The big days of the gold rush in the Jacksonville area were already decades behind when Gin Lin kicked his hydraulic mining operation into high gear in the Applegate Valley.
The process used water to blast away the bed and banks of the gold-bearing creeks, forever altering the landscape. It made Gin Lin rich, and made white settlers further disenchanted with Chinese miners and other workers in the country.
The McKee Bridge Society in the Applegate Valley joins forces with the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) for an exploration of the mining area this week.
Now you know the subject of this month's Underground History, produced by Chelsea Rose of SOULA. She joins us from the work site with details.