Share
- By Ray Holt -
Ever hear of a place called Banner? It's located next door to Julian in southeastern San Diego County, so famous for its apples and apple pies. Strangely enough, Banner was once even more famous, to say nothing of wealthy. Meanwhile Banner City remains a small, quiet unincorporated community named for the fabric banner one stretched across its main street.
Its real story occurred in September, 1870, when a few ex-Confederate veterans looking for new careers hiked through the
area on their way to San Diego. One of the newcomers had the luck of slipping on a precipitous slope causing a foot clad in a stiff hiking boot to break through the crusty surface of a slippery hillside exposing bits and pieces of GOLD!
News spread quickly. Scores of would-be pioneer prospectors were soon digging all over the hills and valleys. Most of them found nothing; only a few persevered over the years, panning streams, and/or digging small shafts. The total “find” amounted to slightly more than $5 million. Still, exploration seems likely to continue because of the rising price of gold and new methods and tools.
Since the site lies well within an active seismic zone, devastating quakes may someday prove to be the ultimate “Open Sesame!"