By A. H. KOSCHMANN and M. H. BERGENDAHL - USGS 1968
Click here for the Principle Gold Producing Districts of the United States Index
Most of the early production of Fresno County came from lode mines in the area now included in Madera County, which was created from part of Fresno County in 1893 (Logan and others, 1951, p. 503). The gold production of Fresno County from 1880 to 1892 (Logan and others, 1951, p. 494) is credited to Madera County on page 67 of this present report.
From 1880 to 1959, the placer and lode gold production of the area remaining in Fresno county was 121,000 ounces. After 1929, most of the gold came from placers, but some was a byproduct of the sand and gravel operations at various points along the San Joaquin River between Friant and Herndon. During 1940-42, $196,977 worth of gold was recovered from sand and gravel processed for use in building Friant Dam on San Joaquin River (Logan and others, 1951, p. 503).
