The Top Ten Historic Mining Towns You Should Visit Today
The various gold and silver rushes in the West were the primary factor in the initial settlement of the western states. Thousands of mining camps were formed but most only lasted a few months or a few years before the residents packed up and moved on to the next rush or a more prosperous town Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Central City, Colorado
Central City was Colorado's most important mining center for almost two decades following gold discoveries in 1859. The city's fame would be overshadowed by Leadville in 1880, but Central City would endure for decades as one of the West's oldest and most resilient mining towns. Continue Reading
New Interactive Maps of the Mining West
New mine maps at Western Mining History for the first time plot over 116,000 mines and over 350 mining towns on the same maps. Continue Reading
Placer Gold Deposits of Arizona
Arizona ranks tenth in the United States (eighth in the western continental States) in placer gold production. The U.S. Bureau of Mines cites 500,000 troy ounces of placer gold produced in Arizona from 1792 to 1964. The 1972 publication Placer Gold Deposits of Arizona - Geological Survey Bulletin 1355, gives a historical overview of Arizona's gold placer districts and describes 87 districts that have been placer mined in the state. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Irwin, Colorado
Irwin, Colorado grew into a spectacular city of 5,000 residents in just six months after rich silver discoveries. The great production from the mines could only be maintained for a couple years, and by 1883 Irwin was already in steep decline. Continue Reading
What is a Ghost Town? WMH Town Classifications Explained
While there is not one official definition of what a ghost town is, there has been much discussion on the subject. Wikipedia’s basic definition is as follows: A ghost town is an abandoned village, town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due Continue Reading
