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2008 - Red Hill Mining Massacre
Red Hill Mining Massacre
The Tustin Haunt 2008 "Red Hill Mining Co. Massacre" will be based on actual events from the History of Tustin, Ca. We invite you to read up on these unheard of events to allow yourself to be immersed in an experience that will bring you back to the year 1896 and let you experience the incident first-hand.
Mining Massacre History Links
General History
Mining Cover-up Conspiracy
Red Hill Mining History
2008 Haunt Features
Old West Mining Town
-Coffin Maker's Shop
-"Snakebite Saloon"
-Blacksmith/Livery
-General Store
-Ghost Train Depot
Red Hill Mine
Undead Actors
Immersing Audio/Visual Effects
The Tustin Haunt 2008 "Red Hill Mining Co. Massacre" will be based on actual events from the History of Tustin, Ca. We invite you to read up on these unheard of events to allow yourself to be immersed in an experience that will bring you back to the year 1896 and let you experience the incident first-hand.
Mining Massacre History Links
General History
Mining Cover-up Conspiracy
Red Hill Mining History
2008 Haunt Features
Old West Mining Town
-Coffin Maker's Shop
-"Snakebite Saloon"
-Blacksmith/Livery
-General Store
-Ghost Train Depot
Red Hill Mine
Undead Actors
Immersing Audio/Visual Effects
Red Hill Mining Massacre - Forgotten History
In order for you to understand the circumstances, you must first be brought up to pace on the History of the Red Hill Mining Town, which is now long forgotten.
Red Hill Mining Town
Beginning as a property held by the Irvine Ranch Company, the Red Hill Mining Company was business venture started by Thomas "Shorty" Harris who leased the property from the Irvine Company. The Red Hill Mining Town itself was built to capitalize on the needs of the miners working in the Red Hill Mine. The town had all the amenities a good town should: a general store, blacksmith, tack and feed, hotel, bank, sheriff, coffin maker, and of course a saloon. The "Snakebite Saloon" as it was called, got its name from the amount of rattlesnake bites that were treated with the help of whiskey served at the Saloon. A shot of whiskey, not for the bite victim, but for the guy sucking the venom out of the man who was bitten. For bravery of that caliber, a shot of whiskey was well earned. The Red Hill Mining Town was the perfect example of a town in the "Wild West."
Unfortunately, in October of 1896, a fire started in the hotel, a central part of the town, and quickly spread to the rest of the buildings in the town. The entire town was lost in a matter of minutes. The cause of the fire is unknown, but there is heavy speculation that it was not an accident, and in fact was related to the incident that occurred in the mine.
Red Hill Mine
The Red Hill Mine, was known early on as the Rattlesnake Hill Mine, the amount of Rattlesnakes that inhabited the hill. Its name was later changed in hopes that more miners would be willing to work if there were no rattlesnakes... in the name anyway. Cinnabar, a form of mercury, was originally found in hill in 1884 but was not mined on a large scale until the late 1890's. Several shaft were sunk 70 feet down into the mountain to maximize production. In 1896 records show that the Red Hill Mine was suddenly closed, and it remained that was for many years.
Red Hill Mining Co Massacre
In April of 1896, six months prior to the Red Hill Mining Town burning to the ground, the Red Hill Mine was at the peak of its production. Men worked around the clock to extract the cinnabar from the hill. Miners often worked 18-hour shifts in order to keep up with the high demand for mercury. Unknown at the time, being exposed to mercury in the high quantities that the miners were, caused everything from skin rashes and blistering to extreme mental instability.
As the miners had been increasingly exposed to mercury, their mental instability progressed to raging insanity. Inexplicably, they began making their way back to town. As they made their way down the hill, none in town knew why they had stopped working so early. When they arrived in town they began attacking the townspeople with their shovels and picks. A first hand account of the event reveals how traumatic the event really was.
"Nobody knew what has happening. The miners all came back down the hill and started attacking
people. One miner swung his pick right into the back of Mr. Smythe, the blacksmith. I ran inside
and locked my door. Outside, I could hear people screaming and the sound of gunshots in the
distance."
-Charles Adams, April 1896
Fewer than 15% of the people living in Tustin at the time survived the massacre as the miners spread into the city. The few that did survive only lived because of the Sheriff and his Deputy. Eventually, the two lawmen managed to stop the miners. One of the miners, who managed to overcome the effects of the mercury pleaded that, "all the citizens looked like evil monsters ransacking the town."
Unfortunately for the sole surviving miner, he was sentenced to death by hanging.
The Sheriff's Deputy went to investigate the mine, but was never seen again. It is thought that he may have fallen down a shaft and died, or possibly that the mine was not completely empty of miners. Either way, nobody wanted to go and find out for themselves.
After the Massacre
Life in the mining town never returned to normal. A perpetually ominous feeling of guilt hung heavily over the survivors of the massacre. Even the town's leaders were embarrassed by the incident and had been trying their best to keep it a secret.
Eventually people began leaving the Red Hill Mining Town. Some of the shops on main street became vacant. The few people that stayed began seeing strange things and experiencing phenomenon outside of what would be considered "normal."
Meet the People of the Red Hill Mining Town
Killed by Crazed Miners. Her Ghost walks through the town at night, searching for her Fiance.
Sheriff William Cooper, one of few survivors of the massacre, brought order back to town with his six-gun.