In 1887, Joseph Pearsall saw glittering deposits of gold in the river and traced them back to what was going to be known as Monte Cristo. The town's peak was at 1000 when the mines were controlled by John D Rockefeller. 210 Tons of gold and silver was mined every day, and the miners would bring home about 11,000 dollars every month for their hard work. The downfall of the town occurred after floods rapidly tore the town apart in November 1896. After recovering from the first flood, one year later the town was hit with another flood. This time it was too much, repairs dug too deep into mining profits as the mines at this time were running dry. By 1900 most of the miners of the area would leave to find other mining booms in the region. Others stayed behind, leaving Monte Cristo their new home. Even the town occupants knew staying in this former mining town was eerie, even naming their new paper, Ghost Town News. The town had some notable residents, Frederick Trump, grandfather of Donald Trump, owned a town hotel. As well as James Kyes, future commander of the US Navy, whose battleship, the USS Leary, was lost in WWII. The town had a second resurgence in the 1960's when the area became a mountain lodge. Only running for 20 years until a mystery fire burnt down the Lodge and most of the remaining buildings in the town.

Now the town of Monte Cristo has a little over 15 buildings remaining and we'll be not only learning about the extensive history of this mountain boom town, but first hand discovering what's left. If you guys enjoy the exploration, leave a thumbs up and subscribe for more abandoned and historical videos. Thanks for watching !


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