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La Grange Dredge Camp 1971

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  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0003.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0002.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0001.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0004.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett  sitting forge.<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still
    Dredge Camp 1971_0006.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0005.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0007.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0009 copy.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0008.jpg
  • Throne Gray, Modesto Bee Reporter and  LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett fou
    Dredge Camp 1971_0010.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett check out Retort<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still
    Dredge Camp 1971_0011.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0013.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett sits on forge where he work as a kid.<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found
    Dredge Camp 1971_0012.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0014.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0015.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0016.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0018.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0017.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett  and Dick Belt, Belt Printing<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the sma
    Dredge Camp 1971_0019.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mi
    Dredge Camp 1971_0022.jpg
  • Thorne Gray, Modesto Bee reporter and  LeRoy Triplett <br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett fou
    Dredge Camp 1971_0021.jpg
  • LeRoy Triplett  and Dick Belt<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still a
    Dredge Camp 1971_0020.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0024.jpg
  • Dick Belt<br />
<br />
La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, �
    Dredge Camp 1971_0023.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0025.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0026.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0028.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0027.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0029.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0031.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0033.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0030.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0034.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0032.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0035.jpg
  • La Grange Gold Dredging Co. was one of the longest lasting dredge companies in the state from 1906 to 1951.  Readers note the La Grange dredge worked in the Tuolumne river and The Tuolumne Dredge operated on dry land south of La Grange.  These were separate companies.<br />
<br />
In this camp some of the last of California’s gold miners lived in a small community while they operated huge dredging machines on the Tuolumne River.  “The camp was always quiet, always quiet,” said LeRoy Triplett of Waterford, then 81 (1971), standing where he had worked as a boy in the blacksmith trade.  Triplett went to work for the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. in 1909, a year after the firm began working the river bottomland in the last real effort in California to extract gold at a profit.  He left the firm in 1918 as chief engineer.  La Grange already had seen the Forty-Niners come and go, and after them the hydraulic miners who washed away hillsides in search of gold.  The scars remain on the landscape, their homes and camps are crumbling or gone.  But there is no effort to preserve the La Grange Gold Dredging Co. camp, although it, unlike the dredge it belonged to the publicly owned Modesto and Turlock’ Irrigation Districts.  Then in 1980 the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto created a youth camp.  South of Basso Bridge, east of Lake Road, is the 50-acre Kiwanis Youth Camp, which was established in 1980 by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Modesto. This camp is available on a reservation basis for any organized youth group “free of charge.”  The youth camp is located adjacent to remnants of the historic gold dredge camp, which was active between 1907 and 1951.  Still there was the blacksmith shop and shed, where Triplett worked, five small but attractive homes, an office and safe and the retort house where the gold was recovered.  They have suffered from time and vandalism, but they could be restored.  On a visit in 1971, Triplett found the small town still alive in his mind, “I'd live i
    Dredge Camp 1971_0036.jpg
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