Museum ceremony honors Jack Wildt, family

A dedication ceremony last Saturday at the Mariposa Museum and History Center honored a legacy family in Mariposa County.

The event was to honor Jack Wildt — and his entire family — with a formal dedication at the 5 Stamp Mill located on the museum grounds. Recently, a new roofing structure was placed over the historic mill which should preserve it for decades to come.

“This was a 20-year quest,” said Joanna Ransom, a member of the museum staff who coordinated the ceremony.

Wildt and his family were instrumental in keeping the stamp mill operating. His widow, June Wildt, was on hand for the ceremony last weekend.

Here’s the inscription on the plaque that was presented to the family:

“Dedicated in memory of Jack Wildt, Charlie Wildt, Sylvia Emery, Keith Sharp and Albert Sharp.

“Jack was a direct descendant of the Wildt family that settled in Mariposa in the early 1900s. Jack will be remembered as a “Jack of All Trades by family and friends. Jack worked as a miner in the Mariposa area since the early 1950s. He also worked as a heavy equipment operator and was a mining historian for the Mariposa Museum and History Center.

“Thank you to Jack and his family.

“They have played an integral part in keeping our historic stamp mill operating for our guests here at the Mariposa Museum and History Center.”

The roof project may have been a long quest, but it has been the efforts by the board of directors at the museum over the past few years that made it happen.

The board has also successfully completed much-needed work on the Counts House and the Mariposa Gazette building. They are also hoping to put a covering over the other stamp mill on the property.

Ransom explained how important it was to get the roof in place to protect the bullwheel, which she said “runs it all.”

That wheel has around 200 pieces, many of them smaller components which was necessary at the time because there was no way to get such big pieces shipped into Mariposa in the height of the Gold Rush.

“Jack played a big part in this,” said Ransom.

She said it was June’s father who was also instrumental in getting the stamp mill running years ago. It is now a showpiece at the museum and one of a just a handful of working 5 Stamp Mills operating in the world.

After the dedication ceremony and family photo, museum volunteer Randy Bolt gave a presentation about the history of gold mining in the area as well as how the stamp mills were built, much of it on site because of the size of the operation.

The mill then ran for the audience gathered for the ceremony.