“Lost gold mine,” they said. That’s the enduring allure of the Peg Leg Smith Monument. It is a simple pile of rocks. It commemorates Thomas Long Smith. He was a 19th-century prospector. People knew him as “Peg Leg”. He became a legend in this desert.
The Peg Leg Smith Monument resides in Borrego Springs. It marks a spot steeped in local lore. Peg Leg’s life remains shrouded in mystery. He was born in 1801. He died in 1866. Smith was a mountain man and a prospector. More than that, he was a spinner of tall tales.
Legends say Peg Leg lost a gold mine. The stories have grown over the years. Countless people have searched the desert for its wealth. Some say the mine is within a few miles of this monument. Others dismiss the idea as pure fantasy.
Thomas Long Smith had quite a life before he became “Peg Leg”. Some say he was born in Kentucky. Smith claimed he was born in Ohio. He was a scout for an expedition. An Apache shot him in the leg with an arrow. Gangrene set in. He had to have an amputation below the knee.
One story says Smith performed his own amputation. He almost finished it before passing out. Another account claims a drunk French Canadian trader shot him. The bone shattered and others removed the leg. A 1921 article said Smith was wounded on a train. A skirmish occurred in Utah. Forty-niner Jonathan Tibbet Sr. performed a primitive amputation. Tibbet made a tree branch prosthesis. Thus, he earned the nickname “Peg Leg”. The real story is as clear as mud.
In 1837, a one-legged man named Smith found a mine. It was wonderfully rich. He was guiding a party over the desert from Yuma. He came to three hills. He climbed the tallest one to get a view. There, he found outcropping ore. It sparkled with gold. He took specimens with him. He learned it was really gold. The mine became known as the “Peg Leg Mine”.
Smith returned to the desert. He wanted to investigate his find. He could not locate it again. He couldn’t even find the hills. In 1861 or 1862, a prospector found three hills. He discovered gold on the largest one. He reached Los Angeles with $7000 worth of gold nuggets. He told of his find. The location matched Smith’s description. A party formed to exploit the mine. But the prospector died before he could guide them. The Peg Leg Mine was lost again. It has never been found.
One anonymous writer claimed they found Peg Leg’s mine in 1965. They sent a gold nugget to Desert Magazine. It was confirmed as authentic.
Peg Leg sold maps and claims of the mine. He did so until his death in 1866. A 1930 article claimed he died in a bar fight in Los Angeles in 1880.
California Historical Landmark #750 was dedicated in 1960. It is in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. In 1947, Harry Oliver established the original monument. It had a sign. It read “Let those who seek Peg Leg’s gold add ten rocks to this pile.” The mound of rocks continues to grow to this day.
Every year on the first Saturday in April, the Peg Leg Smith Liars Contest is held. It honors his memory. It celebrates the tall tales that surround him. This place is a testament to the enduring power of legends. The legend of the lost Peg Leg Mine.