A timeline of Cerro Gordo events between major booms: Cerro Gordo After The Fall Aug. 1878 - Fire in the Union and it burns to ground (FTMCG) Apr. 1878 - Last Stagecoach comes down the Yellow Grade Road Victor Beaudry and a selected men protected the union interest (FTMCG) Oct. 1879 - Union Mine Abandoned. Lone wagon containing several bars of lead, and one 420 pound pure silver ingot goes down the yellow grade.(FTMCG) Nov. 1879 - Beaudry furnace shuts down (FTMCG Jul. 1888 - State mineralogist W. A. Goodyear, visit’s the mines. Union Mine is under lease to Thomas Boland & John Gorman. Scattered mining efforts by individual parties probed here and there for rich pockets of silver that might have been missed. Belshaw and Beaudry’s smelters were being torn down for use elsewhere (FTMCG) Oct. 1888 - Goodyear reports 30 or 40 men still trying to make a living off of the mining (FTMCG) Sep. 1889 - Archie Farrington takes over the Union, re timbers Belshaw shaft. 25-30 men worked on job till spring of 1890 Omega tunnel is re-connected to underground workings of Union from 900 foot level for a second mine exit. Shipments of low grade ore barely paid for the time spent re-timbering Belshaw shaft and transportation (FTMCG) Feb. 1892 - Union mine ceases all operations (FTMCG) Mar. 2, 1998 - Cerro Gordo post office shuts down & mail goes to Keeler (FTMCG) ******** Thomas Boland picks up lease 10 years after Belshaw * Beaudry leaves Cerro Gordo. He managed to keep the mine in working order, but little else. ************ (FTMCG) 1894-1896 - State Mineralogist Report: Number of mines ceased operation little revival in silver market, useless to record them (FTMCG) Jan. 1893 - Last killing Billy Crapo kills Harry B. Boland & disappears 1899 (FTMCG) 1902 - by the1902 price of silver drops to 53 cents an ounce, Boland continued on with as little as 5 men in his employment. (FTMCG) July 8, 1904 - Thomas Carol Boland dies after sixteen years of trying to keep Cerro Gordo alive (FTMCG) 1905 - Great Western Ore & Reduction Company acquires mine and interest in renewed in Cerro Gordo (FTMCG) Early 1906 - Local teamsters freight low grade silver ore from mine dumps to smelter in construction at keeler. Keeler becomes teaming center of owens Valley wit h60 head of animals up and down Yellow Grade road. Pat Clinton put in charge of mines (FTMCG) Spring 1906 - Steam traction engine built making it’s first successful trip to Cerro Gordo in June. A month later it brought four wagons of ore each day. Soon, however, traction engine was not sufficiently pulling the heavy loads at increased speeds and freight wagons took over again (FTMCG) Sep. 22, 1906 - Great Western Ore & Reduction Company smelter began work (FTMCG) Oct. 4, 1906 -Summary: New smelter in Keeler working Cerro Gordo slag (Inyo Register - GBR) Nov 15, 1906 - Cerro Gordo mine spicking up (November 15, 1906) Feb. 1 1907 - “Notice of Sale of Real Estate At Private Sale” sale of mines at Cerro Gordo and Coso Mining Districts. The Belshaw store at Cerro Gordo part of sale also (Inyo Independent, GBR) Summer 1907 - Last significant production run made after a winze was sunk from 900 foot level and rich galena deposit located (FTMCG) Aug 1907 - James H. Ames, manager of Great Western Company & German scientist, discover large deposits of high grade zinc ore - too costly to ship (FTMCG) Nov. 1907 - Four Metals Smelting Company acquires Great western Ore & Reduction Company at both Cerro Gordo & in Keeler. 200 ton smelter erected east of keeler - first aerial tramway to Cerro Gordo built. (FTMCG) Apr. 1908 - Tramway Route surveyed (FTMCG) April 3, 1908 - “Thomas Miner, an old timer of Inyo county has been away from here for about 31 years, arrived from town Monday evening from Rawhide. Mr. miner worked in the Eclipse mine in 1875, and was employed at Cerro Gordo and other mines in this section in early days. In his absence he took in Alaska and many other mining sections.” (Inyo Independent - GBR) Jun. 1908 - Four railroad cars arrive with lumber for tramway at Keeler Dec. 1908 - Four Metals Company operating (FTMCG) Spring 1909 - Montgomery tramway operating, but frequent breakdowns delayed shipments and teamsters went to work again (FTMCG) 1909 - E. McGrath, general manager of Four Metals reports large body of high grade ore below 1000 foot level. (FTMCG) June 10, 1909 “Three feet of $240 Ore: Newsboy Mine has showing worthy Cerro Gordo’s liveliest days” Summary: Newsboy Mine near Cerro Gordo equal to the lucky Boy or anything else in Nevada, which is being said by Lloyd Skinner who is superintendent of the Four Metals Company. About 65 mine employed on the hill, working the Newsboy, Belmont Union, San Felipe, Santa Maria and Omega Mines. Tramway is working steadily and perfectly. 90 buckets used, each carrying 1,500 to 1,700 pounds of ore. The legnth of the tram is 5 ¼ miles between stations. Loaded buckets going downhill haul up empties, though there is an engine on the hill to act as a governor on (missing info - from Inyo Register GBR) Sep. - 1909 Smelter ore bins full, 250 tons of ore dumped on ground. 1000 tons of high grade ore on Union dump ready to be trammed from Cerro Gordo (FTMCG) 1910 - New deposits worked, and 1100 foot level was reached in the mine - Ore body not what expected - Four Metals begins to decline due to financial difficulties (FTMCG) 1910 - Value of existing carbonate zinc ores at Cerro Gordo was realized. (FTMCG) 1911 - L. D. Gordon & Associates obtain lease from Four Metals to extract zinc (FTMCG) 1914 - L. D. Gordon acquires title to Cerro Gordo after Four Metals dissolves (FTMCG) July 1914 - Cerro Gordo Mines incorporated. Capital stock amounts to $1,000,000. L. d. Gordon is vice president and general manager (FTMCG)
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:56:58 +0000
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