https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/3d2cc67b434470e851468c11219c69aa.pdf 3285eb1d464b5e6f65365bd6315334f5 PDF Text Text HELLDORADOS �other Books by the Author; *1 All About Grizzly Bears All About the White-Tailed. Deer Ghost Towns of the Northwest �Helldorados, Ghosts and Gamps of the Old Southwest by Norman D. Weis Photographs and. Maps by the Author The CAXTON PRINTERS, Ltd. Caldwell, Idaho 85605 1975 7 �© 1975 by The Caxton Printers, Ltd Caldwell, Idaho International Standard Book Niamber 0-00000-000-0 ’ Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 00 006000 O'- - -2 ^^3 - Lithographed and bound in the United States of America by The CAXTON PRINTERS, Ltd. Caldwell, Idaho 85605 000000 �Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data “o3, ghosts, and camps of the old South west. towns, Ruined, extinct, etc.-q(-3(-ps 2 Mines and mining--■3 outhSouthwestern . Southwestern States — western States-History. > History, Local. I1 75-85117 ISBN O-87OOU-2b-5“2 ��J CONTENTS Page oo Preface . Introduction ..................................... oo Py?T I — CALIFORNIA ■^ea 1 Cerro Gordo 00 Swansea 00 Barwin 00 Area 2 Hart ••••••••• 00 00 Barnwell Sagamore Mine Camp ..... 00 Area 3, Garlock 00 Atolia 00 . 00 ....... 00 Coolgardie Camp Area 4 Masonic Bodxe . • . 00 ..... Area Columbia 00 Fourth Crossing 00 Volcano French Corral ....... 00 ...... 00 �2-2-2 Conteixts Page yi PART II — ARIZONA Area 1 Silver King.......................................................................... 00 Sonora ......... 00 Area 2 Oleator 00 Crown King 00 ........ 00 . 00 ,,,,,, 00 ......... 00 Oro Selle Jerome............................................. Stanton ... Weaver . . Octave................................................................................... 00 Area 5 ........ 00 ......... 00 Goldroad Oatman Mineral Park................................................................. 00 White Hills . 00 PART III — NEVADA Area 1 Bullfrog.......................................................................... 00 Rhyolite ........ 00 Gold Point.......................................................................... 00 Lida ......... 00 7 �5-5-3 Content; Page Area 2 .............................................. . . 00 Belmont ....... . . 00 Ione....................................................... . . 00 . . . 00 .... . . 00 ..... . . 00 .............................................. . . 00 ..... . . 00 . . 00 ..................................... . . 00 Shermantown ...... . . 00 . . 00 Manhattan Berlin............................................. Illinois Mine Camp Area 3 Virginia City Gold Hill Area 4 Monte Cristo Hamilton Treasure City PART IV ~ ISEtf MEXICO ^ea 1 Gardiner Dawson ...... .................................................... 00 Colfax......... 00 Area 2 Cerrillos .......................................................................... 00 Madrid................................................................................... 00 Area 3 Mongo lion QO Shakespeare................................................................. 00 Valedon ......... 00 �4-4-4 y Page PART V ~ COLORADO Area 1 ....... 00 ......... 00 ••..... 00 HoWardsville Eureka Animas Porks Area 2 Irwin................................................................................... 00 Gothic City.......................................................................... 00 Area 5 St. Elmo.......................................................................... 00 00 Turret............................................. Calumet...................................................... . 00 Wolf................................................................................... 00 MT VI ~ UTAH Area1- . Spring Canyon Standardville Latuda, Rains, 00 ....... 00 ..... 00 Mutual A^a 2 Prisco.............................................................. 00 Cisco.........................................................................00 Bibliography ............................................................... Index ........... 00 00 �PRSPACB old. Truth springs easily from the young and the very The X^id-^mer has outlived his Inhibitions, and the younorster has yet to feel the need of precaution. Their frank assessments and blunt statements are refreshing In a time when studied obscurity Is often the rule. Old-jrlmers and youngsters have played an Important part In this book. Without them much wisdom, humor, and his*?* Si tory would be missing. To them I owe my greatest debt. In the process of visiting, photographlngy^and gathering Information on the several hundred sites from which material for this book was selected, much help was offered by strangers that I now count as friends. As the text was assembled, valued assistance was rendered by a number of talented Individuals. To the following, I would like to tender my warmest thanks» Mike Herblson, Head of Libraries, University of Colorado^gampuo Colorado Springs, whose objective criticisms have always been valued: My wife. Jay, who has typed each of these nearly 60,000 words at least four times: Senator Gale McGee of Wyoming, for assisting In the procurement of maps both current and historical: �Darwin Fetters of Nipton, California, C. P. Thorpe of Cordes Junction, Arizona, and John Strahan of Ouray, Colo-* radc^for taking the time to pour over a multitude of mapsj Grace Middleton of Silver King, Arizona, Just for being Grace Middleton; Slim Riffle of Red Mountain, California, who burned his steak while telling me about old Atolia; C. 0. Carlson and Olive Hunt, who loaded me down with ore samples and fossils; Yancy Perea and Gene Vick, the twelve:yearcold sages from Los Cerrlllos; And my very special thanks to the >31d:J^imer from the Mayer, Arizona^area who insisted that he remain "unanimous. His tales were grand, and with a little scrubbing I was able to include most of them. Assuredly I will honor his request ~ his identity will always remain "consequential" with me. �_2E7 INTRODUCTION It may have been a wild and woo^y >ti^ldorado, mining a desolate a|y(» camp high above timberline, or a stubborn community of farmers joined In an Improbable endeavor. Whatever the nature of the town, its reason & for exlst^yice evaporated. It may have been the collapse of overblown stocks, pinchedrout veins, or the realization that the extremes of nature were beyond domestication. In 2^ any event, the citizenry vacatedif not entirely, at least to an overwhelming degree. With the passage of time, the reason for the town’s existenceand the cause of its demise may have be/^ come clouded. The longrdeserted remains of once;active 3 towns become a fe^lnating challenge to anyone possessing a modicum of curiosity. Some deductions are easy. Square nails gave way to machines made round nails in 1885, therefore an old hotel with square nails was probably built before 1885. Tin cans with hands-soldered dots centered in the tops were last made in 1915^ ergo, a roundxnailed shack with soldersdot cans strewn about was built after 18853 and probably deserted prior to 1915. Cl)^- <^^*1 �Generally, local museums and libraries can pro-^^ vide a reasonably complete history of the deserted towns in a given area. However, in the case of the littlerknown site, little of worth can be found in the existing lltera/^ ture. Occasionally an ;3id=ia^mer can be sought out, but some towns (like Wolf, Colorado'^ defy complete deduction's and permit only a speculative history to be drawn. Researching the little-known site, however, is easy compared to the original determination of its existence and location. Much of my effort was directed toward that end. To find an unknown site by direct ground search of an area might take a lifetime. By air easierTstut prohibitively exnenslve. be to scan a few thousand maps. the job would be A third method would The last option is at pre^ sent the only one available to me, although I am working on a means of making economical air search possible. geological The United States has carried out a survey for nearly one hundred years. Maps of the west have been drawn in great detail^ and published for general use since 1896. The first places to be mapped were the population centers and the mineralized areas. The latter show a great number of mining towns and camps, most of which were short =lived. Frequently^ two maps of the same area, but of different �dates, will reveal the sudden shrinkage indicative of a newly deserted town. Sven with just one map available^ a number of likely "unknowns" can be pinpointed by scanV' ning carefully for mine shafts, tunnels, dead=end railroads, and unoccupied buildings. Topographic maps that show the ground surface and cultural development in sufficient deV^ tail for such study are available from the United States Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado, 80225. The Howardsvilie, ColoradOa?! minute topographic map, scaled 1 to 24,000 (that’s about three inches to the mileshows the ground surface in extreme detail. A section of that map is reproduced here. Howardsville (A), at the upper left corner, shows an aerial tramway connecting an empty rectangle in town with another rectangle half a mile up the hill. The tramway is labeled^ "abandoned^^ which Indicates that the mine above and the mill below are probably very old. leading to the mine A trail shown invites *§nisite"^inspection. The Pride of the West Mill is shown in black and appears to be operating^ however, the map is dated 1955. and the mill mlght have closed down in the interim. A search of the literature showj^ that Howardsville was a rather well know/» but small ghost town with one mill still operating. shut down. Obviously the Pride of the West’ had not Howardsville was selected as a site worth �visiting, primarily due to the number of old mine camps evident on the map. Any one of them could be a worthwhile^ little^known site. On visitation, the old mill at Howardsville was found to ^e a marvel worth several rolls of film. The mine and mill complex at (B) and (C) turned out to be a disappoint^ ment. The mill was completely gone, and little evidence of the Old Hundred Mine could be discerned with field glasses. An early summer snow prevented my visiting (3), the Gary Owen Mine, and (D), the unnamed mine on Rein Gulch. The four buildings and six tunnels, all in a cluster, still Intrigue me. I will hike up there some summer day, and while I’m at it, I’ll visit the Buffalo Mine (P), and perhaps circle about so as to take the pack trail, (J), back to the road. The pack trail and the road were part of the original route into the area. That route came up the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, then topped over Stony Pass, on down Stony Gulch, to Howardsville. The Little Fanney Mine, (H), clings to the hillside, making a sreat photograph for those owning a long lens. The Highland Mary Mine, (K), was once a town of the same name, I had great hopes that this site would hold a number of buildings but found only foundations. Glassing the hillside showed that item (G), The Shenandoah, was not worth a 2,000-foot thou8a^^^™^®e«^ climb. All in all, the area was a bust, except for Howardsville and the Little Fanney, �My map analysis of the six southwestern states haed. revealed nearly a thousand possible "unknowns." A search of existing literature showed the great majority to be, in fact, rather well known. Of the remaining two hundred or so, less than one in ten proved worthwhile. Many were wiped out. Others had been reactivated. The topocrraphic maps most commonly used in this type of research are the 7l minute/n inch to the mlle^ and the 15 mlnutenl inch to the milek The designation of 7| minute or 15 minute refers to the ancles of latitude and longitude included on the map. Of course there are 60 minutes to a decree, and 360 degrees make a great circle of the earth. The important thing to remember is that the 7i minute map^ shows^only one-fourth the area of a 15 minute mapbut shows^it in four times the detail. Although the Paradise Peak, Nevada, 15 minute map is of lesser detail than the Howardsville 7^ minute map, it contained more in the way of possible "unknown" sites. The portion of the map reproduced here includes the area from Gabbs, Nevada, at the southwest, to Lodi Tank at the -Northeast Items (A) and (B) represent towns supposedly still active ~ active as of 1948, the date on the map. The towns, however, might have bo^m» deserted in the past 25 years. Item (C), Downeyville, was listed as a site, meaning it was a deserted town twenty-five years ago. No buildings are shown �but more than twenty shafts indicated. and numerous prospects are Items (D), (S), and (P) looked promi si ng pecially (P), the Illinois Mine Camp. Pour empty squares and eight solid squares indicated that the camp consisted of (1^ buildings,of which were residential in nature. top of that, the mine was labeled "inactive/' On It looked like a good prospect, provided it had not been totally destroyed or reactivated since 19^8. When I visted the Gabbs area I found Brucite, (A), to be part of a large^ opens pit mine. (B), The Sierra Magnesite Gamp, was nothing but concrete slabs. At Downe;^ > Ville, (C), there was nothing. 1^ The Victory Tunarsten Mine, (D), was a small mine still operating. Lodi, (S), once quite a town, was now just one small water tank. But (P), The Illinois Mine Camp, was Indeed a find. Only a few of the dozen buildings were standing, but the remains at the site posed an interesting puzzle, ultimately pieced together by/search of the groundi and Nevada subsequent visits with Informed people at Gabbs, The|i^State Archives eventually provided a small additional amount of information, mostly about the old town of Lodi. Of the six^ teen possible unknowns on the two maps, only one had proved to be virgin of print and worthy of a day's research. Compared to the difficulties encountered in locating the wbrthwhile site, recording the remains on film was simple provided the elements were cooperative. I made it a practice �to spend the night in most of the deserted communities, in order to have the advantage of evening and morning light. Bleached boards respond well to black*andswhite photography^ provided the light plays across the surface — ■— to accent the grain and warp of the wood. Sometimes an hour’s wait, or a return for a last shot from a particular angle^made an ordinary scene into something spectacular. Staying overnight also permitted experimenting with time exposures by moonlight. Interesting and surprising results can be obtained if time and ^llm are spent freely. During my 7,000«mlle tour of the Southwest, more than 300 rolls of film were exposed, copious notes were taken, and a great number of oldctimers, nears olds timers, youngsters, and former residents were interviewed. Most folk were willing to visit*, however, some required a bit of cajoling. My inteirviewing techniques have always been less than spectacular andy^often abrupt to the point of alienation. Lately there has been some Improvement. My approach has graduated from "foot in mouth" to "tongue in cheek." Old-timers are often reluctant to talk with a stranger, especially one takes noteS, On a number of such occasions I found the application of tongue oil (a cold beer from the cooler) to be of great value. The social bility that resulted crenerally overcame any suspicions. ���TOPOGRAPHIC MAP SYMBOLS VARIATIONS WILL BE FOUND ON OLDER MAPS Hard surface, heavy duty road, four or more lanes .. . Boundary, national Hard surface, heavy duty road, tv*o or three lanes State Hard surface, medium duty road, four or more lanes. . . . County, parish, municipio Hard surface, medium duty road, two or three lanes Civil township, precinct, town, barrio Improved light duty road................................................................. - Incorporated city, village, town, hamlet. ZZZZZliZZZZZZ Unimproved dirt road and trail Dual highway, dividing strip 25 feet or less Dual highway, dividing strip exceeding 25 feet. ...... ..................... Reservation, national or state Small park, cemetery, airport, etc ..........------------------- Road under construction ........................ Land grant ======== Township or range line. United States land survey Township or range line, approximate location Railroad, single track and multiple track Section line. United States land survey Section line, approximate location Railroads in juxtaposition............................................................... d=i=t Narrow gage, single track and multiple track Railroad in street and carline .,___ Township line, not United States land survey Section line, not United States land survey Bridge, road and railroad..............................................................ZjZZ^Z Drawbridge, road and railroad.............. ........................... Footbridge....................................................................................................... Tunnel, road and railroad........................................... : Overpass and underpass .+ Section corner, found and indicated........................................ + ................................... ZjZZ^Z Boundary monument: land grant and other □......................□ United States mineral or location monument a ij II Z I Important small masonry or earth dam Dam with lock \ Index contour.............. .. Intermediate contour. . Supplementary contour Depression contours . . Fill...................................... Dam with road .n-rrn Levee................................. < Canal with lock 1 / , Cut........................... Levee with road............ Mine dump..................... Wash........................... Tailings............................. Buildings (dwelling, place of employment, etc.) Tailings pond................. Strip mine........................ Distorted surface......... School, church, and cemetery Buildings (barn, warehouse, etc.) Sand area........................ • .. . . Power transmission line ........................ Telephone line, pipeline, etc. (labeled as to type) ................... Wells other than water (labeled as to type) oOii Gravel beach................... Perennial streams . . . .Intermittent streams; . Elevated aqueduct.... , t>.~ Disappearing stream . ..,------- Water well and spring.o Tanks; oil, water, etc. (labeled as to type) Aqueduct tunnel oGas .......... • • • ©Water Small rapids Small falls Large rapids —~ -L”' ....... .iiii------ , Large falls o...................... 8 Located or landmark object; windmill Open pit, mine, or quarry; prospect........................................... y x Shaft and tunnel entrance............................... Y Dry lake Intermittent lake n Foreshore flat .* sJ— TrZyTTZ':??.-,., ' \ , Rock or coral reef.... " Sounding, depth curve.Piling or dolphin Horizontal and vertical control station: Exposed wreck BMA5653 Tablet, spirit level elevation Other recoverable mark, spirit level elevation Sunken wreck................. Rock, bare or awash; dangerous to navigation * s* A5455 Horizontal control station: tablet, vertical angle elevation VABMA9519 Any recoverable mark, vertical angle or checked elevation ^3775 BMX957 Vertical control station: tablet, spirit level elevation Other recoverable mark, spirit level elevation................. X954 Checked spot elevation.............................................................. . . Unchecked spot elevation and water elevation y.5657■ xaszs . . .s/o 51^ �Of the more than two hundred sites visited, sixty­ seven have been chosen for inclusion in this book. The selection includes wild towns, quiet camps, some well-known ffhost towns, and a smattering of "unknowns." It has been a loner but enjoyable endeavor locating and visiting each of these sites. Darkroom work and writing of the text has brought added satisfaction. I wish an equally pleasant experience to all those who tour "Helldorados I <£ Hinias Camps and— flUowxts of the^^Southwest.” gaxtion aditorr Chanue -last oontonoo t-o-fit tit ■^elected ■ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Norman Weis Manuscripts Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1971-1987 Description An account of the resource A collection of manuscripts by Casper College professor Norman Weis. <br /><br />This collection includes manuscripts of:<br /><em>Ghost Towns of the Northwest: Known and Unknown<br />The Starduster<br />Two-Story Outhouse<br />Helldorados<br /></em><br />Each manuscript contains written in edits by Norman Weis Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Norman Weis Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Norm Weiss Manuscripts and Photographs, CCA 10.2003.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Searchable PDF Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CCA 10.2003.01_Weis_Manuscripts Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Manuscript Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Helldorados</em> Contents and Preface Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <div class="element-text five columns omega"> <p><a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a></p> </div> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Norman Weis Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Norm Weiss Manuscripts and Photographs, CCA 10.2003.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CCA 10.2003.01_Weis_Helldorados_ContentsPreface Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Searchable PDF