39° 33' 35"N, 117° 04' 54"W USGS Yankee Blade Quad

The Civil War was raging when gold discoveries in the Reese River Valley resulted in an influx of prospectors, and camps seemingly dotted the landscape. Among them was the tiny camp of Amador, established in the spring of 1863. By the fall, several hundred lived here and in "adjacent Coral City," according to Paher. A news article references Amador and Coral City as the same site. Others suggest Amador "absorbed" Coral City which was situated a short distance down the canyon. In 1864 and 1865, there was a fair amount of activity and several establishments were operating; by 1866 the camp had died.

DIVIDING THE DISTRICT.—As will be seen in our advertising columns two meetings of the miners of this District are called to take into consideration the formation out of this of two new districts, one including Yankee Blade and vicinity, and the other the Amador. The times and places of the meetings will be found in the advertisements.
-Gold Hill Daily News Mon, Nov 30, 1863

Things started off exciting.

SHOOTING AFFRAY.-Afternoon before last a difficulty occurred on the site of the new town laid out near the Amador, called Coral City, between two men named Gleason and Eaves, in which the latter was shot and it is supposed mortally wounded. Gleason was immediately taken in custody by the citizens, and held until the Sheriff arrived. The prisoner was brought to town last night, and is now at the Court House, in chains and guarded by the Sheriff. There are so many conflicting reports as to the cause of the difficulty that we could not learn its origin. Some say that it grew out of a misunderstanding concerning some lots, but the prisoner says that politics was the cause.—Reese River Reveille, Nov. 27.
-Gold Hill Daily News, December 1, 1863

It sounded like a fine town-- for as long as it lasted. Which wasn't long.

We clip the following from the Reese River Reveille
THE NEW TOWN OF AMADOR
This new town, laid out by Messrs. B. T. Hunt, Bowe, Chace, Matheny, Meek, and Kinsey, is progressing finely. More than forty buildings, of various descriptions, have already been erected near the center of the town, and perhaps an equal number in or upon the outside. Preparations are being made to erect may others, among them several substantial stone buildings. It would appear that the mines in that vicinity will prove to be very rich, and permanent, and that the new town will have corresponding importance. The site for the town is certainly a most eligible one. For a town of two weeks growth Amador is certainly a thriving one.
-Mountain Democrat, December 2, 1863

It didn't take long for some folks to starting disrespecting the area.

A WORD FOR REESE.—The Laporte Messenger having intimated that the Reese country is played out, the Reveille thus retorts: “It looks very much like this region has ‘gone up for the winter,’ or ‘has most likely seen its best days,’ to see the number of people in town, the number of teams still arriving, the numerous ledges being worked, the increasing activity of the mills, and the enormous yields which have been recently obtained from ledges in this vicinity. The Amador region is alive with men, Yankee Blade is flourishing, Austin and Clifton people have not lost one particle of confidence in the permanent prosperity of their town, Canon City and Watertown inhabitants are jubilant over their brilliant prospects, and the miners of every district from Mount Hope to San Antonio have undiminished faith in the richness of their discoveries. Played out indeed! The efforts of these penny-a-line calumniators may meet with some limited success while Reese River is in its infancy, but the time is not far distant when the silver bricks obtained from her numerous ledges, and the immense emigration which will wend its way from every part of California and the East to her silver mountains, will put these fellows to shame if they are capable of experiencing such an emotion.”
- Gold Hill Daily News (December 16, 1863)

A little more detail

THE NEW TOWN OF AMADOR.—This new town, laid out by Messrs. B. T. Hunt, Bowe, Chase, Matheny, Meek and Kinsey, is progressing rapidly. More than forty buildings, of various descriptions, have already been erected in this town, and perhaps an equal number in or upon the outside. Preparations are being made to erect many others, among them several substantial stone buildings. It would appear that the mines in that vicinity will prove to be large, rich and permanent, and that the new town will have a corresponding importance. The site for the town is certainly a most eligible one. The amount of water in the canon above is entirely sufficient for present purposes, and is of good quality. The proprietors are sinking a well in the center of the town, and it is contemplated, we understand, to bring a canal from Reese River to the foot of the slope upon which the town is situated. In that event water sufficient for domestic purposes, as well as for mills, will be obtained in abundance. Messrs. Hunt & Co. have pursued a very liberal policy in the transfer of lots, and the energy with which men are pushing buildings, evidences that the liberality of those gentlemen is duly appreciated. For a town of two weeks’ growth Amador is certainly a thriving one. Nor can we see any good reason why it should not continue to thrive. Severe weather may check its growth during the winter, but that growth will, no doubt, go on in the spring. The present pleasant weather may continue, and if so there is no reason why there should be any check at all.
-Gold Hill Daily News (December 19, 1863)

Mining and politics.

AMADOR.-- Fourteen tons of ore from this ledge have been sent to Fountain Mill, at Jacobsville, to be crushed.
-Gold Hill Daily News, December 29, 1863

The Election Returns.
The returns of the election yesterday, as far as heard from, we give below, premising that we could laugh if we wanted to, but we don't want to.
FROM LANDER COUNTY.—A large vote was polled in Lander county. About three votes went against the Constitution for every one in its favor. In Amador District 225 noes were cast, and only 16 ayes.
-Gold Hill Daily News, January 20, 1864

JUDGE GORDON, or Amador, has discovered that a man cannot be a Copperhead and a friend of the Union at the same time; so he has renounced Copperheadism. The Judge is a sincere man but it took him a long time to get his eyes open.
-Gold Hill Daily News, June 2, 1864

During the American Civil War, Copperheads (also known as Peace Democrats) were a faction of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the war and advocated for an immediate peace settlement with the Confederacy. The term was originally a slur coined by their Republican enemies— likening them to the venomous snake that strikes without warning— but the faction eventually adopted the name as a badge of honor, sometimes wearing copper pennies as lapel pins to identify themselves.

ANOTHER QUARTZ SALE.-- A.H. Rose, of Amador City, has sold the Keystone mill and mine to a San Francisco company for the sum of one hundred and two thousand dollars.
-Gold Hill Daily News, September 28, 1865

We couldn't have asked for nicer weather on the day we visited Amador- unfortunately, the mosquitoes were out in full force, and were thirsty. Thankfully, we had some very effective repellent which worked well. It still makes me nervous, though, when the bottle says, "WARNING! WILL DAMAGE WATCH CRYSTALS, STAINLESS STEEL, AND IF SPILLED WILL CREATE A HOLE ALL THE WAY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH! DIRECTIONS! RUB ON SKIN!" But hey, the stuff works.

Anyway, there are a few scattered rock remains of buildings here, on this alluvial fan coming out of Amador Canyon. Paher's book describes an adjacent site, but we didn't have a lot of time to explore the surrounding countryside. Up the canyon is a large pile of tailings and the remains of a building complete with pump.