Little is know of Ross
except for his name and that he was accidentally killed
while cutting down a tree. Ross was buried on the spot.
What made this gravesite unusual is that during those frantic
days of gold fever, someone took the time to carve a picket
fence to surround the grave. Unfortunately, in recent years,
vandals and souvenir hunters destroyed almost everything.
However, one corner post and a few pickets can still be
seen at the Big Bear Museum. The log fence was built by
volunteers in 1995.
Virtually
all timber now standing in Holcomb Valley has grown
back since the days when loggers with cross-cut
hand saws and "yokes of six" were taking
the timber to nearby mills. Lumber and split clapboards
were cut to build the boom towns of Belleville, Union,
Clapboard and Doble. Heavy timbers were also milled to
shore the mine shafts.
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