Rising Sun Mine opened in 1850s

I've always been curious about the history of Colfax's Rising Sun Mine.In case you didn't know where it was located, it was situated just west of where Colfax High school now stands. The mine consisted of a tin building with its stamp mill and outbuildings for the workers. Some "old timers" talk about playing baseball in the large field next to the mine buildings.An outcropping of the mine was reportedly discovered by John and Nicolas Sutton and Michael Curley as they were prospecting along the Bear River in the 1850s.In 1875, Jacob Neff, later Lt. Governor of California, was the mine superintendent.Five years later, miners' pay was supposed to be cut from $3 to $2.50, so they went on strike.Eventually, the miners eventually won their battle and production resumed. By 1887, there were 60 to 75 miners working the site.In 1896 a drain tunnel was started at the Bear River. It was supposed to tap into the mine shaft at the 500-foot level, but the mine was forced to close because of flooding. The mine was reopened in 1918.But, in the years prior to that, a fire destroyed all the buildings and everything had to be rebuilt.Value of tailings being processed ran from $4 to $10.50 per ton.An electric hoist was installed in 1919, but it took two months to drain the shaft with the use of electric pumps.The mine closed, opened and changed hands numerous times over the next few years.On Feb. 3, 1938, shortly after 4 p.m., John Kauffman received a frantic telephone call for help from the Rising Sun mine superintendent L.A. Hughes.He reported there had been an accident at the mine and three men had been trapped.Twenty-five men responded to the call and began the rescue work.Foreman Frank Waddell, Ben Dressen and Joe Commondelli were at the seventh level when they heard an ominous roar overhead. The head frame, weighed down by two 50-ton bins of ore, had snapped. Several tons of rock plunged down the shaft, an estimated four tons falling 720 feet. Dr. Ray Atkinson was at the scene waiting to attend to the miners.Coroner Francis West sent Pep Starr with an ambulance.However, the three miners had found a safe spot just before the rocks reached them. Climbing up to the sixth level, they were able to work their way out the 2,700-foot drain shaft to the Bear River. As they were walking back to the tunnel, they were met by Rich Mikelsen and Bill Taulman, who had started a search for them. After administrating a "stimulant," Art Cunningham drove the men back to the mine.When they arrived at the mine, Waddell snapped, "Who in the hell shut off the electricity so I couldn't fix the pump?"In 1956 John Wegman purchased the mine and his son still owns a portion of the property.