There was gold in these hills.
Hidden in the rugged Sierra Nevada amid sprawling pine forests, Havilah was once a bustling mining town where stamp mills pulverized rock from the region's mines and prospectors panned for precious metals in the late 19th century. In its heyday, the town's main drag featured saloons, dance halls, inns and gambling houses.
'I was literally chased from absolute poverty into the possession of nearly a million dollars,' Harpending wrote in his autobiography. 'I discovered a great mining district and founded a thriving town. And if the matter of paternity is ever brought up in court, it will probably be proved to the satisfaction of a jury that I am the father of Kern County.' As gold became harder to find, people deserted Havilah, and its buildings fell into disrepair.
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