Lots of history buried under Rollins

The area now covered by Rollins Lake and adjacent lands are rich in history.The Spaniards did the earliest known exploration in 1822, naming the river "Rio de Oso."In fact, an early emigrant route from the east to Sacramento followed the banks of the Bear River.Findley built the second trading post in Nevada County on a point overlooking the confluence of the Bear River and the Greenhorn in 1849.The Nevada Daily Gazette for April 21, 1866 reported, "on a ridge between the Bear River and Greenhorn Creek, John Thorp, his brother and James Smith found copper." Joseph Shebley built a fish hatchery at what is now the Greenhorn end of Rollins Lake around 1870. From 1883 and 1888, the hatchery was operated by the state.Shebley's pond became a popular picnic site because it was easily accessible. Even the original route of the Narrow Gauge made a loop around the ranch. Evidence of an old road, a rail bed and a mine tunnel have been exposed when the water in Rollins Lake drops more than 80 feet during the summer.Along the west bank of the Bear River are stretches of mortarless rock retaining walls that once supported an old road. Most traces of the 1876-1908 Narrow Gauge rail route that crossed the Bear River and Greenhorn area on wooden trestles have been erased by time and bulldozers.But on the bank along the Long Ravine arm of the lake, a single section of track protrudes. The exposed mine tunnel is up the Bear River a short distance from the confluence with the Greenhorn area.Nearby, the remains of an old mine structure can be seen through the trees on the bank, even in normal years. Another mine on the peninsula, the Numitor, vanished under the lake. It was originally established by Warren Pierce in March 1884 as the Mountain Maid Mining claim. In May of 1889, Dr. Charles Pusheck, a Chicago doctor and drug manufacturer, arrived at Chicago Park. He had been one of the original backers of the Chicago Park Colony (yet another story). Pusheck built a health resort, Orchard Springs Resort, on the road now named for it, around 1895. The place failed as a health resort, but thrived as a hotel. Dr. Pusheck later purchased the Mountain Maid property.In August 1899, the Numitor Gold Mining Company was organized. Bertha Bierwagen's uncle, William Sternitsky, reportedly was one of the original founders of the mine. Rich nuggets and quartz specimens were taken from the mine, which helped to obtain capital from Chicago. In fact, it was rumored that shortly after work began at the mine that nearly $22,000 was taken out of it.