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GENERAL48373
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Last modified
8/24/2016 8:24:42 PM
Creation date
11/23/2007 4:17:47 PM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
DRMS Permit Index
Permit No
M1982090
IBM Index Class Name
General Documents
Doc Date
1/22/1997
Doc Name
50R65 CAMP BIRD MINE OURAY CNTY COLO
From
J M BECK & ASSOCIATES
To
COLO HISTROICAL SOCIETY
Media Type
D
Archive
No
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<br />value of silver. The ore discovered by Walsh had a high gold content and could, therefore, be mined <br />quite profitably. After his discovery, Walsh began quietly acquiring mining claims in the vicinity of <br />his strike, which he was able to purchase at low prices because of the depressed mining market <br />(Henderson 1926:185). Mining began in 1897 at the 2 and 3Level considerably above site 50R65. In <br />late 1897, an amalgamating-concentrating mill began to be constructed on the Deadwood and Emily <br />Mill Site mining claims at the junction of Sneffels, Imogene, and Canyon Creeks at what was later <br />known as the 14 Level (50R65~). The mill was operational by February 1898 and was supplied with <br />ore by an aerial tramway from 2 and 3Level. At 3Level, aself-contained mining camp complete <br />with a boarding house, shops, and warehouses was constructed that served as the base for mining. <br />The mine was enormously profitable and made Thomas Walsh a rich man. Walsh sold the mine to <br />Camp Bird, Limited, an Engli:;h company, on May 12, 1902 (Rosemeyer 1990). It appears that the <br />new company constructed a fine set of residential and other buildings at the mill in 1903 on the Glen <br />Monarch Lode and Mill Site claims that were adjacent to the Camp Bird Mill. Walsh had purchased <br />these claims on February 8, 1!301, from Mrs. H. F. Blythe and they had passed on to the new com- <br />pany with their purchase of the Camp Bird Mine. The claims had been filed upon by H. F. Blythe in <br />1880 and were patented April 4, 1889 (Ouray County Courthouse, County Clerk's Office, Deed Book <br />72, Page 250; Reed 1880). The mill was destroyed by an avalanche and resulting fire in march 1906. <br />It was quickly replaced and a new mill was in operation by November. By 1910, it was found that <br />the value of the ore from the mine was decreasing in richness and by 1914, the mill was operating at <br />less than half capacity. The expense of pumping water from the lower mine workings, tramway op- <br />eration, and maintaining the camp at 3Level coupled with normal mining costs made it difficult to <br />justify mining in the establishf:d manner because of the declining returns from the ore produced. In <br />order to streamline the operation and eliminate the need far pumping, a tunnel was driven at the 14 <br />Level into the deepest part of the mine workings. Mining was suspended in June 1916, the tramway <br />was dismantled, and the camp at Level 3 was closed. Construction of the Camp Bird Tunnel began <br />in December 1916 and was cmnpleted in June 1918. From that time on, all mining was conducted <br />through the tunnel with ore delivered to the mill directly from the mine. With completion of the <br />tunnel, considerable exploration work was conducted in the mine, but no new ore bodies were found <br />(Rosemeyer 1990; Henderson 1926:55). As a result, the mine closed in 1920 and did not reopen again <br />until 1925. In October 1925, the Camp Bird Leasing Company reopened the mine and soon in- <br />creased the capacity of the mill. The lease was acquired by King Lease, Inc. in April 1929, who oper- <br />ated the mine continuously until December 1956. At that time, Camp Bird, Limited began mining <br />again for themselves under a wholly owned subsidiary called Camp Bird Colorado, Inc. The com- <br />pany demolished the old mill and constructed an entirely new selective flotation mill on the same <br />location that was completed in 1960. Zinc and lead were the principal metals recovered. In the <br />1970x, water in the workings of the mine became an increasing problem. In December 1977, the <br />pumps became disabled and 1;he lower workings of the mine filled with water. The water was <br />pumped out again just long enough to salvage submerged equipment. A small amount of mining <br />took place in 1981 and 1986, but none since then (Rosemeyer 1990). The mine is now in the process <br />of being dismantled and reclairned by Camp Bird Colorado, Inc. <br />4.0 PRIsVIOUS WORK AND EXPECTED RESULTS <br />The only previous cultural resource work conducted at the Camp Bird Mine (50R65) was its <br />recordation in 1974 by Susan b:. Nichol. The reason for recording the site is not known and the site's <br />eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places has never been determined. Based <br />on examination of the historical literature about the site (Henderson 1926; Rosemeyer 1990), it was <br />expected that few structures 5(1 years of age or older would be present at the site; most of the mining <br />buildings were expected to be from the 1950s and 1960s or mare recent. A few residential structures <br />from soon after 1900 were expected to be present, however. <br />
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