Their Silent Profile County Resource Volume II Colorado

1133171-R8 SDMS THEIR SILENT PROFIL GOUNTY RESOURCE VOLUME •:.i'.:'--i'.':- ifj- *jt:":.'' '. i. 'C^3^Sfd':ik. I ^^ "^^?^'\ " iAMMAijfQ^^ , ,,- \A •••".*C AEi-'''' •. ••?•• \ÔLUME II ^î^:,..:.-^Î^SlpJi^^l^^ Goloradb Inactive Mine ReclamatiSnJTlan MinedLand Reclamation Division Department Of Natural 'Resources ••'•• •'&<>.•• -•.- f :• dV.'sl:- THEIR SitENT PROFIL GOUNTY RESOURCE VOLUME %'^ ^rk\ffi Goloradb fiiacflye Mine BeclamatiSiraian Mined LaniiltBclamation Division <^H Department Of Natural Resources f SAN JUAN COUNTY The inactive mines survey of San Juan County primarily investigated the mining districts surrounding Silverton, to the north toward Ouray, and to the east through Howardsville to the Eureka - Animas Forks Districts. The mining districts range from easily accessible near Silverton to remote and isolated, i.e., Arrastra Basin. Some areas are accessible only by foot after a hard climb. The area is scenic and very popular with tourists, however, the rugged terrain precludes access to many mine sites. Geologically this area is in the San Juan volcanic area and veins are primarily associated with the Silverton caldera. Some chimney deposits within volcanic pipes are also found in the area north of Silverton. Production history begins in San Juan County in 1873 and by 1908 over $45 million in precious, mainly silver, and base metals had been produced. Towns such as Eureka, Animas Forks, and Howardsville were early settlements north and east of Silverton. Production has continued to the present. Active exploration and development are underway in several areas of the county. 36- 1 HISTORY OF MINING At least in the ofd days, people in San Juan County liked to boast ,^^-S that not one acre of their land was tillable. Mining, and more recently tourism, support the local economy. San Juan ranks sixth among Colorado counties in overall mineral production; among the counties of the San Juan Mountains, it is second only to San Miguel. ^M Trends In 1902 the editor of the Silverton Weekly Miner listed several characteristics of mining in the county: the ore is complex and generally low-grade; lodes are large and extensive and can be mined by adits instead of shafts because of the steep topography; the mines tend to drain themselves from the adits and need little m pumping. As a result of these characteristics, the major mines in the county were located early and have been extremely long-lived. Some have spanned a century of operation. The complexity of the ore insured reasonable stability to the mining industry. Periods of depression have been brief and infrequent. No one mineral has dominated production, and the county's output of gold, silver, lead, and zinc has been approximately equal in value. The primary mineral has changed frequently: gold was important up to 1874; silver until 1892; gold again until 1915; lead and zinc until the 1930's; gold again from the '30's until 1954; after which lead, copper, and zinc have been prominent. •il: The Baker Party, 1860 The first prospectors into the area were with the Baker Party of ;i]i 1860. This was a êry early expedition, occurring just after Gregory's discovery of gold at Black Hawk. Charles Baker was apparently interested in the San Juans not only for their minerals; he also had interests in land development and in building toll roads into the area from Abiquiu, New Mexico. He and his party of prospectors left Denver in July 1860 and made their base in Baker's Park, the future site of Silverton. They found placer gold there, laid out several townsites, and organized numerous mining districts. Baker then circulated sensational reports about the mines they had discovered. At the same time, Denver was experiencing the second major rush to the Front Range gold diggings, and the news of great finds in the San Juans set off a stampede bound for the southwest. In mid- December 1860, a group of 300 men, women, and children known as the Baker Expedition left Denver for the San Juan gold fields. After much suffering, they reached Animas City, north of the site of Durango, in March, only to find that Baker had greatly exaggerated I: the worth of both townsites and mining properties. They were badly lid 36-2 discouraged and drifted away. Baker himself went off to fight for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He returned to the San Juans in 1867 and was muifdered shortly thereafter. It is uncertain whether he was killed by Utes or by one of his own companions. Either group would have had sufficient motivation: The Utes because he and the other whites had no business settling on the Indian's land; his companions because he had duped innocent families and caused them great hardships. So ended the first attempt at mine promotion in the San Juans. Early Developments In 1870 placer gold was found in Arrastra Gulch, two miles east of Baker's Park. This led Governor Pile of New Mexico to send out a prospecting party which located the Little Giant gold lode, also in Arrastra Gulch. It was the first mine in the area. Silverton also had its beginnings in 1871 with the building of the first log cabin by Colonel Francis M. Snowden. The next year, federal troops were sent to the area to keep miners out. The San Juan Mountains were still the Utes, as was all the land in Colorado west of 107 degrees west longitude (approximately from Basalt to Gunnison to Creede). The miners were trespassing, just as Baker had been. The troops, however, were ineffective. In 1873 more miners came and the towns of Animas Forks, Mineral Point, and Howardsville sprang up. The Sunnyside Mine was also discovered then. It was one of the biggest mines in the county and was a strong producer through the 1970's. The 1874 Boom In 1874 the Brunot Treaty expelled the Utes from the San Juan Mountains. Over 2,000 miners flooded the area and significant silver mining began. The Pride of the West, a major, long-lived producer, was discovered and shipped ore with handsome masses of wire silver to Del Norte by burro. Other properties such as the Aspen on Hazleton Mountain between Silverton and Arrastra Gulch were also worked heavily. The 30 ton Greene and Company smelter, the most renowned of any in the San Juans, was erected north of Silverton, having been packed in on burros all the way from Pueblo. It operated intermittently and never very successfully in Silverton until 1880 when it was bought by a Denver & Rio Grande Railroad affiliate, moved to Durango, and refurbished. In Durango, it finally operated properly and continued to treat San Juan ores until it closed in 1931. A story is told about how Silverton became the county seat in 1874. The major town in the area then was Howardsville, named after George Howard, a member of the Baker Party and the discoverer of the Sunny side. Accordingly, when La Plata County was formed, Howardsville became the center of county government. Silverton, however, was also growing. It coveted the honor of being county seat, so a 36-3 delegation of men one day went to Howardsville, got the county officials drunk, and stole the records, taking them to Silverton. When San Juan County was split off from La Plata in 1876, Silverton remained the county seat. That tale is reminiscent of another one told about George Howard. •>rtS It is said that he got his cabin at the future site of Howardsville built with drinks of whiskey; passersby were offered a drink as pay for their assistance in lifting the logs into place. He reportedly had no trouble finding helpers. In 1875 silver replaced gold as the county's most important product. The Highland Mary Mine opened in 1875, and the La Plata Miner, the first Colorado newspaper west of the Continental Divide, began m publication. By 1879 both Crooke & Company, owners of the Lake City S.g; smelter, and Mather & Geist, owners of the Pueblo smelter, had ore buying stations in Silverton, and roads were extended to Durango and to the camps of Poughkeepsie Gulch and Mineral Point. Mining in the Upper Animas Districts Those camps of the upper Animas were noted for their great plans and little production. The Silverton Weekly Miner in 1897 said: "More than one schemer found that the altitude of Mineral Point was invigorating and inspiring and caused the most gigantic and elastic imaginations to fructify and develop into ideas of no mean proportions." In one brochure, promoters showed a river steamboat floating on the Animas with the mines of Mineral Point in the background. What activity there was, according to Ransome, was in great part feverish and unwholesome. The success of a few encouraged extravagance in the incompetent, and opened a rich field to unscrupulous and dishonest promoters. Smelting plants and mills were erected before the presence of ore was ascertained. Reduction processes were installed without any pains having been taken to ascertain their applicability to the particular ore to be treated...The Bonanza Tunnel, a mile and a half west of (Animas Forks) was run 1,000 feet at the extravagant cost of $300,000 or $400,000, and then abandoned. Around Mineral Point probably $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 were squandered in mining operations which resulted in no permanent improvements or actual development. (Ransome, 1901) Aside from the Old Lout, which produced $400,000 worth of silver ore from 1876 to 1888, the upper Animas area was fairly unproductive during the 1870's and '80's. 36-4 The 1880's in Silverton In July 1882, the D&RG completed its branch line from Durango to Silverton.

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