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<br />SMUGGLER MINE SITE <br />S' ~ EXHIBIT B <br />EXHIBIT B <br />SITE DESCR]PTION <br />B-1.0 Histoty'- <br />The historical aspects of the Smuggler Mine are particularly notable because the history of <br />the mine is closely intertwined with the history of Aspen. The mine is significant because it is one <br />of the earliest silver mining claims staked on Smuggler Mountain in 1879. Today the site, <br />overlooking the town of Aspen, possesses an integrity of setting that has seen little change since the <br />1879-1920 mining period. The site still retains many essential physical features dating from its <br />significant mining period, i. e., five tunnel openings, 28 levels of tunnels, mine dumps, etc. The <br />Smuggler Mine was one of the top ten silver mines in the U.S. in the amount of high grade ore <br />produced. It is significant for its association with pioneer mining men and Aspen promoters such <br />as Charles B. Hallam and Professor B. Clark Wheeler. Hallam and Wheeler came to Aspen in 1880 <br />with the mine's owner, David M. Hyman, who was one of the first eastern capitalists to invest in <br />Aspen's mining future. The Smuggler is the only remaining mine site in the Aspen area associated <br />with these pioneers. <br />The Smuggler Mine was among the first strikes made by Charles Bennett in 1879 when he <br />and other Leadville miners first came to the Roaring Fork Valley. Early in 1880, Charles A. Hallam <br />and B. Clark Wheeler came to the valley looking for investment opportunities for their Cincinnati <br />partner, David M. Hyman. They took an option on some of Bennett's claims, including the <br />Smuggler Mine, as well as Bennett's two ranch sites in the valley where Wheeler laid out a plat for <br />a town and named it Aspen. <br />In late 1881, The Smuggler Mining Co. was incorporated with Bela M. Hughes of Denver <br />as president, David M. Hyman of Cincinnati as vice-president, and S. W. Keene as secretary. Later, <br />Hyman's friend and attorney, Charles J. Hughes, Jr. of Denver, served as president and Charles <br />Hallam became the general manager. <br />By 1884, the Smuggler Mine and other mines in the area were extensively developed. <br />Production reached a total value of over S7 million. By 1889, the mining output in the Aspen area <br />was $10 million and the Smuggler Mine was one of the major producers. In 1892, the Smuggler <br />Mine alone produced 29,967 tons of ore amounting to 572,524 ounces of silver. The Smuggler Mine <br />even remained open following the 1893 silver crash when most silver mines were shut down. The <br />mine was sold to the Smuggler Leasing Company in 1911 and continued to operate until 1920. <br />` The Smuggler Mine Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Site No. SPT 479. <br />[t was the first mine site in Colorado to be put on the National (and Colorado) Registers of Historic Places. <br />Much of the following description was extracted from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory- <br />Nomination Form prepared by the Colorado Historical Society in 1986. <br />- 7 - SMUGGLER MME SITE <br />