John Milton Commodore Jones (March 1829 - August 12, 1881) was a California prospector and publisher active in the mid-19th century. He was born in Indiana or Ohio. Jones discovered gold on the Klamath River in 1850, near the flats west of Yreka. The discovery led to a stampede of prospectors, but Jones himself served as Under Sheriff and later constable in the town of Yreka, California. Around 1855, he partnered with Lucius Fairchild (1831 - 1896) to become a merchant the gold rush town of Scott River. Fairchild went on to become Governor of Wisconsin. Jones died in Oakland while seeking treatment for an unknown terminal illness.
