ShareThisYREKA, Calif. - The last time so much gold was pulled out of this town, the place was known as "the richest square mile on earth," a Gold Rush jewel north of California's Mother Lode.
By the mid-1850s, the town so glittered in gold that miners showered the popular child dancer Lotta Crabtree with buckskin bags filled with nuggets at the Arcade Saloon.
Now Yreka is feeling violated by a heist that has stolen its history and wounded its pride.
Earlier this month two men apparently slithered in through the window of a men's restroom at the Siskiyou County Courthouse and reached a fortified lobby display containing one of California's most revered gold collections.
A security alarm failed to activate around 1 a.m. Feb. 1 as the thieves hacked away at the inch-thick bulletproof glass. They punched a hole big enough to grab as much as $1 million in nuggets, including a treasured, 28-ounce find, discovered in 1913, known as "the shoe," then stuffed the riches into a backpack and escaped hours before the theft was discovered at 7 a.m.
Yreka, population 7,500, is one of a handful of California mining communities that has proudly kept precious trophies of its golden heritage on public display, even as gold prices have topped $1,740 an ounce.
Yreka's gold was kept most recently in the glass and flagstone case at the courthouse. The thieves made off with 351 ounces of a 624-ounce collection valued at up to $3 million due to its specimen quality.
Declaring the thieves "stole a piece of our Siskiyou County history," Sheriff Jon Lopey announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to their arrest and prosecution.
Gold is woven into the character of the region, where a mule packer named Abraham Thompson made the first local discovery in 1851.
In 2010, with the county facing a budget crisis and employee layoffs, officials rejected suggestions to sell off some of its gold, which was donated by local residents and purchased over generations.
In the wake of the heist, Darci Moore, curator at the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa County, said dramatically high gold prices are forcing museums housing Gold Rush treasures to review security.
"Many communities that are part of the Mother Lode are very proud of their history and they do like to put their collections on display to tell the story," she said. "But in doing that, you have to be conscious about the risk."
The state mining museum houses famous gold, including a 13.8-pound crystalline piece -- the Fricot Nugget -- found on the middle fork of the American River in 1864.
In the Tuolumne County town of Sonora, a display in a historic jailhouse features mining-era nuggets and quartz rocks speckled in gold. A year ago, burglars broke in but were scared off by the alarm.
(Reach Peter Hecht at phecht(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com.)
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