The Helena and East Fork districts are in north-central Trinity County about 20 miles west of Weaverville and adjoin the Dedrick and Canyon Creek districts on the west. The old town of Helena, which is quite well-preserved, was an important mining center in the early days. The once-important nearby towns of Bagdad and Coleridge have long since disappeared. The bench gravels along the East Fork were quite productive during the early days but are not as extensive as those at Canyon Creek to the east. There are several lode-gold mines, the most productive having been the Enterprise mine, which has been intermittently worked since 1884. Its estimated total production is valued at $500,000. Others include the Yellowstone, Lone Jack, and Ozark mines. The deposits consist of parallel quartz veins containing free gold and varying amounts of sulfides. Some of the veins arc fairly flat, and in places these contain high-grade pockets. Tellurides have been found. Country rock is hornblende schist and granitic rock.
Bibliography
Ferguson, H. G., 1914, Gold lodes of the Weaverville quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 540, pp. 22-79.
Logan, C.A., 1926, Trinity County, Enterprise mine: California Min. Bur. Rept. 22, pp. 18-19.
