Vulture Mine, Arizona’s most productive gold mine

VULTURE MINE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – That is the story of Arizona’s most efficient gold mine, the Vulture Mine, and the neighborhood that grew up across the operation, Vulture Metropolis. The mine gave cause for the founding of the city of Wickenburg and its existence led to the event of central Arizona’s agricultural communities, together with Phoenix.

The web site is situated roughly 14 miles south of Wickenburg alongside Vulture Mine highway. The 12 months is 1863, the nation was within the midst of the Civil battle. Out west, within the newly designated Arizona Territory, Henry Wickenburg is looking the desert for a hen he simply shot, a vulture, in a rugged space 12 miles south of the Hassayampa River. Because the story goes, he’s wanting for his downed hen when he spots a ridge line containing a quartz outcropping. When he takes a more in-depth look, finds a vein of gold that finally ends up changing into the most efficient gold mine in Arizona historical past, the Vulture Mine.

That’s one model of how the mine was found. A extra probably case is that Wickenburg merely found the positioning and seen vultures flying overhead within the space, therefore the identify. What is evident is that the Vulture mine contained huge quantities of gold embedded in quartz that needed to be milled with a purpose to extract the valuable minerals from the rock. The milling operation and a method to energy it, water, was discovered alongside the Hassayampa River, 14 miles north.

Quickly, a neighborhood developed across the mine, it grew to become often known as Vulture Metropolis. An encampment additionally sprang up close to the milling operation alongside the Hassayampa River. It grew right into a small neighborhood and was named after the proprietor of the Vulture mine, Wickenburg.

So the mine named Vulture was producing ore which Wickenburg bought for $15 a ton. The neighborhood was rising with the profitable mine Vulture Metropolis quickly had an assay workplace, miners’ dormitories, a saloon, a brothel, a college, a publish workplace, a retailer, and in later years a fuel station. Over the following 30 years or so, Vulture Metropolis grew to a inhabitants of just below 5000 folks throughout its heyday.

The mine produced 200 million {dollars} of gold over its time. That’s what information point out, however maybe virtually as a lot disappeared into the pockets of miners, supervisors, and freighters. The locals say that 18 males met their finish dangling from a rope beneath the Ironwood tree that grows subsequent to Henry Wickenburg’s former house. Justice served up with a noose for high-grading ore, a elaborate identify for stealing gold from the mine. Though there aren’t any information of such hangings, the Ironwood tree remains to be there, as are the stays of Henry Wickenburg’s house.

A well known Arizona character, Jacob Waltz, higher often known as the “Misplaced Dutchman,” labored on the Vulture Mine for a number of years. Some historians say his well-known discover really originated from the widespread follow of stealing the Vulture’s wealthy sources. The Dutchman’s gold has by no means been discovered however many nonetheless seek for the fabled cache.

One other notable one who frolicked working on the mine was the founding father of Phoenix, Jack Swilling. The previous accomplice officer was a visionary as he seized the possibility to filter out the irrigation canals the Hohokam had dug generations in the past within the open desert close to the Salt river valley. Swilling raised cash to start out the ‘Swilling Irrigation and Canal Firm’ within the fall of 1867.

‘Swilling Irrigating and Canal Firm,’ began the small farming neighborhood that grew into Phoenix. Actually, Grand Avenue takes direct purpose at Vulture Metropolis due to the agricultural commerce exchanged between the 2 areas. Fairly merely, Phoenix grew up across the agricultural heart spawned by the wants of the Vulture Mine.

Tragedy struck in 1923 when 7 males died together with their pack animals deep in an space within the mine. The miners have been in an space the place a lot of the high-grade ore was mined out, save for the help pillars that held up the earth above. Over time miners had chipped away on the pillars to get to the high-grade ore contained throughout the help columns. On at the present time, a deadly whack on the rock holding up the ceiling induced the help to fail. The collapse buried them the place they stood, entombed to at the present time within the apply named melancholy the collapse left, “The Glory Gap,”  coined as a result of the victims have been “despatched on to glory” throughout the incident. The second world battle compelled the operators of the mine to shut in 1942.  Town quickly fell right into a ghost city mode, however regardless that the mine closed, prospector sorts nonetheless poked across the web site searching for one thing of price to drag from the bottom.

The realm the place Vulture Metropolis as soon as thrived was just lately bought this previous spring by personal house owners who’re engaged on restoration efforts of the outdated buildings to take care of a resemblance to the outdated metropolis. It is among the most intact stays of an Arizona ghost city.

Undertaking supervisor, Dave Echeverria, says work is continuous on the 21-acre ghost city to organize it for guests within the coming months. “There’s numerous historical past right here,” says Echeverria, He says the previous city web site will be open for restricted excursions round October 15. Info is on the market on the Vulture Mine Excursions web site. It’s a straightforward drive out of Wickenburg to the Vulture Mine. Merely take Vulture Mine highway south out of Wickenburg. Vulture metropolis is situated between milepost 14 and milepost 15.

Close by, the mining operation can be beneath new possession. The thrill of exercise across the outdated mine is spectacular, however they have been tight-lipped about the operation, maybe they don’t need to entice the eye of any high-graders!

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