Eldorado Claims

On July 14, 1912, Edward Hartzell (Sidsie Jensen Rhoades' new husband), along with D.C. and L.M. Miles, James Hartzell, W.E. Cox, Parley and Frank Warren, J.C. Fergeson, and a Mr. Summers, emerged upon the Rock Creek/Grandaddy Lake region where they filed claims of their own. The first group of claims (July 14th) were called the "Eldorado," and their second group (July 17th) were the "Klondike # 1 and 2."

Their Eldorado claims were located "on the West Fork of Rock Creek at 3 forks, second left-hand fork, 1/4 mile above cabin." The exact location was the meadows adjacent to Lodgepole Lake just east of Grandaddy Lake, one-fourth mile west of the old Rhoades and Hathenbruck cabin. Their two Klondike claims were described as being "2 miles up the West Fork of Rock Creek, 4 miles from the big lake (Grandaddy Lake) in Rock Creek Basin, 8 miles above the (Upper) Stillwaters and 1 mile above the ranger or government cabin (located near the mouth of Cabin Creek), on the Left Hand Fork."

Mining operations soon commenced upon two of the lower grade gold deposits at Lodgepole Lake. A new cabin was built and covered with a corrugated tin roof with the assistance of William Davies, who was at that time the owner and operator of the Rock Creek Ranch. Long, wooden water troughs or ditches were constructed to and from the mines, and heavy, metal sluice boxes were employed in their operations. However, something went wrong. The mining project fizzled and the claims were later abandoned.

Today, all that remains are the flooded mine shafts, several old dumps, the remains of the metal sluice boxes, some pipe, bits and pieces of the old wooden water ditches and the collapsed cabin. Ore samples lifted from the overburden or from the old dumps near the sluice boxes have assayed one-fourth ounce gold per ton, lending credence that these were the workings of the low grade ore bodies, which were described by Hathenbruck. The Rhoades and Hathenbruck cabin, nestled within the timber one-fourth mile to the east, has practically been destroyed by the dynamite charge of some irresponsible individual.--Lost Gold of the Uintah, pg. 109