Location: The site of Riggs is located northwest of Baker, CA. The turn off is approximately 16 miles north on highway 127. The turnoff is located at 35º 29.2' by 116º 10.08'. Riggs siding is located at 35º 30.3' by 116º 7.08'.
Riggs is the name of a railroad siding that was one of the sidings for the Tidewater and Tonopah railroad. Riggs was named after a prominent mine and its discoverer, Frank Riggs. Frank Riggs was prospecting the area as early as the 1880's and by 1890 he had located an incredibly rich silver vein in the Silurian Hills. His mine was so rich that he kept an iron door on the entrance so that it resembled a giant bank vault.
Rigg's mine ore ran as much as $4000 per ton and no ore worth less than $500 per ton would even be shipped. During the 1890's, Riggs shipped his ore from Daggett and shipped it express which cost $135 per ton just in the shipping costs. When the Tidewater and Tonopah railroad layed their tracks just south of his mine, he was able to ship his ore directly to the mills. In April of 1914, Rigg's wife died and he began leasing his mine.
| Abandoned Tidewater and Tonopah Railroad bed near Riggs, CA. |  |
At this time, his mine had produced some $100,000 worth of silver. The new mining company that leased the property took out another $100,000 over the next 6 years. The mine has been worked on and off whenever the price of silver warrants it. A recent visit showed abandoned mining equipment, a small building, and several mine workings. At the siding of Riggs there are several can dumps, the railroad bed (tracks were pulled up long ago), and a cistern.
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Water cistern at the Riggs siding. |