T welve miles south of Hot Creek on the eastern slope of the Hot Creek Mountains in 1866 a rich ore discovery was made. Four years later some important location where made, one of which was the Two G Mine by Dr, Gally and M. V. B. Gillett.
T he Tybo Mining district was founded in 1870 taking the southeast portion of the Empire District. Following that year a smelter was erected and several other mine were now brought into production. The Tybo Consolidated Company owned some of the more important mines, a London Corporation by J. B. McGee. In 1874, the townsite of Tybo was plotted and the first resident was John Centers since having made his home there in August of 1866. The following year in 1875 another furnace was built along with a twenty-stamp mill.
A fter one year, the town grew to a 1000 souls and had five stores, two blacksmiths shops, and numerous saloons. Until 1879, the ore was smelted but later within the same year the process of crushing and roasting was adopted. The new process forced the closing of the smelters putting 400 men out of work and the town started to decline.
D ue to the early demand for coal by the smelters, the first charcoal kilns built in 1872 were right above Tybo over the summit by one mile. The furnaces created a large need for charcoal, and the Tybo Consolidated owned large tracts of woodland around Tybo and north of Hot Creek. The first kilns were over the summit from Tybo and as demand grew more were built over in Kiln Canyon. This was to be followed by more kilns in 1877 north of the Hot Creek Ranch.
T ybo during its boom years from 1874 to 1879 had a Templar Lodge and a brick schoolhouse with twenty-five pupils. A Mr. Ragsdale who sold out to William Taylor founded the Tybo Sun Newspaper in 1876 and the publication was suspended in 1879.
T ybo at first was pronounced as a quite little town. However, the miners were of great racial differences, made up of Irish, Cornish and a large amount of central Europeans. This mixture of miners causes the town many difficulties. Many confrontations occurred and often brought flying lead and caused many unnamed graves. With everyone in town fighting among them selves what could be worse, add twenty or so Chinese.
T he contractors for the charcoal kilns had massive orders to fill and with all of the white workers in the mines, laborers were hard to come by. Therefore, they imported some Chinese coolies to cut wood and fire the kilns. Angered by the import of Chinese labor the white workers of the district put their inter-racial disputes a side and united to protest against the Chinese. Fortified with liquor creating great courage the howling pack at midnight stormed the charcoal camp. With the cracking sounds of bullwhips, blasts from their pistols and the drunken curses they sent the terrified Orientals fleeing for their lives.
N ext morning found the charcoal contractor in pursuit of their scattered work force, gathering them from individual hiding points and herding them like sheep back to work at the kilns. They were ordered to resume work and carry on their duties under the protection of loaded Winchesters for the rest of the day. Nightfall brought about the same conclave of 20 miners bristling with guns and more cursing. However, with the armed guards patrolling the charcoal camp and its environs the idea of cleaning out the camp of the chinks lost some of its savor and the violence was resolved. Instead, the contractors were given twenty-four hours to get rid of the chinamen.
B y the end of the grace period the chinamen were still cutting wood and the guards were still guarding. Still another ultimatum was issued, this time the chinamen were to leave camp by nightfall or both they and their employers would be run out of camp.
B y this time, the white workers were so aroused that it seems inevitable that there would be bloodshed eventually. The Chinese now fed up with the whole squalid ordeal offered to leave the district in exchange for stage fair to Eureka. With help of the Anti-Asiatic league providing stage fair the contractors were left to deal with their contracts in the best way they could. Although the whole ordeal was over this was just another happening the Chinese had to deal with. Thus ended the Chinese War.
A ny way the town managed to hang on for years, in 1953 it was still considered a nice place to live. The Brandt Clan was the sole population of Tybo Dick, Victor J. and his wife Martha along with seven children. And now days in 2004, a new boom has struck the town. Several are repairing the old shacks and the old school house is being rebuilt.
M aybe soon it will rise and boom again.
On our May 23, 2003 trip we came back for the Cemetery !
Want to read the Tybo Sun Newspaper 1877 Clippings!
To see the Charcoal Kilns above Tybo See Kilns!
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