Trabuco Canyon Tin

Santa Ana Tin Mining Co. Mill as it was.
(Historic pictures from USC Library)

Unknown to most, Trabuco Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains was a hotbed for underground activity.

Just in the backyard of suburban Orange County, the Santa Ana Mountains are a haven for those wishing to escape the concrete jungle into something a bit more concrete free.

Trabuco canyon is one of the major canyons of the San Juan Creek watershed and holds a natural stream that flows almost all the time in certain places. All through this canyon are remnants of the past; be they old fences, historic cabins, or ancient oak trees. While many people visit this canyon with its dirt road and numerous hiking opportunities each day, most are not aware of the history that lay just off the road.

In 1877, a local resident/prospector discovered tin ore in the hillsides of these mountains, this particular outcrop in Trabuco Canyon (others being in Tin Mine Canyon on the eastern slope). The word spread, but nobody bothered doing a thing about this find of metal until roughly 1903. In 1903, the mining industry descended on the site with force. A large mill was erected and several thousand feet of workings were dug. 

This eagle formerly used on
Borden's products was the
logo of the Santa Ana Tin Co,

The first owner and the man who kickstarted the project was J. A. Comer. He was partnered with his brother L. C. Comer and Gail Borden, III, the owner of the New York dairy Borden Milk Company. So just why was a dairy magnate interested in tin mining? Turns out, the use of wooden buckets for the storage of milk had been outlawed soon before this mine took off, and as such he was interested in the use of tin for buckets rather than the now-illegal wood buckets of yesteryear.

Shafts were sunk, timbers were erected, and a full-fledged mine was being worked. A total of 1.6 million dollars was poured into this project, and yet not a single ounce, not a single dollar of tin was produced from this ore.

It was said by L. A. Barrett in a 1912 report,

Conditions were rough in early mines

"I have had personal knowledge of these claims for twenty years and know that the only money ever made from them has been secured through sale of stock and transfer to new owners." 

The mine changed hands many times; each to a new owner looking to make a millionaire of himself. The new owners attempted searching for new metals, all ending with the same fate as the hoped-for tin.

One glimmer of hope shone through the musty darkness of the mine when amounts of the rare mineral  arcanite was found. This was enough to spur more interest in the mine until it was found that the tablet of arcanite came from a pine rail tie in Tunnel #1.

Tin roofing in a tin mine?

It is always sad to see a mine die, especially one such as this that had notable interest and a very nice story behind it. The mine closed for good after never seeing a dime of profit. Tin mining was cancelled in 1906 after the mill had only been in operation for a month and a half until the ore was found to be of such low quality the profit margin would be too low to continue to operate.

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Before carrying on with the current state of this mine, I wish to shout out to Chris Jespen's OC History Roundup page on this location. It was my source for writing my own article on this interesting location.

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As it looks today

I find that this site is still very interesting to visit, even though all the buildings have been razed. All that remains of the mine structures is the three-tiered mill foundation, made from local stone cemented together. There are a few concrete pads and low walls inside the old footprint, but they are hard to find because it is so overgrown. The old road to the site is also overgrown and hard to find, but it leads all the way up to the foundation of the mill where an old doorway used to be. There are scattered artifacts, notably a small pile of very old bricks in the corner of this structure, some of which are from Kimball's Brickyard in National City, just outside of San Diego. There are a few bricks I could not identify. I also noticed that the site showed signs of recent use, almost entirely evidenced by beer cans and bonfire remains.

The site including the low wall on the western side.

The scattered artifacts on the ground make for fun exploring, and the peace and quiet (until a yahoo drives his modded truck by) make for an isolated feeling. The last trip I made, woodpeckers were pecking into the old oak trees, and the still air makes for a dead silent atmosphere.

The mine tunnel up top is fairly unstable it appears, and there is between six and ten inches of water across the floor of the inside, excepting where the tunnel from the stope comes in where there is a small beach.

Interesting find: Valve from the inside of an engine. These would be
pushed by the cam shaft to inject fuel and remove exhaust. 

Stonework meets bricks. These brick blocks were manufactured
probably by the Los Angeles Brick and Block plant

Looking down the wall

Close-up of the craftsmanship.

Old Bricks, from Kimbal, Corona, and other unidentifiable bricks.

The three-terraced rock walls form the foundations of the mill building.

Panorama looking over the whole site from the first terrace.

Looking up to the other terraces

Old bricks built in on the edge of the stairwell.

Ventilation pipe coming out of the old shaft.

Close up of the pipe. The shaft here can be seen in the
historical picture at the top of the page. The wood structure
near the top of the building is 

There was a lot of water coming out of the mine. I cleared out
the channel a little bit, and a lot of water came out.

Looking at the portal of Tunnel 1. Over 1000 feet of workings were
eventually dug.

Frog

There were a lot of frogs in the mine entrance.

Inside the tunnel. Between six and ten inches of water everywhere.
Because I cleared the channel there were at least two
inches drained from the inside.

More frog

Looking up into a stope.

Looking down the long tunnel. There were old
rail ties in the water.

Old foundation on top of the terraces.

Last look at the mill.

Fallen Sycamore tree is now a bridge.

Old dam on the river from the days when the mine was operating.

Trabuco Creek emerges from the river bed.

Extra Special Bonus Picture

It may not seem like much to the reader, but visiting this site and enjoying the serenity of history and sycamore trees brings the dead history to life in more ways than are explainable. Attempting to identify and locate everything seen in the old pictures and on the site today are what make this one of my favorite locations to explore.