In January of 1895, a warehouse fire ignited a large store of dynamite resulting in a great explosion that devastated several blocks of Butte, Montana, and killed an estimated 58 people. The following account is partial text from the 1895 publication “The Great Dynamite Explosions at Butte, Montana: January 15, 1895” The Fire and Explosions
For anyone familiar with California in modern times, it is difficult to imagine what the state must have been like during the California Gold Rush. The famous gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill happened in 1848, but it wasn’t until 1849 that news of the discovery reached the East Coast and the rest of the world.
The following article appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette, September 14, 1878 Gipsying in Colorado 1878 It is often asked, which do you admire most, Silverton or Ouray? It is impossible to make comparisons between places so utterly different. Ouray, as I have described, is in the wildest imaginable spot; just room enough, as it
Sumpter, Oregon was settled by prospectors in 1862, making it one of the earliest mining settlements in the Northwest. Sumpter was a remote and isolated town which grew very slowly, and it wasn’t until the 1890s, with improvements in transportation routes and the arrival of a railroad, that Sumpter turned into a mining boom town.
William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839 – March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Clark made his first fortune as one of the three “Copper Kings” of Butte, Montana. He was later involved in many ventures including the development of mines and smelters in Jerome, Arizona,
I recently had the opportunity to view the DVD “Desperate Dreams” by Rick Tegeler. The DVD is the result of numerous trips to Nevada with the purpose of documenting the mines and ghost towns of the mining frontier. The following quote from the Desperate Dreams site summarizes some of Rick’s experiences during his explorations: “As
