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Historic gold nuggets mined by some of the first settlers in the remote California-Oregon border area were stolen this week from the Siskiyou County Courthouse, robbing the region of a valuable part of its Gold Rush history.
Two thieves smashed the glass encasing the artifacts around 1 a.m. Wednesday, making off with some of the 750 ounces of gold nuggets and delicate flakes in a collection valued at $3 million.
The silent alarm protecting the case failed, authorities said.
Rural Siskiyou is the state's fifth-largest county in size, but has only 45,000 residents - most of whom cling to their mining roots. The gold display, which was prominently housed in the county seat of Yreka, is the county's prized possession. Its theft feels personal.
"People have just been outraged and unhappy because everyone here feels that it belonged to them," said Claudia East, vice president of the Siskiyou County Historical Society. "It was a publicly owned collection. Everyone feels violated in that sense."
Rejecting proposals to sell
The gold pieces are so important to the region that county officials have rejected proposals to sell the collection to balance meager county budgets.
The thieves cracked a hand-size hole through the bullet-resistant glass and nabbed an unknown portion of the gold. On Thursday, more than 30 hours after surveillance cameras caught two men breaking in to the display, the courthouse's lobby was closed while investigators searched for evidence.
County Treasurer Wayne Hammar and other officials plan to inventory the gold that was left behind. Sheriff's officials estimated that a third to a half of the gold was taken, said Mike Hendryx, the county museum curator.
Miners and residents built the collection over decades through gold donations that came in from around the county. An ounce of gold is currently valued at about $1,750, but the county's collection is more valuable in part because it was in its natural form instead of refined bars, Hammar said.
1979 burglary attempt
The alarm system foiled a previous burglary attempt in 1979. A thieving couple set off the silent alarm, allowing police to apprehend them a few blocks from the courthouse. After that incident, the glass was replaced with the bullet-resistant casing.
That time, the gold was returned. But its near-disappearance was not forgotten.
"You can still see glass shards left in the gold pans" from the first break-in, said Hendryx, who maintains the display.
Yreka, with about 7,500 residents, is the most populous of Siskiyou County's nine towns. But pretty much nothing was there until a mule train packer named Abraham Thompson discovered gold in the area in 1851.
The discovery attracted hordes of 49ers who were digging for gold in the Sierra foothills. Yreka's population boomed.
"The city of Yreka was known as the richest square mile in California in 1851," said Grace Bennett, chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors. "We're all just sick" about the theft.
Not rich anymore
When county officials decided against selling the gold in 2010, it was in the midst of major budget cuts. About one-fourth of the county's public employees were laid off, Bennett said.
The economic downturn raised unemployment levels to almost 20 percent in 2010, which may make the golden years of old a more attractive time to remember, East said. The region's mining and logging industries have fizzled, though the Victorian-era houses and historic districts remain a tourist draw.
"Living here, especially in Yreka, is like living in a Norman Rockwell painting," said East, a retired teacher who has lived in the area periodically since 1953. "We sit on our front porch, and everyone who passes waves. If a kid comes down the sidewalk on a skateboard, he'll stop and get off to let you pass before getting back on."