1996-08-02_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1977378

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t t Gulch. General Historic Research-Hardrock Mining In the San Juan Mountains The general history of mining in the San Juan Mountains is included in the Colorado Plateau Country Historic Context Regional Research Design(Husband 1984), in general histories of southwest Colorado(DAR 1995; O'Rourke 1980), and other local histories(Brown 1984; Sloan and Skowronski 1975; Smith 1982 & 1986). With the discovery of gold in western Colorado in 1859, the state became the focus of extensive prospecting, and the first parties of prospectors came into the San Juan Mountains in the early 1860s. Small camps such as Bakers Park near Silverton were established from which to :xplore the mineral resources, but placer gold deposits were Limited and the remoteness ofthe area coupled with the threat from Ute Indian groups discouraged early extensive mining in the San Juan Mountains. This early placer mining involved panning, and sluicing which was primarily an individualistic endeavor. The early placer mining confirmed the presence of gold in the San Juans 'but also highlighted the difficulty of extracting it. The real mining boom in the San Juan Mountains began during the 1870's, with the implementation of lode mining or hard rock mining techniques for the recovery of precious metals. This type of mining required tunneling into the mountains to find the lode bearing veins, ,,nd required extensive capital outlays. This lode mining required large machinery, a substantial labor force, advanced milling works, and transportation(Husband 1984:IV-27). The Burnot Agreement of 1873 removed the Utes from the San Juan Mountains, and by 1874 there was a rush to the silver and gold camps of southwest Colorado. One of the centers of this rush was Silvcrton, attracting thousands of miners who staked claims and settled in various mining camps. ether mountain communities such as Rico, Ophir, and Telluride were settled during this same period By the 1880's surrounding areas became developed as the need to supply the mining communities, created a market for agricultural products, livestock,timber,and other goods. The coming of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in the early 1880's provided a means by which goods could be economically moved between the mountain mining communities and supply towns such as Durango and Dolores. Rural areas became the focus of livestock raising and agriculture, and some mountain areas were used for harvesting timber and summer range for sheep and cattle. By the early 1890s mining communities such as Silverton became more permanent as the infrastructure associated with Victorian America reached the San Juan Mountains. Roads and railways interconnected the area, and associated with this new permanence came newspapers, merchants, clergy, and other professional practitioners. The presence of more permanent facilities in the mining communities of the San Juan Mountains facilitated increased exploitation and processing of the rich mineral resources found there. A new process for extracting gold from low grade ore increased the production of this precious metal during the early 1890s. Gold production in the San Juans became even more important following the infamous depression of 1893 and the concomitant silver crash. Areas such as Silverton refocused mining activities to gold production and were able to wether this dark economic period in Colorados history. Mining activities in the San Juan Mountains at the turn-of-the-century benefited from the development of efficient new ore reduction processes including cyanidation, and concentration and amalgamation. Localized mills and smelters were constructed at the mining complexes to 5