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~olorado Cultural Eeaource Surve! <br />Historical ArcLaeology Component Form <br />Continuation (Page b of 5) <br />State Site #: 5OR65 <br />Temporary #: N/A <br />10. Additional Information (Cont'd): <br />The ore deposits that came to be worked by the Camp Bird Mine were discovered by Thomas <br />Walsh in 1896 at the abandoned workings of the Allied Mines Company on the Gertrude claim. Mining <br />in the Ouray area had virtually ceased as a result of the Panic of 1893 and the decreased value of silver. <br />The ore discovered by Welsh had a high gold content and could, therefore, be mined quite profitably. <br />After his discovery, Walsh began quietly acquiring mining claims in the vicinity of his strike, which he <br />was able to purchase at low prices because of the depressed mining market (Henderson 1926:185). <br />Mining began in 1897 at t}ie 2 and 3 Level considerably above ®te 5OR65. In late 1897, an <br />amalgamatingconcentrating mill began to be constructed on the Deadwood and Emily Mill Site mining <br />claims at the junction of Sneffels, Imogene, and Canyon Creeks at what was later known as the 14 Level <br />(5OR65). The mill was operational by February 1898 and was supplied with ore by an aerial tramway <br />fmm 2 and 3 Level At 3 I,eve1,, aself-contained mining camp complete with a boarding house, shops, and <br />warehouses was constructed that served ae the base for mining. The mine was enormously profitable <br />and made Thomas Walsh a rich men. Walsh sold the mine to Gamp Bird, Limited, an English company, <br />on May 12 1902 (Reeemeyer 1990). It appears that the new company constructed a fine set of residential <br />and other buildings at the mall in 1903 an the Glen Monarch Lode and Mill Site claims that were <br />adjacent to the Camp Bird Mill Walsh had purchased these claims on February 8, 1901, from Mre. H. F. <br />Blythe and they had passed on to the new company with their purchase of the Camp Bird Mine. The <br />claims had been filed upon by H. F. Blythe in 1880 and was patented April 4, 1889 (Ouray County <br />Courthouse, County Clerk's Otlice, Deed Haok 72, Page 250; General Land Od'ice records, Mineral <br />Survey 635 A and). The mill wee destroyed by an avalanche and resulting fire in march 1906. It was <br />quickly replaced and a new mill was in operation by November. By 1910, it was found that the value of <br />the ore from the mine was decreasing in richness and by 1914, the mill was operaf~ng at less than half <br />capacity. The expense of pumping water firm the lower mine workings, tramway operation, and <br />maintaining the camp at 3 Level coupled with normal mining caste made it dillicult to justify mining in <br />the established manner becau&e o[ the declining returns from the ore produced In order to streamline <br />the operation and eliminate the need for pumping, a tunnel was driven at the 14 Level into the deepest <br />part of fhe mine workings. Miming was suspended in June 1916, the tramway was dismantled, and the <br />camp at Level 3 was cktaed. Cmstruction of the Camp Bird Tunnel begun in December 1916 and was <br />completed h June 1918. From that time on, all mining wire conducted through the tunnel with ore <br />delivered to the mill directly Cram the mine. With completion of the tunnel, considerable exploration <br />work was conducted in the mine, but no new ore bodies were found (Rasemeyer 1990; Henderson <br />1926:55). As a result, the mine ck>aed in 1920 and did not reopen again until 1925. In October 1925, the <br />Camp Bird Leasing Company rraopened the mine and soon increased the capacity of the mill The lease <br />was acquired by King Lease, Inc. in April 1929, who operated the mine continuously until December <br />1956. At that time, Camp Hird, Limited began mining again for themselves under a wholly owned <br />subsidiary called Camp Bird Cobrado, Inc. The company demolished the old mill and constructed an <br />entirely new selective fbtation mill on the same ktcation that was completed in 1960. Zinc and lead were <br />the principal metals recovered In the 1970x, water in the workings of the mine became an increasing <br />problem. U December 1977, the pumps became disabled and the lower workings of the mine filled with <br />water. The water was pumped out again just long enough to salvage submerged equipment A small <br />amount of mining took place in 1981 and 1986, but none since then (Rosemeyer 1990). The mine is now <br />in the process of being dismantled and reclaimed <br />