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Doble Townsite
A little town named Bairdstown began its revival as Doble in 1893 at the foot of Gold Mountain while the mill was in operation. Gold became harder and harder to find though, and by 1915 most folks had left or were buried in the cemetery.
Doble Town
Imagine if a small town in California's Big Bear Valley were abuzz with joy because people believed there might be gold found within it. That was what Doble was back in the late 1800s. From everywhere, folks rushed to get rich quick. And over the course of time, the town just developed around a big gold mine.
Life in Doble: A Snapshot
Yesteryear, Doble was quite the hopping place. This is the town that boasted the largest stamp mill machine around in those days, pounding away on rocks to extract the gold. All this was part of the Lucky Baldwin Mine, the pride and joy of the town. Picture this: miners working hard all day and then heading to one of these saloons to unwind. The town even boasted a schoolhouse for the kids and a hotel for those few visitors. Life was hard, but there was a sense of adventure.
The Gold Runs Out
Like all good things, Doble's golden days didn't last forever. As there was no more gold to mine, people began leaving in search of greener pastures. By early in the early're 1900s, Doble was just another ghost town—a collection of empty buildings with memories.
Today
Today, Doble is a very nice place to go see some history or to explore. There you can see so much of the old ruins: what is left of that huge stamp mill and even foundations of buildings that used to house people and businesses. Now, it is really quiet there, but you still somehow get a feel of what it was like living there back when the town was alive with mining and hopes of striking it rich.
Resources
The Big Bear Historical Society keeps many old documents and tales of towns such as Doble.
California State Parks has information about the Holcomb Valley area containing Doble.
Websites like Legends of America and Ghosttowns.com share stories and facts about ghost towns from all over the country, including Doble.
"Lucky" Baldwin
Doble Cemetery
Baldwin - stamp mill
Holcomb Valley Gold Discovery
"LUCKY" BALDWIN'S MINE IS OPERATING AGAINSAN BERNARDINO, June 1910. With the general revival of the mining industry in the desert of San Bernardino county which is sweeping like a wave from camp to camp, the famous Gold Mountain mine has been started, after years of idleness, and the big forty-stamp mill is pounding away as during the days of old, when fortune after fortune was taken from its depths. This mine was at one time owned by "Lucky" Baldwin. Twice has the stamp mill been destroyed by fire. It is also known as the Delmar. There is a rumor that tho Rose mine, another of the desert's famous properties, will also start up and in the region tapped by the Parker-Bengal cutoff of the Santa Fe the mines are scenes of activity.
Los Angeles Herald, Volume 37, Number 262, 20 June 1910
