Lost Mines of Southern California: Where It All Began
On March 9, 1842, while taking a noon-day siesta under a great oak tree at Del Valle Rancho, Francisco Lopez y Arbello dreamt that he was surrounded by gold. Upon awakening he gathered wild onions growing near some sycamore trees just north of the great oak. Attached to the onion roots were several small pieces of gold. This event marked the first "official" recorded discovery of gold in ...