings with various government officials about canyon history, there were many unspoiled historical buildings, gold camps, and Native American sites in Last Chance Canyon.
In those days Toni Seger kept Burro Schmidt's cabin up at the world famous tunnel so well preserved it appeared the old miner had just stepped out for a few moments. John Bullock and Mark Aslin kept Della Gerbracht's camp (Della known as the Queen of the El Pasos") in spotless condition. C. B. Jones was living in his cave waiting to defend America from communists he believed would soon attack from the North. He remained vigilant with his long barreled pistol, and the walls of his mine tunnel-home were covered with waterfalls of grey wax from his homemade candles.
Everywhere about the canyon there were rusting wagons, cars, and curious antique mining equipment. Desert Indian burial spots and village sites remained undisturbed for 8000 years. While Walter Knott had hauled off many of the local area's buildings for his Knott's Berry Farm ghost town, numerous cabins still stood and the railroad workers' opium cave was usable. After the Chinese had vacated the cave, the cool shady nook had been made into bar by local miners and a turn of the century wood stove could still be used on cold nights. .
It's interesting to note that Bickel's original Land Office claim was staked under mining laws enacted before there was a Bureau of Land Management. Yet in 1988 the local BlM officials declared war on all this fascinating history. Local newspapers reported that 80 old cabins were destroyed under the direction of Patricia E. McLean, the BLM Area manager. Gerbracht Camp was destroyed at the end of th is era.
It's a toss up however if more history was lost by government action or through inaction. The letter was just, after all, a piece of paper that some even dispute to this day. The canyon was seldom patrolled and little effort was made to protect the local color. The letter didn't stop people from shooting up and burning old cabins, including the old Owens Cabin at Mesa Springs that I once owned. Places like Last Chance Canyon were completely unprotected and steadily mined for their historical artifacts. Hundreds of bars and restaurants in and around Los Angeles are decorated with ore cars and rusting mining equipment from Last Chance. Bottle collectors have ravaged the dumps, Obsidian arrow points that once paved the desert washes went home to junk drawers in Orange County. One suburban patio in fact is said to have been paved with stolen Native American petroglyphs.
Still, through the efforts of Last Chance Charlie Hattendorf and other locals, Bickel Camp survives and is more or less intact. Reasonable remnants of Burro Schmidt's tunnel site remain through the efforts of Chuck Goodenough and otheres, Many of the canyon's old mining cabins have been fixed up for light camping use. These old huts cling like hollowed out cacti shells to the canyon sand, and silently tell desert tales. Back country travelers can now take turns camping in these old relics and wonder about the people who once made such places home. Today the BLM cooperates and works with local people to protect what is left of Last Chance Canyon and this is a good thing.
It is hoped that this heritage project will in some way aide the continued protection and appreciation of this spectacular bit of California gold. Those wishing to financially support this effort should click the link to Hattendorf's Friends of Bickel Camp from the home page. | |
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McLean Era--Clifton E. Lawson, the author of "A Traveler's Guide to Death Valley," is shown here confronting BLM Area Manager Patricia McLean. The crusading Mclean led the charge to remove miners from their claims. Her short time at the Ridgecrest BLM office was a reign of terror for many old miners. Like Bickel, many were driven from places they had lived all their lives, only to see their homes razed and burned. Bickel knew many of these miners and was so upset over the possible destruction of his beloved camp, he suffered a stroke and missed the meeting. Friends like Clifton and Larry O'Neil (who was then the camp's caretaker and is shown in photo's the background), reporters, and history buffs turned out to speak for Bickel Camp preservation. | |
