The Old Paddock Mine in Lyman NH
We took a hike up to the old Paddock Mine on Gardner Mountain in Lyman, just up the road from Bath, NH. Wow, what a trip. The hike is about 1.2 miles on an old dirt road, easy walking. Here are some photos:
We took a hike up to the old Paddock Mine on Gardner Mountain in Lyman, just up the road from Bath, NH. Wow, what a trip. The hike is about 1.2 miles on an old dirt road, easy walking. Here are some photos:
Jim do you know the history on this mine like how long was it in operation, how much gold it produced, the years in service?It would be interesting to know.
I don’t know much about the mine other that what I have found online. I know someone that may know more about it if you are interested…
I do have some info on the Paddock mine, actually “mines”. It was covered in Hitchcocks1878? series on New Hampshire geology. He was the state geologist and visited all the mines. I’m on extended travel right now and don’t have reference material with me. I may be a couple months ubtill I get to my resources. Here is a summary of what I recall. The Bath,Lyman,Lisbon mines were opened dy the 49ers when they returned home and recognized the Gardner Mountain volcanic ridge. first gold was found in Salmon Hole in Lyman. Paddock mine was owned by a oerson from Maine and mined several things including rock that was oulverized and sold as fertilizer. I believe there was a mill for processing ore near the mine. Several mines mines primarily copper and some lead from galena and chalcopyrite as in the Lang mine in Bath
New to this, I was wondering if permission was required to hike into the mine or if it is open?
Thanks
We did not need permission when we hiked up to the mine, but had to ask around for directions. I hear now that it might be posted for no trespassing. You might contact the town hall in Lyman to see if they have any info. Here is a link to the town website: http://www.lymannh.org/MiscContact.html
iacobpan:
thanks for the comment, tryed to get there with my son using a topo map (poor one) from the NH Atlas of maps and a copy of the 1880 mine map. All we accomplished was a good afternoon hike lost on the ATV roads. I’ll try the link you sent me, bu are there any hints you can give on how to get to the correct road?
Thanks
DES
All we got was a hand drawn map from someone that knew someone. Not sure where the map ended up, but it was pretty cryptic. Again, best bet is to ask the town of Lyman if the mine is still open to hikers.
THE MINE IS POSTED !! located along the road called under the mtn. rd. Lyman N.H., look for address # 202 south of this is a very small red / white trim cabin, up to the left side of of this small cabin about a 1/4 way up the mtn side. be very careful walking around there are also two very large ground shafts full of water. bring along a very good flashlite.
Thanks for the info MJL!
THANKS! appreciate the response!
Found this mine hunting thought it was copper have ventured about 500 feet into it alone very knee rattling can’t wait to back with a friend very beautiful
The property is posted no trespassing. As i understand it the owners would apreciate if people did not venture on this property as beutifull as it is an area it is privately owned property.
Thanks for the update. If you have any other information on how someone might contact the owner to get access, let us know!
Found A small red house just past #202 house and it was posted. Went just beyond that to a cleared out logging section and took my truck up the mountain a few thousand feet, what a ride. My sons and cousins got out and hiked around but to no prevail no caves found. If the mines are on Gardner mountain you may want to look at this site. (http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/maps/bathymetry/lowermtn_lyman.pdf). It appears to show a old jeep trail up the left side of the mountain. Next time I’m up there I check this out. Be smart, be safe and respectful of peoples property and mother nature.
Hello. I am the forester for the new owner of this property and can give an update. This property is now under a conservation easement and is open to all non motorized, legal activity. No ATV’s. No 4WD trucks. While the mine is not posted, you can not, however, dig around and take samples of anything. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is simply that it is not your property and that is considered stealing from the landowner. The second reason is that there is an additional easement with NHDES around the old mine due to lead contamination. No disturbance of the mine site is allowed due to this agreement. Thank you all for your cooperation.
Thanks for this great information. I think most of the people prospecting that area are into seeing the old sites for historical purposes. It is a great place for a hike also!
This is great information! I grew up in the area and my folks used to take us panning and out to the gold mines but finding the way back turns out to be harder than I thought. We have been up hiking around. The fresh logging has made it rather challenging to figure out where the old path to the mine is, although it was a fun afternoon anyway!
Slagueux Thank you for the information! Do you think the owners would be open to some subtle trail marking?
Adventuremeg, Thank you for the question. We would be open to trail marking using flagging (survey tape) only. No painting or signage, please.
I went up there today trying to find the mine. Im not sure if I was in the correct spot. I entered the area on what seemed to be an old road/logging road that had a gate with a sign saying no motorized passenger vehicles. Walking around up there I came to a few cleared out areas and a lot of what seemed to be atv trails with misc signs all over the place, Im not even sure if i was in the right area on the road. But I didn’t see any posted signs so I figured as much is was ok for me to be there. any tips on how to get there would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
We were up there about 6 years ago. A local man drew up a map and it sounds like you were in the general area of the mine. You may want to stop at a local gas station or store to inquire about it. This may help: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/gardner-mountain