On November 2, 1980 Jim White and I visited Bennettville. After car camping near Saddlebag Lake we took a pleasant two mile day hike from the Tioga Tarns Nature Trail to the old mining town site of Bennettville.
The more direct route is from the campground at the Saddlebag Road turnoff. From the back of the campground you follow a well-worn trail near a creek and soon arrive at the two remaining buildings of the old Mine town.
We went to the mine tunnel and found it open so walked back into it quite a way. We didn't have flashlights with us but the tunnel was so straight that light extended well back. The tracks are still in place and planks between them keep you out of the water that drains out of the mine on the tunnel floor.
We found a trail that apparently leads up to the crest to the other major mine in the area located on top of the Tioga Crest which is usually reached by a trail from inside Yosemite National Park.
The trail we found was apparently the main route when Bennettville was thriving. We followed the old road which once led from a sawmill up near Saddlebag down to this town. When the road cut up toward Saddlebag we crossed over to the Saddlebag Lake road and headed back toward the highway and to the car. Much interesting history here. The trail up to the upper mine would be a nice day hike for another time.
Mine tunnel at Bennettville Mine - Inyo National Forest 1980
Mine tunnel at Bennettville Mine - Inyo National Forest 1980
Assay Building and Mt. Dana at Bennettville Mine - Inyo National Forest 1980
Bunkhouse at Bennettville Mine - Inyo National Forest (Wikepedia 2014)
Bennettville (originally, Bennett City and Tioga) is a former settlement and ghost town in Mono County, California. It was located on Mine Creek 4 miles east-southeast of Mount Conness.
Mining began at the place in 1860. The first mine was renamed Tioga, when the Great Sierra Consolidated Mining Company bought it. By 1878, there were many mines in the Tioga district. The mining remnants form part of the Great Sierra Mine Historic Site.
The Tioga post office operated from 1880 to 1881. The Bennettville post office operated from 1882 to 1884 which was Bennettville's growth era. The name honored Thomas Bennett, a mining company president. The mining company transported tons of equipment to the site and spent $300,000 developing the town, but no gold of consequence was produced. Bennettville was a ghost town by 1890.
The remnants of Bennettville consist of two commemorative plaques and two buildings on a hilltop, an assay office and a bunkhouse both of which were restored in 1993.