The Lost Whiskey Of Raymond

The Raymond Mining District was in operation from 1863 – 1869. It was locted roughly four miles north of Silver Mountain and four miles south-west of Markleeville, along Krumm Creek entering Pleasant Valley. Named for R. W. Raymond, who surveyed the area for the U.S. Geological Survey, Raymond City was just a small settlement with houses made up mostly of shakes, bark, and brush. It also boasted a drug store and a saloon.

Legend says that when the town closed, (likely as miners departed for better diggins’) the owners of Raymond Saloon hid their liquor bottles and whiskey kegs in a nearby mine tunnel for their eventual return, then caved in the mouth of the tunnel.

For almost 150 years people have searched for the lost whiskey of Raymond. Some never found the town, and some located a few bottles, but no one has ever found the buried treasure. When asked about the whiskey in 1976, pioneer-historian Harry Hawkins commented, “it sure would be aged!”

Dedicated on July 29, 2017 (6022)

By the Snowshoe Thompson Chapter #1827

Of The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus