From Jolon travelers could ride or take a stage or wagon to the Wagon Caves, followed by a difficult 14 miles (23 km) trail over the steep Santa Lucia Mountains to the site, about 4 miles (6.4 km) inland of Cape San Martin.

In the spring of 1887, after 10 years of varied success, William Dugay Cruikshank discovered lode gold at the head of Alder Creek.

From there an 18 miles (29 km) road was built to the Wagon Caves in the upper San Antonio Valley, a resting point and overnight camp site for those traveling to and from the coast.

Thence to the place of beginning.Before the arrival of Cruickshank and other Western miners, Chinese miners produced a small quantity of gold from the gravel bed of the San Antonio River near Jolon, and small amounts of placer gold from the coastal ravines of the Santa Lucia Range.

[7] The most valuable gold discovery was made by William Dugay Cruikshank, on March 24, 1887, who called his find the Last Chance mine.

[6] Cruikshank, who partnered with James Krinkle, shipped an estimated $62,000 in gold ore from the Last Chance Mine.

[10] Since there was no road into the area, the crushed gold ore was sacked and transported on donkeys (hence, los burros) over the Santa Lucia Mountains to the Nacimiento River.

There was a dog-hole landing south of San Martin Rock near the Plaskett Ranch where mining equipment like the ore crushers and stamp mills were brought by ship.

[13][14] Another flurry of activity occurred in the early 1900s when placer gold was discovered in gravel and alluvial deposits along various forks of Willow Creek.

The entire Willow Creek watershed was prospected, and a large number of pits, shafts, tunnels, open cuts, and adits were explored by miners.

[15][11] As of 2023[update], there were eight active claims..[16] Dark sandstone is most abundant and is also the chief host rock of the gold-bearing deposits.

The sulfides, which consist of fine-grained pyrite and small amounts of chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite generally, are low in gold content.

Harrison, author or "Monterey County", published in 1890, reported that 100 people lived in Manchester.

A petition to build a road to the mines was put before the county Board of Supervisors in January 1890, but never advanced.

[8]: 46 Additional fires destroyed most traces of the town with the exception of the remnants of the stamp mills.

In September 1970, the Buckeye fire burned through most of the Los Burros Mining District and destroyed nearly all of the remaining miners shacks and cabins.

Down the hill (from the mine) around this spot, a thriving town of hotels, stores, and seven saloons sprang up.