Mining began at the place in 1860.[1] The first mine was renamed Tioga, when the Great Sierra Consolidated Mining Company bought it.[1] By 1878, there were many mines in the Tioga district.[1] The founders of the town envisioned 50,000 people living there.[2]
The Tioga post office operated from 1880 to 1881.[1] The Bennettville post office operated from 1882 to 1884,[1] that were Bennettville's growth era.[3] The name honored Thomas Bennett, a mining company president.[1] The mining company transported tons of equipment to the site and spent $300,000 developing the town, but no silver of consequence was produced.[3] Bennettville was a ghost town by 1890.[3]
Ruins
The remnants of Bennettville consist of two commemorative plaques and two buildings on a hilltop, an assay office and a bunkhouse both of which were restored in 1993.[3] The mining remnants form part of the Great Sierra Mine Historic Site.
^ abcdefghDurham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1146. ISBN1-884995-14-4.
^ abcdVarney, Philip; Drew, John and Susan (2001). Ghost Towns of Northern California: Your Guide to Ghost Towns & Historic Mining Camps. Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. p. 148. ISBN0896584445.
