John had a successful marriage and career in the Jamestown area. He and Leanna settled near Jamestown, where he built a ten-room ranch house out of native sugar pine from the Algerine mill. The couple had four children. In John’s 1870 journal he writes that “the App Mine was located by John App, R.A. Jones, H. Roberts, H. Wright, B.W. Wilder [husband of one of the other Donner daughters], and J.D. Brown on August 13, 1856 and his interest was sold on April 1st, 1869 for the sum of forty thousand dollars.” Within a decade the main shaft reached a depth of 130 feet. It eventually extended to 1,340 feet below the surface. Two five horsepower engines were placed inside a chamber hewn from solid rock within a 450 foot tunnel and were used to hoist ore from the main shaft. In later years John ran the accompanying mill, while Asa K. Darrow operated the mine. The App Mine proved to be one of the most productive gold mines in Tuolumne County, operating continuously from 1856-1920. During its first ten years it produced $1,000,000 in gold. John also was the owner and superintendent of the Heslep Mine. The family ranch is situated about one mile from Jamestown, and John and Leanna are buried in a cemetery just a short distance from it.
 Descending the App Mine |
 Miner in App Mine
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 Ranch with John & Leanna
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 Leanna Donner App |
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Great story, Larry. Don’t know where you found this information, but I learned things i never knew.
Thank you!
Love,
Pat
Wow over ten years John was able to get $1,000,000 worth of gold! I can only imagine how much money that was back in the 1860’s, that would probably would of been like a trillion dollars to us now-a-days.