Placer mining practices evolved with innovation and improved transportation. The first miners along Coyote Creek used gold pans and sluice boxes, in a mining technique commonly referred to as "sniping". Sluice box mining continued to be popular among smaller operators.

The first hydraulic ‘giant’ was introduced on Coyote Creek in 1871. Most mining operations required two giants to mine and stack tailings due to some of the larger material found. In times of low water it was difficult to get sufficient water to run two giants and mining efforts were not very cost effective.

By 1890, local miners, Bill and Schuyler Ruble invented the Ruble Rock Elevator. This device required only one hydraulic giant to mine and stack tailings, some of which measured up to 2 feet in diameter. The Ruble Elevator allowed the movement of much more material in the short season thereby solving a problem that had plagued Coyote Creek miners for nearly 50 years. It was patented and then demonstrated at the Lewis & Clark Expedition in Portland. The device was actively marketed throughout the west until the untimely death of Bill Ruble.

In its first year of operation, the Rubles were able to mine enough gold to cover their initial estimated $30,000 investment in their claims.

The Ruble brothers claimed that:

The Ruble’s invention had a direct impact on the establishment of Golden. By the end of 1890, the elevator had proven sufficiently successful for both the Ruble brothers to relocate their families to Coyote Creek and Schuyler had married Abbie Smith.

Hydraulic mining operations continued along Coyote Creek until 1964, when they were stopped as a result of growing concerns for water quality and the environment. Placer mining continued through to current day.

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