Historical Context for the Creede Mining District
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR THE CREEDE MINING DISTRICT by Eric Roy Twitty Mountain States Historical 1999 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………. 2. Physical Setting……………………………………………………… 3. Economic Geology…………………………………………………. 4. Mining Technology During the Gilded Age and Great Depression… Prospecting: The Search for Ore………………………………. Deep Exploration and the Development of Ore Bodies………… The Mine Surface Plant…………………………………………. Surface Plants for Adits…………………………………………. The Adit Portal………………………………………….. Mine Transportation…………………………………….. The Mine Shop…………………………………………… Mine Ventilation…………………………………………. Surface Plants for Shafts…………………………………………. Shaft Form and Hoisting Vehicles……………………….. Hoists…………………………………………………….. Steam Boilers…………………………………………….. Headframes………………………………………………. Additional Surface Plant Components……………………………. Air Compressors………………………………………….. Electricity…………………………………………………. Architecture………………………………………………. Aerial Tramways…………………………………………. Ore Storage………………………………………………. Magazines and Change Houses………………………….. Ore Milling……………………………………………………….. 5. The History of the Creede Mining Distirct…………………………. Silver is Discovered…………………………………………….. The Mines………………………………………………………. Mining at Creede Collapses……………………………………. Engineers Come to the Rescue…………………………………. Decline…………………………………………………………. Paradox: Boom During the Great Depression………………… The Last Boom-Bust at Creede………………………………… 6. Conclusion………………………………………………………….. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………. LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Dimensions & Duty of Mine Rail…………………………… Table 4.2: General Hoist Specifications: Type, Duty, Foundation………... Table 4.3: Boiler Specifications: Type, Duty, Age Range…………………... Table 4.4: Specifications of Headframes: Type, Material, Class………… Table 4.5: Air Compressor Specifications: Type, Duty, Foundation……… Table 4.6: Air Compressor Specifications: Type, Popularity Timeframe, and Capital Investment………………. Table 5.1: Summary of Mining on the Amethyst Vein……………………… Table 5.2: Summary of Mining on the Holy Moses Vein…………………… Table 5.3: Summary of Mining on Upper West Willow Creek……………… Table 5.4: Summary of Mining on the Alpha-Corsair Ore System………….. Table 5.5: Population of the Creede Mining District, 1890-1960…………… CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In the early 1890s the American Western history. Currently, the town of mining frontier began to exhibit signs of Creede, the district's historic commercial closure. The ever-hoped-for mining and social hub, thrives as a center for bonanzas and associated rushes were ranching, tourism, and recreation in the becoming increasingly rare, and the extant region. Dozens of historic sites lie above mining districts were either exhausted, or the town. The sites include settled and industrialized. Yet two predominantly abandoned mines, in mineral strikes made during this time addition to settlements, transportation ignited an excitement which captured the systems, and mill remnants. These sites attention of many miners, industrialists, retain importance as cultural resources and investors across the nation. Bob and as beacons that draw thousands of Womack made one of the strikes at what tourists to Creede. The mine sites, became Cripple Creek, Colorado. Parties however, face threats in the form of of prospectors including Nicholas C. environmental cleanup projects and mine Creede and John C. McKenzie made the closure activities. Studies, recordation, other strike at what became Creede, and evaluations of the sites are inevitable, Colorado. For several years the two and for that reason this historical context, districts vied for prominence, and when which discusses the factors important to legends of Creede's incredible silver mining in Creede, can serve as an wealth seemed to be eclipsing those of important frame for interpreting future Cripple Creek’s gold, the Silver Crash of cultural resource work. 1893 dramatically reversed the situation. Specifically, this context discusses The devaluation of silver struck a four fundamental topics useful in significant blow to Creede, as well as identifying, recording, interpreting, and silver districts throughout the West. evaluating Creede’s historic mine and mill However, Creede's ore bodies proved to sites. The physical setting constitutes the be so rich that mining continued unabated first factor, and it is important because it for almost a century. served as the environment that Creede’s Geologists have deemed the residents inhabited, it presented mining Creede Mining District to be one of operations with physical challenges that America's most significant producers of drew certain responses, and it included silver. In accordance, mining at Creede natural resources. The second factor was serious business, requiring capital, a consists of Creede’s geology, and it is highly skilled workforce, an efficient important because it governed how infrastructure, advanced technology and Creede’s mining companies equipped and engineering, and a vibrant population. developed their claims, and which While the sun has set on Creede's mining companies prospered. Mining technology industry today, the district retains many is the third and one of the most important vestiges of this fascinating chapter of factors included in this historical context. 1 CHAPTER 2 THE PHYSICAL SETTING The Creede Mining District covers Because the Creede Mining an area of approximately 47 square miles District is located in the eastern San Juan in Mineral County near the upper Rio Mountains, it lies within rain shadow, and Grande River in the east San Juan as a result, the ecological communities Mountains. The district encompasses adapted to dry conditions. The Rio much of the Willow Creek drainage Grande River Valley features stands of system, Miners Creek, and land along the juniper-pinion trees and areas of Rio Grande River's north side. The grassland, while the mountain slopes region's topography is predominantly bounding the valley support subalpine fir mountainous. Extremely rugged terrain and spruce forests. Lodgepole pines and rises along the north side of the Rio fir trees predominate the dry lower slopes, Grande River Valley and culminates in a and spruce trees replace the pines with series of 12,000-13,000 foot high peaks, increase in elevation. In addition, stands which form the Continental Divide. Both of aspen trees thrive on flat areas above the Divide and the Rio Grande valley 8,500 feet. Some of the groves are extend east-west in the vicinity of the natural, while many others grew in logged mining district. East and West Willow clear-cuts. Because the soil within the creeks, their tributaries, and Rat and district is well-drained, ground cover in Miners creeks dissect the mountainous the forests is limited to woody, drought- area within the district. East and West tolerant species such as mountain juniper, Willow creeks join to form Willow Creek, holly, and kinnikinnick. Subalpine Rat Creek drains into Miners Creek, and meadows thrive in open areas between they flow south into the Rio Grande. forests, and arctic willows line most of the Most of the activity in the Creede Mining area's stream channels. District occurred in the lower portions of The climate in the district is the Willow Creek drainage, while some typical of that in the drier, deep Rocky prospecting and limited mining occurred Mountains. The summers tend to be near Rat and Miners creeks. warm, however the temperatures during The terrain within the district is the day rarely exceed 85 degrees typical of that resultant from volcanic Fahrenheit, and the nights cool down to activity. Gently sloped terraces and the the 40s and 50s. The months of June and summits of table top mountains lie September are often dry, while between approximately 10,000 and thunderstorms punctuate the afternoons 11,000 feet, and the topography below is July through August. The Fall also tends steep and rocky. Further, volcanic rock to be dry, yet the weather has an element formations manifest as cliffs and pinnacles of unpredictability. At the least, the in the lower, eroded portions of the East temperatures during both day and night and West Willow creek valleys. are cooler than during the summer. Cold snaps, snow, and prolonged warm 3 weather are possible during September mountain canyons channel streams of through November. Winter usually frigid air, while the areas on the slopes commences during November and lasts above tend to be much warmer. The until late April. During wet years, prevailing winds in the area blow from the periodic storms can deposit up to several west, and they may carry in storm feet of snow at a time and send systems. Occasionally, summer storms temperatures plummeting below zero creep up from the south, and winter degrees. The San Juans occasionally storms may descend from the north. In experience dry years in which little snow all, the climate in the Creede Mining accumulates and temperatures rise into District is hospitable for much of the year, the 30s and 40s. Because the air is very however winter storms and wet summers dry, cold temperatures are often tolerable presented the early settlers with a with proper clothing. Because cold air formidable challenge. tends to sink, during the winter the 4 CHAPTER 3 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY To gain a full comprehension and deposited thousands of feet of andesitic appreciation of mining in Creede, a brief and conglomerate rock strata that account of the district's geological history geologists have termed the San Juan and fabulous ore bodies is important. The Formation. When