The Lost Arch placer diggings said to be located about 40 miles south of Goffs and 25 miles north of Rice, in or near the north end of the Turtle mountains, in eastern San Bernardino county, California, is another of the many mystery mines of the southwest. The now famous placer was first discovered by a small party of Mexican placer miners on their way across the mountains to the Colorado river placer diggings in the vicinity of La Paz.

They camped one night on the wash to the east of the Old Woman mountains and somewhere near the north end of the Turtle range. There had been heavy rain and bunch grass grew along the edges of the wash and small pools of clear water stood on the shallow bed rock.

The following morning while out looking for their pack mules the attention of the miners was attracted to the large amount of hematite scattered over the mesa and along the wash. The soil on the ridges and along the edges of the broad wash was red in color and from all appearances was good placer ground. A few pans of the dirt proved it to be rich in placer gold. Some of the samples yielded as much as $5.00 to the pan.

Members of the party carried placer machines for the purpose of establishing themselves at the mines at La Paz, so it was decided to stay and work the new find. Accordingly some of the men were sent down to La Paz for provisions while the others found a large pool of water that had collected from the recent rains and made adobes sufficient to construct a two room house.

The new-found diggings proved to be very rich and the Mexicans sluiced out $30,000 worth of gold before their waterholes dried up. There was a small spring a few miles away, later known as Coffin springs, but it did not furnish enough water to carry on sluicing operations. Due to the scarcity of water it was decided to store the equipment and return the following season and continue their operations.

Reaching Los Angeles, the party split up, some going north to the Mother Lode country, and others returning to Mexico. No maps had been drawn of the placer field and later when separate members of the party sought to relocate the placer field they were unsuccessful.

In time the contents of the adobe house was carried away by Mojave Indians and the house itself fell down, all except the arch doorway. The arch was still standing as late as 1900, and was seen by the late Peter Kohler, who did not know of the existence of the rich placer diggings.

The adobe arch has now been leveled by erosion and the location can only be identified by some of the broken and rusted contents of the old adobe house. An old tub found there in later years caused the diggings to be known as the Lost Tub placer.

It was later discovered that the hematite scattered over the desert below the old house carried about $100 a ton in gold and shows free gold when broken open. The red iron-stained gravel on the ridges and along the wash is still rich in placer gold and will, no doubt, return a handsome profit.