Lost Mines of Arizona
From The Mineralogical Record, Volume 14, No. 5, September-October, 1983: “The mountains and plains of Arizona are vast, complex, well mineralized and largely uninhabited even today. No one would dare to suggest that Arizona has given up all its secrets, and that no deposits or mineral occurrences remain to be found…”
Wyatt Earp spent most of his adult life moving between numerous gold rushes and mining excitements. In 1905 a newspaper described his wanderlust: “wherever was a new gold camp, a new oil field, a new place in which money was plentiful, there could be found Wyatt Earp, quiet, careful, but deadly in his own defense.”
Native Gold From the Jamestown Mine
From The Mineralogical Record, volume 25, January-February, 1994: “On December 26, 1992, owners of the Jamestown mine in Tuolumne County, California, received an unexpected Christmas present. Excavation in the company’s Crystalline pit revealed a ‘pocket’ of crystalline leaf gold. Approximately 1,568 ounces of specimen gold were collected in all. The largest piece, weighing in at 25.79 kg (69 troy pounds), ranks as one of the largest specimens of gold ever found in California, or the nation.”
Arequa Gulch: A Long Gone Town in Colorado
Long ago, before the mine and before the bridge, Arequa was one of 25 towns once located in the Cripple Creek District. Arequa was not only the oldest community in the area, but also played an essential part in the formation of the district and the gold boom of 1891.
Historically, very few large nuggets were saved for their value as collectibles. In modern times, large gold nuggets are exceedingly rare and are highly valued. The following examples are gold nuggets that have been sold at Heritage Auctions and have sales prices over $10,000.
Barry, Colorado: An Early Town in the Cripple Creek District
Following the discovery of gold in the Cripple Creek district, many mining communities were formed in the early 1890s. The town of Barry was one of the first, but it was soon swallowed up by its expanding neighbor.
In the 1890s, Leadville, Colorado was experiencing an economic depression. To boost the local economy, and the mood of the citizenry, in 1895 a plan was conceived to have a winter carnival, with the main attraction being a grand palace constructed almost entirely of ice.
Cache Creek, Colorado – An Early Placer Mining Camp
Cache Creek was an important early placer mining camp in Colorado’s Arkansas Valley. Horace Tabor lived here before later becoming one of Colorado’s richest mining tycoons at nearby Leadville.
Little Girl Lost: The Story of Colorado’s Silver Dollar Tabor
How does it feel to go from unimaginable wealth to equally unimaginable poverty? In the Tabor family, youngest daughter “Silver Dollar” clearly knew, and was most affected.
An Ode to Elkton, Colorado
Author Jan MacKell Collins describes her fondness for the mining town of Elkton, Colorado. “Being there somehow made me feel at home, and I slowly but surely fell in love with that old ghost town.”
