I think that township was probably Pajaro, which is actually in Santa Cruz County (right on the border of Monterey county), near Watsonville. The Pajaro Valley Historical Society has a website and small museum, and may be able to help you. I've never heard of any mining in the Pajaro Valley, but there was certainly mining not far from there -- Almaden Valley Quicksilver Mine was a major draw from the area, and really took off during and after the gold rush -- quicksilver or mercury was required to process the gold. I believe there was also quite a bit of mining in the Santa Lucias in Monterey County, and in the Coast Range near Santa Cruz, although logging was a bigger business there (as far as I know). All this information is "stuff" I've picked up here and there, and may be only vaguely accurate, but should give you a few clues. Mary