Armed with pickaxes, shovels, and powerful jets of water, miners removed massive amounts of dirt and gravel to expose the marble limestone formations seen here today. Deep open-pit mines once extended for miles east and south of Columbia. As gold grew scarce, the search moved closer into the community. Townspeople’s lives were upset, and many buildings were torn down to reach the shiny metal beneath the ground. Long after mining in this area stopped, the devastation remained. It would be many years before anything substantial grew again in the boulder-strewn fields bordering the town. Today this limestone serves as a permanent reminder of the relentless search for gold.