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.” Continue Reading

Mining in the Black Hills

“Mining in the Black Hills” provides an overview of the geography and history of mining and mining communities in the Black Hills. Included are historic and modern maps of the mining towns and districts of this famous mining region. Continue Reading

User Contributed Photos – 1930s Goldroad, Arizona

This collection of 1930s photos of the Goldroad Mine in Arizona was contributed by a family member of the man that once served as the superintendent of the Goldroad mill. The photos have been restored by Western Mining History. Continue Reading

Cripple Creek “The World’s Greatest Gold Camp”

“So thickly were the hillsides and gulches studded with homes, than one can easily say that the Cripple Creek district is one great city, covering thirty-six square miles.” Cripple Creek – “The World’s Greatest Gold Camp” uses selected text from a 1903 special edition of the Cripple Creek Times, and over 50 images from various sources to illustrate the importance and magnitude of Cripple Creek during the district’s peak years. Continue Reading

The Gould & Curry Mill of Virginia City

“The extraordinary mill of the Gould & Curry Company was, however, the most conspicuous monument of inexperience and extravagance ever erected in a mining district.” Continue Reading

Saga of the War Eagle Mines

While Silver City and the Owyhee mines entered a new phase by the 1880s, the turbulent events of the 1860s were never forgotten. Aptly named War Eagle Mountain will always be remembered as one of the most contested, and bloodiest, mining locations in the West. Continue Reading

Alderman Joy of Leadville

While looking for articles on Doc Holliday I stumbled on a story of a vicious attack on E. D. Cowen, a popular newspaper editor in Leadville. The perpetrator was a man known as Alderman Joy (Charles C. Joy), and the beating he gave Cowen in September 1882 left the man on the brink of death. This article uses historical newspaper articles to paint a picture of who Alderman Joy was – a violent man that was feared by many for nearly two decades. Continue Reading