In the early 1880s, Daniel Pinson, a Cherokee Indian, located and claimed the Red Boy Vein, but the claim did not produce enough free gold to work without a mill. In 1886 it became profitable when William Graham and three partners milled the ore with an arrastra. In 1883 the claim was sold to Walla Walla, Washington, investors who installed a five-stamp mill, and Baker City businessmen later leased it to two miners named Heil and Allen. In 1894 A.G. Tabor, E. G. Godfry, and Clarke Tabor subleased the mine, installed a Crawford mill onsite, quickly made a profit, arranged purchase of the claim, and added it to their Congo, Golden Monarch, and Blaine claims, which became known as the Red Boy Mine and were profitable for several years. A major expansion came in 1898 with a new ore shoot, a new twenty-stamp mill, plans for a deep shaft, and construction of a boarding house, shops, and other buildings. The Red Boy produced fourteen to twenty dollars per ton and was considered by many to be the best property in the state. On July 19, 1899, a government patent was issued for the Red Boy, Congo, Golden Monarch, Blaine, and Climax claims, converting them from claims into private property. From 1898 to 1902, the Red Boy Mine became one of the best-known mines in the district and a showpiece of modern equipment. In 1900 the owners initiated the Fremont Power Company, piping water from Olive Lake, eight miles away, to an electrical plant in Congo Gulch that powered the Red Boy and other mines and towns in the area; the powerhouse and piping from this seven-year project can still be seen, and the lake's increased storage capacity still benefits recreation. In 1903 new owners took control and combined several mines under the name Red Boy Consolidated Gold Mines. At its height, the operation encompassed almost three hundred acres and total production was approximately one million dollars, calculated at a gold price of about twenty dollars per ounce. The power plant was completed in 1907 and began generating electricity in 1908, but the ore remained low grade, the veins grew smaller, pumping costs became too high, and the mine closed in 1914. In July 1923, during a Fourth of July celebration and picnic, a bonfire ignited the old mill building, tramway, and hoist house, leaving only the rock work. In the late 1930s, bucket-line dredges began mining along the creeks, moving by cables and winches as they dug. The property passed through several owners and was sold at two different Sheriff's Auctions from 1914 to the 1940s. In the 1970s, water flowing from the old mine tunnel drew the attention of the Forest Service, leading to reclamation work with private landowners; the tunnel was plugged and the water was piped to settling ponds to help protect native trout and migrating salmon that spawn in Clear Creek each fall.