John Daggett is best known for establishing the Black Bear Mine along the Salmon River in Siskiyou County. However, Daggett was more than a miner.
Arriving in San Francisco in May 1852, he traveled first to Sacramento where he was an engineer in a steam flouring-mill. Lured by gold, the young man, described as “stalwart of frame, genial of disposition, noble in character,” headed to the mines in El Dorado and Calaveras counties. From there he moved to Marysville as foreman at his brother David’s foundry and machine shop. Then he headed north to the northern mines, landing at Trinidad Bay. He hiked overland for 125 miles on rough trails to Siskiyou County, where he took up mining again and blacksmithing.
In 1866, Daggett became one-third owner of the Black Bear quartz mine, one of the most important in the state. He had purchased 83 percent of the company shares by 1891.
Daggett also became a political figure, first when he was elected in 1858 to the State Assembly, representing Klamath and Del Norte counties. Reelected in 1880, he then won election two years later as the state’s lieutenant-governor.
Source: Doggett, Samuel B. A History of the Doggett-Daggett Family. Boston: Press of Rockwell and Churchill, 1894. Web. 23 Dec. 2015.
