Bonanza History
Discovery of valuable ore deposits were first made at the head of Kerber Creek in the spring of 1880. A rush to the area began and the town of Bonanza was founded. By 1882 thousands of mining claims had been filed in the district.
Initially four towns vied to be the main settlement of the district: Bonanza, Exchequer, Kerber City, and Sedgwick. By 1883 it was clear that Bonanza was going to be the victor and the other towns faded.
In April of 1881 the Leadville Weekly Democrat reported that Bonanza had four hundred houses with another one hundred and twenty-five under construction. Thirty-seven businesses served the community. By the summer of 1882, Bonanza was being called one of the largest mining camps in the state. A telegraph linked Bonanza with Villa Grove and Saguache. The Bonanza Enterprise printed the news.
In June of 1882, the town of Bonanza instituted Ordinance No. 8, which stated that "no bawdy house, house of ill fame, house of assignation, or place for the practice of fornication or common, ill-governed or disorderly house shall be kept or maintained within the city limits of the town of Bonanza City."
Famed frontier road builder Otto Mears built a toll road between Shirley and Bonanza. In 1883 the town had a Shakespeare Club and a literary society.
The boom at Bonanza resulted in it being compared to Leadville in 1881, but the boom fizzled out within a few years as the hard realities of working the mines profitably settled in. Many of the leading mines in the district contained primarily low-grade ore, and although the owners of these mines were optimistic they could be put into production, many of the challenges would not be overcome for years or even decades.
The biggest disappointment for the district in the 1880s was the failure of the Rawley mine to reach any kind of sustainable ore production. This mine was one of the most famous among the early discoveries, and significant capital was invested in efforts to get the mine working. Shafts were driven, ore blocked out, and a smelter was completed in the summer of 1882. Although some ore shipments were made, most years the mine was either in one phase of development or another, or idled. This continued for more than four decades until the mine was finally able to be worked at large scale starting in 1923.
Despite disappointing early results, the district had a lot of mines and many of them were producing, particularly those with higher-grade ore. The town of Bonanza lost about half of it's population by the mid-1880s and by the early 1890s had just one hundred residents, but then settled into the role of stable and permanent mining camp. The population of the town grew after 1900 as more mines were brought into production.
The mining industry here fluctuated a lot throughout the years, sometimes in response to silver prices, other times due to improvements in technology and infrastructure that allowed the low-grade mines to finally be worked profitably. When the Rawley mine finally went into full production starting in 1923, it employed over 200 men.
By 1930 the Rawley mine, largest in the district, closed for the last time. Other mines kept the town alive for a few of years but by the middle of the decade Bonanza was dying out. A fire in 1937 burned most of the remaining business district. The post office closed in 1938.
Bonanza continued to be a small settlement of miners for many years. Today there is just one permanent resident but many summer vacation homes have been built at the old town site.
For Members: History of The Rawley Mine
The Rawley mine in Colorado’s Bonanza district created a lot of excitement in the area during the early 1880s. However, difficulties bringing the mine into production would result in over four decades of ownership changes and large capital losses until the mine finally realized its potential in the 1920s. Continue reading... (members only content)
A Tour of Colorado Mining Towns
Explore over 100 Colorado mining towns: A tour of Colorado Mining Towns.
Colorado Mining Photos
More of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.
