Qualla: Lost Horse Mine

Lost Horse Mine: Introduction

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Er-nay, CC BY-SA 4.0. The mine's name carries the origin story: Johnny Lang went looking for stolen horses in 1890, followed their tracks into a valley in what is now Joshua Tree National Park, and found something more valuable than horses. He met a prospector called Dutch Frank who was already working a claim there, and he purchased that claim for approximately a thousand dollars. The horses were presumably recovered eventually. The mine that followed produced 10,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver before it closed in 1931.

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Image: Er-nay | CC BY-SA 4.0

Lost Horse Mine: Lang's Discovery and the McHaney Threat

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 3.0. Johnny Lang acquired the Lost Horse Mine in 1890 and immediately encountered the problem that plagued mining operations throughout this part of the Mojave: Jim McHaney's gang. McHaney ran a criminal operation in the desert that included cattle theft, claim jumping, and threats ag...

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Image: Jarek Tuszyński | CC BY 3.0

Lost Horse Mine: The Trees That Are Gone

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY-SA 3.0. The mountains surrounding Lost Horse Valley were forested with pinyon pine and juniper when Lang began mining there. The steam engines that powered the mine's operation consumed wood as fuel, and over the years of the mine's operation, the surrounding slopes were stripped. The tr...

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Image: Jarek Tuszyński | CC BY-SA 3.0

Lost Horse Mine: From Lang to Ryan to Keys

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Attributed to flickr user Clinton Steeds, CC BY 2.0. Lang held the mine through its most productive years, then sold it to J.D. Ryan, a Montana rancher, and the property changed hands again over the following decades. By the time William F. Keys arrived in the Joshua Tree area and began his long tenure as the defining figure of des...

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Image: Attributed to flickr user Clinton Steeds | CC BY 2.0

Lost Horse Mine: Ruins in the Valley

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jim Harper (User:Pixel23), CC BY-SA 2.5. The remains of the Lost Horse Mine are preserved within Joshua Tree National Park and accessible by trail from the park road. The ruins include the ten-stamp mill that processed ore during the mine's productive years — one of the more complete mill ruins in the park — along with ...

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Image: Jim Harper (User:Pixel23) | CC BY-SA 2.5