Space Cowboy
Newbie
- Aug 31, 2010
- 1
- 0
I found a mention of this forum at Dzrtgrls, and I'm wondering if someone here might know about Bill Hill, William Hill, possibly William T. Hills, a prospector from the turn-of-the-century in the south-west. Desert Magazine once referred to him as the 'Famous Bill Hill'. Fred Rynerson mentions him three times in his book about the gem mining history in San Diego California. What even got me onto this was someone contacting me on-line after I had written an article for DesertUSA.com about Moon Valley, titled Desert Sprite. He'd asked me if I knew of any cabins or caves that had been occupied in that area. This is more than ten years ago now. As it turns out, Bill Hill lived in a cave from 1904 to 1919 roughly a mile south of the Mexican Border. Second-hand oral history describes him as a 'mountain of a man', that would come into Campo, some distance west of his cave, every couple of months, leading his burros, for supplies. He would always pay his bill with gold dust. I have found his name is California state mineral reports from that era, mention William Hill holds gem claims in the immediate area north of the border. A San Diego Union article from the 1950's explains that the Elliott Mine was originally a gold claim, owned by Bill Hill, who sold it to Elliott, who did some work and found a huge block of tungsten, ultimately selling the claim to the Prius brothers.
I have visited his cave and excavated some of it. I now know how it feels to be tracked by a Predator Drone. Bill's name is scratched into the wall, marked '1904', all the way through '1919'. There's many other names there, some of them dated as late as 1971. Trash debris dates to that 1910's era.
This is where I hit a wall. I want to know the Who-What-Where-When-How-and-Why of Bill Hill, but the San Diego History archives not only do not have any mention of Bill Hill, but even Fred Rynerson, who wrote the book on the history of gems and mining in San Diego County at the turn of the century. I've attempted to go to the Mountain Empire Historical Society, which is based in the Campo Stone Store, but I keep being put off. I've made contact with someone who knows Fred Rynerson's grandson, asking if he has anything, oral history, unpublished writings, not available to the general public on the famous Bill Hill, and the man responded 'So, he's looking for the gold?', and told my contact that if I joined his church, he might talk to me.
I'm not looking for any gold. I think the San Diego Union article covered that.
All help greatly appreciated,
Space Cowboy
I have visited his cave and excavated some of it. I now know how it feels to be tracked by a Predator Drone. Bill's name is scratched into the wall, marked '1904', all the way through '1919'. There's many other names there, some of them dated as late as 1971. Trash debris dates to that 1910's era.
This is where I hit a wall. I want to know the Who-What-Where-When-How-and-Why of Bill Hill, but the San Diego History archives not only do not have any mention of Bill Hill, but even Fred Rynerson, who wrote the book on the history of gems and mining in San Diego County at the turn of the century. I've attempted to go to the Mountain Empire Historical Society, which is based in the Campo Stone Store, but I keep being put off. I've made contact with someone who knows Fred Rynerson's grandson, asking if he has anything, oral history, unpublished writings, not available to the general public on the famous Bill Hill, and the man responded 'So, he's looking for the gold?', and told my contact that if I joined his church, he might talk to me.
I'm not looking for any gold. I think the San Diego Union article covered that.
All help greatly appreciated,
Space Cowboy
