Miscellaneous Mining Items/J Caire 107 oz Silver Mold

Miscellaneous Mining Items

J Caire 107 oz Silver Mold.JPG - J CAIRE 107 OZ SILVER MOLD - Iron gold and silver bar mold, marked J. CAIRE along one edge and 107 SF (for 107 oz. silver and San Francisco) along opposite edge, outside measurements 9 3/4 in. long by 3 3/4 in. across top and 2 5/8 in. high, inside 5 in. by 2 3/4 in. by 2 in. in. deep, weighs 10 lbs., the 1911 Justinian Caire Company catalog, pg. 185, lists this mold with a capacity of 107 oz. silver or 200 oz. gold and a cost of $1.25. (The Justinian Caire Company of San Francisco was a major supplier of mining equipment during the California Gold Rush era and into the early twentieth century. Mining artifacts marked with the Caire name are highly valued and scarce in collections. Justinian Caire was born December 3, 1827 to a family of privilege in the French city of Briancon. After an education both in France and Italy, he left school at the age of eighteen to learn the world of business. He arrived in San Francisco in March 1851 and backed with the social and commercial capital of his family, he founded the Justinian Caire Company that, like many merchants of the time, mined the wealth of independent miners and sold heavier equipment and supplies to companies that would quickly dominate this industry. He married his wife Albina in 1854 in Genoa, Italy and brought her back to San Francisco, eventually fathering six children. Justinian Caire died in Oakland, CA on December 10, 1897 at the age of 70 leaving his extended family to carry on the business.As important to the mining history of California as Caire’s supply of equipment and supplies was, his greatest legacy has to do with the Santa Cruz Island Company. Santa Cruz Island, located approximately 30 miles off the California coast from Santa Barbara, was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States. In 1869, William Barron sold the island to ten investors from San Francisco for $150,000. One of the investors was Justinian Caire and together with the other investors they formed the Santa Cruz Island Company. During the 1870s, the economy of California took a serious fall, and for various reasons, nine of the original Santa Cruz Island Company partners sold their shares to Caire. By the late 1880s Caire had acquired all of the shares of the company and as an astute and cautious businessman, Caire began preparing detailed plans for developing the island as a profitable enterprise by planting vineyards, orchards, crops, and engaging in sheep ranching activities. He first personally visited the island in 1880 ultimately leading to a successful livestock and ranching industry on the island for many years. Caire brought architectural styles and culture from Europe and, during its heyday, more than 100 workers, mostly Italian but including French, American, Mexican Californian, and Indian, were employed at the ranch and worked as blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, painters, sheep-shearers, team drivers, vintners, butchers, dairymen and sailors. Caire’s presence is visible on the island in brick and stone ranch buildings, the groves of ornamental trees and fruit and nut orchards, the numerous dry stone masonry structures walls and dams, and the road system. Following the passing of Caire, his children separated into two groups and became involved in contentious and lengthy legal battles over ownership and control of the island. In 1925, the island was separated into 7 parcels, the western 5 controlled by one group of children and the 2 eastern parcels controlled by others. In 1937, heirs of Justinian Caire, as the Santa Cruz Island Company, sold the large western area of the island, comprising 90% of the island, to oilman Edwin L. Stanton. The eastern 2 parcels of the island were owned by the Gherini family, also descendants of Caire. This ended 57 years of ownership of the island control of the full island by the Caire family. The sale of all parcels on the island by the Stanton and Gherini families to organizations including the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy now preserves the island history. Santa Cruz Island, the largest and most diverse of the eight Channel Islands, attained National Park designation in 1980. Channel Islands National Park owns and operates approximately 24% of Santa Cruz Island. The remaining land is managed by a combination of organizations which

J Caire 107 oz Silver Mold | J CAIRE 107 OZ SILVER MOLD - Iron gold and silver bar mold, marked J. CAIRE along one edge and 107 SF (for 107 oz. silver and San Francisco) along opposite edge, outside measurements 9 3/4 in. long by 3 3/4 in. across top and 2 5/8 in. high, inside 5 in. by 2 3/4 in. by 2 in. in. deep, weighs 10 lbs., the 1911 Justinian Caire Company catalog, pg. 185, lists this mold with a capacity of 107 oz. silver or 200 oz. gold and a cost of $1.25. (The Justinian Caire Company of San Francisco was a major supplier of mining equipment during the California Gold Rush era and into the early twentieth century. Mining artifacts marked with the Caire name are highly valued and scarce in collections. Justinian Caire was born December 3, 1827 to a family of privilege in the French city of Briancon. After an education both in France and Italy, he left school at the age of eighteen to learn the world of business. He arrived in San Francisco in March 1851 and backed with the social and commercial capital of his family, he founded the Justinian Caire Company that, like many merchants of the time, mined the wealth of independent miners and sold heavier equipment and supplies to companies that would quickly dominate this industry. He married his wife Albina in 1854 in Genoa, Italy and brought her back to San Francisco, eventually fathering six children. Justinian Caire died in Oakland, CA on December 10, 1897 at the age of 70 leaving his extended family to carry on the business. As important to the mining history of California as Caire’s supply of equipment and supplies was, his greatest legacy has to do with the Santa Cruz Island Company. Santa Cruz Island, located approximately 30 miles off the California coast from Santa Barbara, was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States. In 1869, William Barron sold the island to ten investors from San Francisco for $150,000. One of the investors was Justinian Caire and together with the other investors they formed the Santa Cruz Island Company. During the 1870s, the economy of California took a serious fall, and for various reasons, nine of the original Santa Cruz Island Company partners sold their shares to Caire. By the late 1880s Caire had acquired all of the shares of the company and as an astute and cautious businessman, Caire began preparing detailed plans for developing the island as a profitable enterprise by planting vineyards, orchards, crops, and engaging in sheep ranching activities. He first personally visited the island in 1880 ultimately leading to a successful livestock and ranching industry on the island for many years. Caire brought architectural styles and culture from Europe and, during its heyday, more than 100 workers, mostly Italian but including French, American, Mexican Californian, and Indian, were employed at the ranch and worked as blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, painters, sheep-shearers, team drivers, vintners, butchers, dairymen and sailors. Caire’s presence is visible on the island in brick and stone ranch buildings, the groves of ornamental trees and fruit and nut orchards, the numerous dry stone masonry structures walls and dams, and the road system. Following the passing of Caire, his children separated into two groups and became involved in contentious and lengthy legal battles over ownership and control of the island. In 1925, the island was separated into 7 parcels, the western 5 controlled by one group of children and the 2 eastern parcels controlled by others. In 1937, heirs of Justinian Caire, as the Santa Cruz Island Company, sold the large western area of the island, comprising 90% of the island, to oilman Edwin L. Stanton. The eastern 2 parcels of the island were owned by the Gherini family, also descendants of Caire. This ended 57 years of ownership of the island control of the full island by the Caire family. The sale of all parcels on the island by the Stanton and Gherini families to organizations including the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy now preserves the island history. Santa Cruz Island, the largest and most diverse of the eight Channel Islands, attained National Park designation in 1980. Channel Islands National Park owns and operates approximately 24% of Santa Cruz Island. The remaining land is managed by a combination of organizations which

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