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Posted by Allan Hall on March 4th, 2010Many stories about abandoned mines in Arizona don’t have happy endings. For example, the Tonopah-Belmont Mine, located about 24 miles southwest of Wickenburg, operated intermittently from the 1860′s until 1942 with a record of no fatalities. This, in spite of having a 500 foot deep shaft with working levels at 100, 250, 400 and 500 feet.
Responsible collectors of mineral specimens regularly (and safely) visited this popular site for 48 years until, in 1990, a young man set out to explore the underground workings on his own. About 100 feet into the McNeil Tunnel, in darkness, he stepped into …
Continue reading “Abandoned Mines Part I: Preserve or Destroy?“
Posted by Allan Hall on January 24th, 2010John Wayne is famously credited for having said “Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.” I was reminded of this quotation while doing some research on mining fatalities in Arizona’s Territorial days and the years following Statehood. As many folks know, the Vulture Mine was the richest gold strike in the state’s history, and it put Wickenburg on the map in 1863. Mining is a dangerous business of course, and it remained so in spite of continued efforts to impose tougher mining codes. Two accidents at the Vulture Mine illustrate why the combination of “stupid” and “mining” …
Continue reading “A Fatal Combination“
Posted by Kathy Block on September 18th, 2009A Brief Biography Of Frank Crampton With Emphasis On His Wickenburg Area Experiences In The Early 1900s.
Who was Frank Crampton?
Frank (Francis) Asbury Crampton was the author of a fascinating book entitled, Deep Enough: A Working Stiff in the Western Mining Camps. After reading references to this book in “Photo Jeeping off Constellation Road” by Maria Langer, Wickenburg-Az.com. January 2009, with comments by Allan Hall, I obtained a copy, and learned about Crampton’s adventures, especially in the Wickenburg area.
Figure 1. Cover of Deep Enough by Frank Crampton (1).
This book narrates Frank Crampton’s many human interest adventures …
Continue reading “About Frank Compton“
Posted by Allan Hall on July 15th, 2009Part 1 of this two-part series, introduced readers to this depression era mine and provided details and many photos of what could be found there. This second part completes the series by providing observations on what living conditions were like, some history, and directions for finding the site for exploration.
Living Conditions
Finally, let’s examine the small settlement area near the mine. Figure 10 shows the only wall at this site. It is not a dry stack and, importantly, it is not adobe. Instead, this wall was built using a combination of mortar and local rock. The coloration on …
Continue reading “Researching a Depression Era Mine – Part II: Living Conditions, Historical Context, and Location“
Posted by Allan Hall on July 8th, 2009No one can say with certainty how many adits and shafts have been dug in Arizona’s mining districts in historic times. Estimates vary considerably – even between state and federal agencies – but could range as high as 100,000 hard rock mine entrances. The vast majority fall into two broad categories: “past producers” and “prospects” and nearly all of them are now abandoned. The steady decline in gold and silver production during the 1920′s and early 1930′s led to the closing of many mines. Settlements were dismantled, or simply abandoned; as people moved on to seek their livelihood elsewhere.
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Continue reading “Researching a Depression Era Mine – Part I: Mine Overview“
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