Henson, Colorado and the Ute-Ulay Mines – Legends of America
Nestled amidst the rugged terrain of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado lies the spectral silhouette of Henson, a ghost town steeped in mining history. Located approximately 3.5 miles west of Lake City, this once-thriving settlement is accessible via the scenic Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway, a route that winds through some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the state. Henson’s story is inextricably linked to the rise and fall of the Ute-Ulay Mines, a complex that played a pivotal role in the region’s development and its subsequent decline.
Discovery and Early Claims
The story of Henson begins in 1871, with the discovery of valuable minerals by Joel Mullen, Albert Mead, and Henry Henson. This discovery came on the heels of the Brunot Treaty of 1869, which displaced the Ute Indians from their ancestral lands in the San Juan Mountains, opening the area to an influx of prospectors and settlers eager to strike it rich.
In 1874, Mullen, Mead, Henson, and Charles Godwin formalized their claims, marking the official start of the Ute-Ulay Mines. The name "Ulay" was a tribute to Chief Ouray, the respected leader of the Ute tribe, reflecting the Ute pronunciation of his name. These claims were the first registered mining claims in Hinsdale County, setting the stage for the area’s future as a mining hub.
The Crooke Brothers and Early Development
Despite their initial efforts, the original owners lacked the financial resources to fully develop the mines. In the summer of 1876, they sold their claims to the Crooke Mining and Smelting Company for $125,000. The Crooke Mining and Smelting Company, based in London, England, with offices in New York, was owned by brothers John J. and Lewis Crooke, commonly known as the Crooke Brothers. With additional holdings in Summitville and Lake City, they brought significant capital and expertise to the region.
The Crooke Brothers expanded their holdings by acquiring several other mines in the area. They constructed a smelter just south of Lake City to process the ore extracted from the Ute-Ulay Mine. With serious production underway, the nearby town of Lake City experienced rapid growth, reaching a population of 1,000 by November 1876.
Infrastructure and Expansion
In 1877, entrepreneur Otto Mears constructed a toll road that connected Lake City to the mining towns of Silverton and Ouray, improving transportation and facilitating the movement of goods and people in the region. By 1878, the Crooke Mining Company had invested in the construction of miner’s quarters, a shaft, ore houses, and a concentrating mill at the Ute-Ulay site. The camp that sprung up around the mining complex was named Henson, in honor of one of its original discoverers.
Henson was officially laid out in 1880 on the north side of Henson Creek. The town was home to workers from the Ute-Ulay and Hidden Treasure Mines. Henson was never officially incorporated, it was a testament to the bustling activity that defined the area’s mining boom.
In 1882, the new owners built concentration works to improve ore processing. However, the lack of a railroad posed a significant obstacle, making transportation costly and difficult. To meet the rising energy demands of the site, a dam was constructed on Henson Creek.
Challenges and Setbacks
Despite early successes, the Ute-Ulay Mines faced challenges. The Henson post office, established in May 1883, was short-lived, as the mine was temporarily shut down the same year. The winter of 1884 brought further hardship when Henson Creek froze entirely, cutting off the Ute-Ulay’s power source. The mill ceased operation, and the Crooke brothers defaulted on their mortgage. The post office was discontinued in April 1884, plunging nearby Lake City into economic depression.
The Lake City Mining Company acquired the site and invested heavily in the Ute-Ulay mining complex over the next three years. In 1887, the Ute-Ulay mine reopened and resumed shipping ore. However, low ore prices and high shipping costs made the operation unprofitable.
The Arrival of the Railroad and Renewed Prosperity
The arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in Lake City marked a turning point for Henson and other mining towns in the area. The railroad provided a much-needed transportation link, reducing costs and boosting economic activity.
However, the Lake City Mining Company, which owned the Ute-Ulay Mine, was unable to capitalize on the railroad’s arrival. In 1890, the company defaulted on its mortgage and went out of business. Production continued under the Ute and Ulay Mines, Ltd., another British group. A new 118-foot high dam was built on Henson Creek, along with a hydroelectric power plant to power the mill.
A Flourishing Community
Henson experienced a resurgence in the early 1890s, boasting a population of approximately 300 people. The town had three saloons, a school, a barbershop, several grocery stores, and a branch of the Western Federation of Miners, a labor union that counted many San Juan miners as members. The post office was re-established in November 1892, signaling renewed activity and optimism.
In 1893, the U.S. Government demonetized silver, the Ute-Ulay was forced to halt production in early August. The owners leased the mines to the Ute and Ulay Mines Leasing Company, and production resumed. The area’s population and economy continued to grow because the local mines produced a variety of valuable minerals.
Labor Unrest and Ethnic Tensions
In February 1896, the Ute and Ulay Mines, Ltd. purchased the Hidden Treasure Mine, located uphill from the Ute-Ulay site, but the effort did not pan out. The mine was then leased to the Auric Mining Company, of Leadville, Colorado.
The town of Henson became diverse as many miners came from Europe, including England, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, and Italy. Many of the Italians had earlier worked on the railroad and stayed in the area to work in the mines. One of the largest foreign groups, they kept to themselves, lived in a separate community south of Henson Creek called “Little Rome,” and published their own newspaper, La Verita. The Italian workers were members of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) and promoted unionization of the mine.
The Auric Mining Company had little patience for the collective demands of their workers. Samuel Nicholson, one of the men who ran the Auric Mining Company, declared that all single men working at the Ute-Ulay and Hidden Treasure Mines must live in company boarding houses. The town of Henson had become rather lawless and shootings were common. Nicholson blamed most of this on the single men and generally perceived that WFM members had a reputation for lawlessness.
On March 14, 1899, about 100 well-armed miners, most of which were Italian, went on strike, blocking the entrances to both the Ute-Ulay and Hidden Treasure Mines and made every attempt to intimidate other miners who showed up for work. The Lake City sheriff wired Governor Charles Thomas for help. Within no time, the governor dispatched six companies of the state militia to Lake City. The 326 troops were accompanied by Joseph Cuneo, the Italian consul, who was able to negotiate with the strikers.
The strike ended after two days without bloodshed. However, all of the strikers were fired and ordered to leave Hinsdale County. Single men were given one week to be gone and men with families were given six weeks. Advertising for replacements was listed in local newspapers, specifying that "Italians need not apply."
Decline and Abandonment
Despite the strike, the Ute-Ulay and Hidden Treasure Mines were profitable, and in 1901 the Auric Mining Company purchased the mines.
In the early 20th century, Henson and its mines began to decline. Though some of the other mines on Henson Creek and other points in the area were large and rich, the Ute-Ulay Mine topped the rest. The Ute Ulay mine alone produced about $12 million in gold, silver, lead, copper, and zinc from 1891 to 1903.
In 1910, there were still 100 inhabitants in Henson, but Henson’s post office closed in November 1913. Over the next decades, the mines were sold and leased a number of times, and intermittent mining occurred until the 1960s. The mill was used as late as 1983. During these years many improvements were made to the site and a new mill was built by 1930.
The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad attempted to abandon the railroad in 1931 but was unsuccessful due to loud protests from the Lake City residents. However, the Public Utilities Commission finally allowed the Denver Rio Grande to give up the line, and the last train left Lake City on May 25, 1933. In August, the line was bought by the owners of the Ute-Ulay Mine, who attempted to operate the branch as the San Cristobal Railroad by using a “galloping goose” (a flange-wheeled automobile). However, the venture was abandoned in 1935, and the rails were pulled and sold as scrap.
During World War II the mines were producing at their peak to support the war effort.
Environmental Impact and Reclamation
In 1973, the dam on Henson Creek broke, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of fish for 14 miles downstream from the metallics and chemicals in the water. In 1983, the site was sold for the final time to LKA Minerals of Lake City. The company did no mining but briefly processed ore from other area mines.
In 2009, the site underwent $1.2 million cleanup and reclamation and in 2013, LKA Minerals transferred 12 acres around the Ute-Ulay site to Hinsdale County.
Henson Today
Today, the Ute-Ulay mining complex is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is considered one of Colorado’s best-preserved historic mining communities. Self-guided walking tours of the 12-acre property allow visitors to view mining structures that include several headframes, hoists, an assay lab, powerhouse, and mill buildings. Other buildings include residential cabins, a blacksmith shop, a boarding house, a red-cedar water tank, an assayer’s office. Some of these structures date back to the late 1800s when 250-300 miners worked the rich silver veins of the Ute-Ulay mines.
The remains of Henson and the Ute-Ulay mine and milling complex are located on the north side of Henson Creek, 3.5 miles west of Lake City, Colorado.