How Magnesite got its name

Magnesite was a short-lived mining town in the rugged country near the headwaters of Austin Creek, about 12 miles north of Guerneville. It had a population of about 70, a restaurant, store and a telephone, and it was served by its own railroad. It even had a newspaper, the Magnesite News.

In 1905, three prospectors discovered whitish outcrops of magnesite on East Austin Creek. At the time, nearly all the magnesite used in the United States came from Europe. It was a key ingredient in steel, synthetic rubber and mineral paint. Staking several claims, the men incorporated the Sonoma Magnesite Co. to mine the deposit.

Tunnels were dug right away, but it took nine years to build the road and aerial tram over Austin Creek, needed to get the ore out of the hills. Even then, it took two days for the first wagon load to make the treacherous 14-mile journey. At Guerneville, the ore was loaded onto a freight train and taken to a ship that carried it through the newly completed Panama Canal to New York.

Soon after, plans were made to construct a refining plant on site and build a railroad to it. Just as the work began, one of the wettest winters on record set in. Hauling building materials and refining equipment over the primitive road was a Herculean task. The heaviest machinery weighed several tons and had to be skidded on specially built sleds over the mud. Some ?days only 300 feet of progress were made.

Work on the railroad began that same miserable winter, the route blasted out of rock cliffs in places. By 1916, everything was up and running - magnesite was being mined, refined and hauled out by rail. The timing was good. With the European supply cut off by the World War, demand was high. Sonoma Magnesite was operating the largest such mine in the nation.

Even so, it wasn’t turning a profit. Shipping to distant customers meant the ore had to be transferred several times by hand. To cover ?expenses, the business was mortgaged to the National Magnesite Products Co. When Sonoma Magnesite defaulted on the loan, National took ownership and sold the ?assets.

By 1925 the town of Magnesite, the refining plant and the railroad had been abandoned. For a few years, locals had fun playing around on the railroad’s flatcars. During the Depression, the remaining equipment was salvaged for scrap metal.

Like Brigadoon, the mythical Scottish village that appears once every hundred years, Magnesite materialized a century ago, flourished briefly and vanished. Unlike Brigadoon, it will probably never return.

Contact Glen Ellen-based historical ecologist Arthur Dawson at baseline@vom.com.