Pima County AZ Archives History - Businesses .....Patagonia Mining District 1881 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/az/azfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 17, 2007, 4:37 pm PATAGONIA, PIMA COUNTY. This district is in the southeastern part of the county, on the eastern slope of the Patagonia Mountains. It embraces Harshaw and Washington Camp, each with its group of surrounding mines. The district has a most salubrious climate, and an abundance of wood and water. The Hon. P. Hamilton, Commissioner for the Collection of Mineral Resources, gives the following description of this rich section of the Territory: "He who bestowed on this region so uncouth an appellation as 'Patagonia,' must certainly have had a depraved conception of the eternal fitness of things, for surely nothing could be less suggestive of the barren plains, ice and fogs, and gigantic savages, than this mountain paradise of Southern Arizona. Elevated about 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, its gently sloping mountains covered with a luxuriant growth of grass and crowned with oak and cedar, with beautiful lawn-like valleys lying between, it is the most delightful portion of the Territory that your correspondent has yet seen. Washington Camp is situated about nine miles almost due south from Harshaw, and less than four miles from the Sonora line. About three miles from Harshaw is a lovely little flat among the hills, where are the ruins of the smelting works of the Old Mowry Mine, owned and worked by Lieut. Mowry of the U. S. Army before the Civil War. A collection of adobe ruins is all that is left of what was once the liveliest mining camp in Arizona. The lofty brick chimney is still standing, a mournful monument to extinct enterprise and former active life. It is said that 400 Mexicans and their families were at one time employed at the mine and smelter. Ap iche warfare and civil war must answer for the destruction of this once prosperous mining enterprise. The Old Mowry Mine is now owned by parties in Tucson, and nothing is left to tell the stranger in these parts of the untiring labors and unceasing efforts of that true friend of Arizona, Sylvester Mowry, save the legend on the capping of stone near the top of the chimney, 'Mowry Silver Mine, 1861."' At La Noria are located the smelting works of the Holland Mining Co., and at the same point the W. C. Davis Co. are erecting works of a similar nature. The mines of Washington occur in limestone and porphyry, and are generally immense bodies of low-grade carbonate and galena ore. The Davis mine has a shaft 150 feet, and is thoroughly opened by crosscuts and levels, showing ore in places, twelve feet wide. About forty men are employed on the Ohio, which is producing large quantities of sulphuret ore. It is owned by the Washington Pool Co., which has a dozen other claims. The Belmont is one of the oldest locations in the district, and was worked during Apache times. It has a shaft down over 100 feet, and has nearly thirty feet of low-grade ore. The Holland is also a large ore body. It has been under the management of Hon. J. K. Luttrell, but the attempt at smelting has not proved a success, and it is claimed that the ores need roasting and milling. Work has been stopped on this property for the present, but it is said will soon be resumed. The Silver Bill is also a fine looking property, which is now being steadily developed by Mr. Desloge for an Eastern company. There are scores of other mines in Washington Camp well worthy of mention, but space forbids. One thing can be said, the camp contains the largest bodies of ore yet found in Arizona. That it is low-grade cannot be denied, but with abundance of wood and the Santa Cruz River close at hand, they ought to be worked to a profit. On the high hills about a mile and a half south of Harshaw, is the Hermosa mine, an immense body of free milling ore carrying chlorides and horn silver. The ore is easily reduced, and five tons to the stamp is the average work of the mill. The mine is opened by shafts, drifts and tunnels. The ore body has been cut at a depth of over 300 feet by a tunnel 700 feet in length, which pierces the mountain from side to side, thus affording plenty of ventilation. West of the Hermosa is the Hardshell, on which D. B. Gillette, formerly of Tip Top, is now operating. Although the developments are as yet but slight, the ore body is fully as large as in the Hermosa, and is said to be fully as rich. Gillette's success in the mining line is still attending him, and it is nearly certain that he has secured another bonanza fully equal to the Tip Top or the Hermosa. Nearly two miles west of the Hardshell is the Trench mine, now owned by Haggin and Tevis, of San Francisco, but worked centuries ago by the Jesuit Missionaries. Some of the finest hoisting machinery ever brought to the Territory has been erected on the property, and the mine is being opened in a thoroughly systematic manner. The main shaft is down 300 feet, and two levels have been opened. The Trench is a strong, well-defined vein, with good walls, and promises to become valuable property. The Alta mine, south of the Hermosa—on which there is a shaft 100 feet—is not being worked, but it is said will soon resume operations. These are the leading mines of Harshaw Camp, and they give employment to nearly 200 men, which makes it one of the liveliest in Arizona. In the way of wood, water and delightful climate, it is not surpassed in the Territory, and its future is most encouraging. The Hermosa Mining Company's mill is one of the most complete institutions of the kind on the Coast. Everything is done on the automatic principle, and but little manual labor is required. It is turning out at present from §60,000 to 875,000 per month, and is not running to its full capacity, owing to a scarcity of water. This company commenced working ore on the 20th of August, 1880, with the following result. Value of bullion or silver bars produced from August 20th to November 30th, 1880, $275,654.49. Value of silver bars from November 30th to December 31st, estimated $90,000; total, $365,654.49. Additional Comments: Extracted from: ARIZONA BUSINESS DIRECTORY AND GAZETTEER; CONTAINING THE Names and Post-Office Addresses of all Merchants, Manufacturers and Professional Men in the Territory of Arizona; TERRITORIAL, COUNTY, CITY AND TOWN OFFICERS. A DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT MINING DISTRICTS AND THE NAMES OF MINING SUPERINTENDENTS. ALSO, A GAZETTEER OF THE COUNTIES, CITIES AND TOWNS, Giving a full exhibit of their Mineral, Agricultural and Manufacturing Resources. WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF WHOLESALE MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. W. C. DISTURNELL, COMPILER AND PUBLISHER, 534 California Street, San Francisco, Cal. BACON & COMPANY, PRINTERS. l88l. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, By W. C. DISTURNELL, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/az/pima/directories/business/1881/patagoni705gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/azfiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb