The Ah Yee placer mine extends over 150 acres of the Vincent Creek drainage near its confluence with the Middle Fork John Day River. The site consists of five distinct placer mining feature complexes interconnected by extensive ditch networks. On the Vincent Creek valley floor the old placer works were destroyed by dredging in the 1940s but many of the 19th century placer cuts and tailings are still visible in the side drainages (Figures 1-3). The heavily decomposed ruins of four cabins have been identified, three of which produced fragments of Chinese ceramics and metal containers dating to before 1900. An excavation at one of these sites yielded numerous Chinese and mining related artifacts. Cartridges and the trigger mechanism from a percussion cap gun provide evidence that the Chinese occupants possessed firearms, likely for both hunting and personal protection (Figure 4).
The earliest mining likely occurred in the mid-1860s as prospectors searched the drainages of the John Day River following the discovery of Gold in Canyon City in 1862. In 1869 Stephen Graham sold his placer claims to Ah Yee and Company for $300.00. According to the claim conveyance record Ah Yee purchased “…ten mining claims, more or less situated on four gulches, also one ditch and twenty sluice boxes and three picks, one shovel, also one cabin, two frames {sp?}, one sluice fork, together with everything belonging to said claim and ditch, the said claim and ditch is situated between Vinson {now Vincent} Creek and Big {now Vinegar} Creek… ”
For a fun and educational visit to this site download the Agents of Discovery mobile application and the Chinatowns and Goldmines: A Story of Grant County Phase 3 mission. Learn more about Agents of Discovery.
Access Directions: To reach the Ah Yee Placer Mine from Prairie City head east on Highway 26 for approximately 15 miles to Highway 7. Turn left on Highway 7 for 1 mile then turn left onto County road 20. Drive west on County 20 for 26.7 miles to NF 2010. Turn right onto gravel Forest Road 2010. After approximately one mile turn left onto the native surface road and park. Walk across Forest Road 2010 to the tailings. The long rows of tailings are separated by channels where the sluice boxes would have been. The tailings and sluice channels extend for about 300 yards up hill parallel to the 2010 road. This is an undeveloped back county site. There are no trails or paths so watch for fallen trees and slippery rocks.
