Mining in the Rocky Mountain West: Legends of America
Okay, picture this: it’s the mid-1800s, and the California Gold Rush has just kicked off a frenzy. But the real party’s just getting started. Within a decade and a half, prospectors are swarming the Rocky Mountain West, poking around every valley, canyon, and stream. Forget the amateurs who got lucky in California; this time, it’s a whole new breed of seasoned pros hitting the scene.
The Lay of the Land
These guys were serious. They weren’t just panning for gold on a whim. They were systematically exploring the rugged terrain of Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana. The whole Continental Divide became a hotspot, with camps popping up overnight and vanishing just as quickly. Some struck it big, turning into bustling cities, while others left behind a trail of abandoned shacks and half-dug holes – scars on the landscape that stretched across a quarter of the continent.
Colorado’s Big Splash
Colorado was like the OG influencer of the mining boom. In the summer of ’59, it drew the biggest crowds. Denver started to take shape, but things got even wilder out west. Remember the old California Trail from Salt Lake City? Well, it cut right through the Nevada desert, and that’s where the magic happened.
Enter the Comstock Lode
A few trading posts had been set up along the trail in the 1850s, mostly by Mormons. By 1858, Carson City was already a thing. But the real game-changer? The Comstock Lode. This incredibly rich silver vein was discovered near Gold Hill, Nevada, in the spring of 1859. Seriously, this find was so massive, it practically built a state in just five years.
The Rush is On
Word spread like wildfire, and the California population – always on the lookout for the next big thing – descended on western Utah (now Nevada) in droves. Stagecoaches were packed to the brim, and folks were hiking over mountains just to get a piece of the action.
One journalist at the time wrote that the area was wide open, right on the California highway. People poured in from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Pike’s Peak, and Salt Lake City. San Francisco was an easy jump-off point. Carson City was already established, and soon Virginia City, named after a colorful character nicknamed "Virginia," joined the party.
Territorial Scramble
By 1860, the mining boom was international news. The Pony Express even rode right through the heart of the action, spreading the word far and wide. Colorado and Nevada were neck and neck in the race to become official territories. Nevada snagged President Buchanan’s signature on March 2, 1861, and presto – a new territory was born! And because the Union needed loyal voters, Nevada quickly became a state just three years later.
Arizona Joins the Fray
But wait, there’s more! While everyone was obsessing over Carson Valley, another mining scene was brewing down south. In western New Mexico (now Arizona), mining had been going strong since the Mexican-American War. There was some confusion about the border, so in 1853, the Gadsden Purchase added more land to the U.S., and old mines started to resurface.
Tucson’s Wild Days
Guys like Sylvester Mowry and Charles D. Poston got busy reviving old claims and developing new ones near the Spanish towns of Tubac and Tucson. It was a tough place for lone prospectors; organized mining companies were the way to go. Disappointed miners from California showed up, and some say that San Francisco’s "Vigilance Committee" did more to populate the territory than the mines themselves.
Tucson? Well, it became the kind of town your mama warned you about. Vice, crime, and general debauchery were the norm. The dry climate, vast distances, and Apache raids didn’t help things. But the surveys of the early 1860s and the Overland Mail route kept the settlement alive.
Civil War Interlude
The Civil War threw a wrench in the works for a while. The Mowry mines were shut down, and things were put on hold until a second mineral area was found in western New Mexico. U.S. Army posts were abandoned, Confederate agents moved in, and the Native Americans got bolder.
Enter Colonel James H. Carleton, who led his California column through New Mexico to Tucson in 1862. For the next two years, he ran things from Santa Fe, fighting the Navajo and Apache and encouraging mining.
The Native American Question
Carleton’s campaigns against the Native Americans were controversial, to say the least. There were no treaties giving the U.S. the right to colonize and develop the land, so it was essentially a forced takeover. Carleton, with Kit Carson’s help, waged a war of extermination.
Carleton believed that the only way to deal with the Native Americans was to use force, relocate them to reservations, and teach their children the ways of the white man. He figured the old Indians would die off, and the young ones would forget their old ways.
A New Territory is Born
Carleton seized Mowry’s mines, suspecting them of treason. He also encouraged surveying and prospecting, even writing to Washington to brag about how his California column had found the gold to suppress the Confederacy. He called it "one of the richest gold countries in the world."
The silver camp wanted its own territory separate from New Mexico, and in 1862 and 1863, they finally got their wish. Congress passed the territorial act on February 24, 1863, and the new capital was set at Fort Whipple, near the city of Prescott.
Indian Troubles Continue
But creating a territorial government didn’t solve the Indian problem. Arizona never had a large enough population to intimidate the tribes, and bad management led to more wars. The Apache troubles were the worst, lasting until General George Crook’s campaigns in the early 1870s. The Camp Grant Massacre in 1871, where citizens of Tucson murdered over 80 Apache men, women, and children, was a particularly brutal event.
The Northern Gold Rush
Despite the challenges, Arizona’s mines brought life to the Southwest. Meanwhile, up north, the old Oregon country was also spitting out gold. Miners were opening up the valleys of the Snake and Missouri Rivers.
Washington Territory had been created out of Oregon in 1853, but it was sparsely populated. When Oregon became a state in 1859, Washington was expanded to include all the Oregon country outside the state. The Overland Trail ran through it, and Congress built a new wagon road from Fort Benton to the Columbia and Snake Rivers.
Lewiston’s Rise
The Nez Perce Indians in eastern Washington were peaceful and friendly. But in the summer of 1861, gold was found along the Clearwater River, and the agreement to keep whites out of Indian country went out the window. Pack trains and steamboats brought miners east, and Lewiston, Idaho, sprung up at the junction of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers.
Idaho Territory is Born
Lewiston was the center of a region of incredible mineral wealth. Discoveries on the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers were followed by a rush to the Boise mines and the Owyhee District. Eastern Washington quickly outgrew its territorial government, and like Pike’s Peak and Virginia City, it needed its own territory.
Montana Joins the Party
In 1860, Washington and Nebraska met at the top of the Rocky Mountains. Nebraska was divided in 1861, and Dakota was created. Then, in 1863, Idaho was established to provide home rule for the miners. It included a huge rectangle on both sides of the Rockies, cutting into Dakota and Washington.
By 1862 and 1863, it seemed like every creek in the mountains had gold just waiting to be found. Four major districts along the Snake River, plus countless smaller ones, fueled the frenzy. Before Idaho could even get organized, its settlement area had grown so much that its division was inevitable.
The Missouri River Opens Up
When the American Fur Company’s steamboat Chippewa made it to Fort Benton in 1859, no one realized what a game-changer it would be. The fur trade had been the main activity in the region for half a century, but now, things were about to change.
Bannack and Virginia City
Two brothers, James and Granville Stuart, were pioneers in developing new mineral areas east of the main range. After working in California and living on the trails, they settled in the Deer Lodge Valley and started mining in 1861. Bannack City became their base of operations.
In 1863, Alder Gulch and Virginia City became another hub for mining in eastern Idaho. A prospecting party accidentally discovered Alder Gulch, and soon a stampede from Bannack City turned Virginia City into a boomtown of 10,000 people by 1864.
Helena’s Arrival
Another mining district, Last Chance Gulch, led to the founding of Helena in 1864. Helena’s location and resources helped it grow quickly. It was on the direct route from Bannack and Virginia City to Fort Benton, making it a natural stop on the main line of travel to the northwest.
Montana Territory is Created
The excitement over Bannack, Virginia City, and Helena overlapped with a similar boom in Idaho. In 1864, Montana Territory was created, and Idaho assumed its present form. The simultaneous development of rich mining camps all over the West drew attention and population.
The Trails West
By 1863, the mountains from Mexico to Canada were swarming with prospectors, and the trails were packed with emigrants. The Mullan Road made travel from Fort Benton to Walla Walla easier, and Congress authorized a new road from eastern Nebraska. The Idaho and Montana mines were accessible from Fort Hall, and the Carson mines were on the California Trail. The Arizona fields were reached from California via Fort Yuma.
The Mining Camp Life
The population of the new territories was mostly young men. Respectable women were rare, and the social life was heavily influenced by the male-dominated atmosphere. The lack of regular work and the lure of quick riches created a speculative fever. The political tone, the nature of the industry, and the remoteness of the government all contributed to a unique and often harsh way of life.
The Typical Mining Camp
The typical mining camp was a single street lined with one-story shacks. Saloons and general stores were the main attractions. Deep ruts in the street showed the heavy traffic of freight wagons, and horses tied to posts indicated the main mode of transportation. The miners lived a life of contrasts, alternating between the isolation of prospecting and the excitement of coming to town.
Vigilante Justice
The fact that the camps didn’t completely descend into chaos is a testament to the underlying values of the population. Sooner or later, decency prevailed, and lawlessness was suppressed. Vigilance committees stepped in to provide law and order in the absence of sheriffs and jails.
The Legacy of the Mining Camps
The mining camps of the early 1860s opened up the West, dispelled the myth of the "Great American Desert," and attracted a large, mobile population. They led to the creation of new territories and highlighted the need for better transportation. While many camps declined after the initial boom, they served their purpose in revealing the nature of the national domain.
The mining camps paved the way for future settlement and development, even though it took railways and irrigation to establish a truly permanent population in the Far West.
Hope you enjoyed this more laid-back take on the article!