Established in 1890, Golden was a mining town unusual in the West for having two churches and no saloons, with miners going to Placer on Grave Creek for refreshments. Rev. William Ruble, leader of a group commonly known as Campbellites, built a church in 1852, and County Judge Stephen Jewell ordained him and dedicated the church at the same time; shortly afterward it became the Free Methodist Church. Another group led by Rev. Mark Davis held services in the schoolhouse, and both ministers worked local mining claims. Placer activity on Coyote Creek began in the 1850's, and after men abandoned these claims during the Idaho gold rush of 1860, they returned to find about five hundred Chinese working them for ten cents per day plus rice before the Chinese contractor yielded possession. A two and one-half mile pipeline supplied water for hydraulic nozzles called Giants, helping produce one and one-half million dollars in the next few years. Josephine County School Superintendent Lincoln Savage traveled by train from Grants Pass to Wolf Creek, rode his bicycle to Golden, and continued by tramway to the Greenback Mine to visit the schools. Wilma Gilkey and Edith Allen were among the early teachers, and as late as 1906 the school still had thirty-six children.