Turning Back the Pages

30 years ago – November 21, 1986

On November 15, winds up to 60 mph caused the Coeur D’Alene Mine, above Central City, to collapse and perhaps face its final demise. Norman Blake, a longtime resident of Black Hawk, recalls the 1930s when Charlie Richards was the local boss of the mine, and T.H. Jenks was the owner and president of the Coeur D’Alene Co. Jenks came from the east coast one or two times a month to run the operation. Blake remembers the last years during which the mine was operating. “It was between 1935 and 1941. In 1941 when miners were drafted into the service and supplies were unavailable, the Coeur D’Alene was shut down.” he said. In those days, during the war, only mines that were producing defense minerals were allowed to continue to operate. Before the Coeur D’Alene shut down, Richards lost his life in an accident at the mine. Blake remembers the story saying, “Old Charlie was sharpening miner’s candle sticks up in the blacksmith’s shop. He was grinding when sparks flew into an open box of blasting caps.” Mayor William C. Russell, Jr., of Central City, also recalls the accident. Copper penetrated Richard’s body from the waist up and and he died shortly afterward of gangrene. Blake remembers that the mine never yielded much in those years. However, he believes that it was in operation in the years previous to 1934-1941 time span. “They were after gold ore,” Blake remarked. Russell reminisces about the mine and looks back upon the period of time when Effie F. Jenks gave the mine to the Denver University, Colorado Seminary. It was after about 1947 when she gave it away. It was to be maintained and be used as a museum, Russel asserts. The mine was later transferred to the opera association, and was indeed a museum for a short time in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The opera association hired an usher who wore a “livery suit” to provide tours for the public, Blake said. Russell said that the mine was entirely steam powered. It had a steam air compressor and a steam operated hoist. In the early 1950s, Blake asserts, that many of the materials were still intact. Concentrating tables, mining machines, drills, and a complete blacksmith shop were still in fairly good condition. Blake adds, that there was “mill flow sheet which had an electronic board. Using animation, the device showed the path of the crude ore going through the mill until it was concentrated. And then it showed the waste going through the tailings pond.” Blake and Van Cullar, a resident of Central City and geologist, said that in the past attempts were made to work with the opera association on the restoration of the mine. They said that nothing ever materialized. On Wednesday, Christopher Haworth, superintendent of properties for the Central City Opera Association said, “The opera association is exploring the possibility of applying for a grant to restore the Coeur D’Alene.” Meanwhile, warning signs will be posted to alert overzealous photographers and sightseers, that it is dangerous to go near the mine. Haworth said that it is very fragile and no one should approach it too closely. Many Gilpinites are feeling the loss as wind and snow continue to erode the Coeur D’Alene.

Publisher’s Corner: Thanks Janet. My profuse thanks for your dedicated service to, and love for the Register-Call as managing editor, reporter, photographer, computer operator, etc., etc., etc. Yours is going to be a hard act to follow. All my best wishes to you in your future endeavors. Please don’t forget us at the R.C. Signed, William C. Russell Jr., Publisher.