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Evaluation and Management Recommendation <br />In general this mine site does not retain archaeological integrity. The setting lacks <br />character that one would associate with placer mining. The design is not unique and the <br />mining evidence is visible only as a few remnant low ridges and troughs on the landscape. <br />Only scant fragments of the materials associated with the operation remain. The site does not <br />possess or evoke a feeling of placer mining There is no evidence of workmanship and no <br />association could be made as to the names of the original prospectors. <br />Due to the fact that this mining location lacks archaeological integrity, it does not <br />meet significant criteria for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is not <br />eligible under Criterion A as placer mining in northwest Colorado was not significant to the <br />broad pattern of history in the region, although some placer mining did occur. The site could <br />not be associated with persons significant in our past (Criterion B) and does not embody <br />distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction (Criterion C). The site <br />is not likely to yield any information important in history (Criterion D). The site was <br />declared officially not eligible by the State Historic Preservation Officer in 2007 and there is <br />no change to that determination with the present recording. No further work is <br />recommended. <br />Discussion <br />One placer mine site was recorded by this investigation and is consistent with historic <br />records on file which indicate regional Euro - American activity as far back as the 1880s. <br />The historic findings may relate to the Timberlake or Fourmile placer district in Moffat <br />County since the mine site is located between Timberlake Creek and East Timberlake Creek. <br />Records for these placer endeavors are on file at Colorado School of Mines and date between <br />1915 and 1941. <br />The project area is located approximately 30 miles north of Craig. In 1889, the Craig <br />Land and Mercantile Company was formed and 160 acres of land was purchased to form the <br />original townsite. Founded by William H. Tucker and named after one of the town's financial <br />backers, Rev. William Bayard Craig, the town was incorporated as a city on April 24, 1908. <br />The area saw a growth spurt starting in 1913 when the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad <br />extended the rail line from Steamboat Springs to Craig. Craig then became a regional cattle <br />shipping center (Athearn 1977:104). Craig became the county seat when Moffat County was <br />created out of the western portion of Routt County on February 27, 1911 (Craig Chamber of <br />Commerce). <br />1 6 <br />