Traces of Gold Gulch

So often, the most interesting things in life are right under our noses but we aren’t even aware of them. That was the case when I discovered my newest obsession thanks to Ken of Stack’s Liberty Ranch a few weeks ago. The two of us were catching up over lunch in Balboa Park. Before departing, Ken said he wanted to check out the trail to Gold Gulch. The trail to what? He told me that during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park that one of the attractions was a Ghost Town called Gold Gulch. Once the Expo was over in 1936, it was removed. I stared at him in total disbelief. How had I never heard of this? As we walked over to the area now known as Zoro Garden, he told me that guests could ride a stagecoach along the path that spilled out onto the very vibrant Ghost Town of Gold Gulch. While it may not have been the yellow brick road, to me, it was the next best thing.



It was easy to imagine myself riding in a stagecoach, passing the oak trees and other sites along the way. According to Ken, there was also a replica of the Mark Twain cabin where the author spent the winter and wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Below is a vintage shot of the “original” replica, located in Sonora, California.



Can’t you just picture it nestled right here?



All I could keep thinking was, “How do we get this attraction back?” I purchased a souvenir guide for the 1935 Expo, hoping to glean more information.



Inside was a photo of Gold Gulch. Ken told me that both Walts, Knott and Disney, visited this attraction and were inspired when they built their own theme parks. Anyone who has been to Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm can see the living proof of this.



The guide book gave this description of Gold Gulch:

Admission free although area contains pay shows
Gold Gulch—down a ravine into 21 acres of raw Western mining town country. Stage-coaches rumbling down the narrow roads. All the thrill and excitement of the rip-roarin’ days of ‘49!. Aside from the fun of it, it’s a faithful “movified” version of the pioneering period by a Hollywood motion picture art director. Ten cents for a burro ride, down past the Shooting Gallery, Blacsmith Shop, Horse-shoe ring punctuated with hitching posts and whiskered miners. Visit the old Stamp mill, assay office, the Pioneer Dance Hall and old-time bar-room. The Old Mill, with a flume of wter to turn the wooden wheel, presses out the best cider you eer drank! And coffee out of a tin cup tastes grand at the Gulch Chuck Wagon—not to mention steam beer by the scupper. The cigar shop has the inevitable Wood Indian out front. The mighty smithy-at-his-forge turns out rings and medals from horse-shoe nails that delight the youngsters. Step right up, gals, and have your pitcher took, at the tin-type gallery! The boy-friend can be photoed with whiskers, six shooter revolver and ten gallon hat—and be leaning against a burron, if necessary. Gold Gulch isn’t just a show. It’s real. It savors of the days of Mark Twain, Bret Hart and John Sutter. You rub shoulders with such characters as Liminatin Lem, Gopher Joe, Screw Bean Benny and the “spattenest tabeccer spatter” in town which you probably remember in Oliver’s “Dessert Rough Cuts.” The heathen chinee and the strange characters from the four corners of the wold will be there—just as in ’49. And you? Well you’ll be one o’ ‘em, stranger.

I also acquired a Five Nugget souvenir bill from the Expo:



Love the artwork on this!



I immediately called my Mother to see if she had any recollection of Expo. She would have been three at the time, so my hope was that HER Mother had either taken her there or talked about it in her later years. By the next morning, I had a photo of a souvenir bracelet that she still had in her possession from the Expo. She wasn’t sure if her Mother had taken her or if the souvenir was a gift from someone else who attended.



And the final “duh” moment for me came when I realized that hanging on my living room wall was another souvenir from the 1935 Expo that had once belonged to my Grandmother. Chock full of images, including a Miner panning for Gold.



I returned a week later to make a video (definitely not ready for Sundance!) to document the pathway that guests once took to view Gold Gulch.



If you want to learn more about Gold Gulch, Ken of Stack’s Liberty Ranch put a great primer on his Facebook Page. Check it out!

Anyone else out there ever heard of this marvel?

See more 1935 California Exposition & Gold Gulch photos at my main website.