As early as 1860, prospectors explored Mono Pass in search of rich rock and discovered silver deposits among the glacially carved granite and craggy peaks of the Sierra crest. They went to work there in hopes of fortune, and five log cabins mark the location of the Golden Crown and Ella Bloss mines near Mono Pass. This windswept site was established in 1879 during the Tioga silver boom that also produced Bennettville and the Great Sierra Mine near Tioga Pass. Although significant wealth was predicted, the mines were abandoned around 1890, and the cabins remain increasingly fragile reminders of mining on the Sierra crest.