Nearly ten million dollars have been extracted from its mines, which
cover seven hundred-odd acres and stem from four main veins—the
Tewksbury, Hidden, Copper and Little Annie. In 1960 the property was
three-fourths owned by Mrs. George Garrey of Denver (daughter of A.
E. Reynolds) and one-fourth by B. T. Poxon of Creede, and was leased
to Jack Rigg whose crew commuted from the San Luis Valley.
[Illustration: Jack Rigg, 1960]
_From Silverton_
[Illustration]
Eureka is the oldest of the San Juan camps, dating from 1860. That was
the summer of the great placer excitement at Oro City (later Leadville).
An enterprising prospector by the name of Charles Baker set out from Oro
City on an exploration trip, backed in part by Samuel B. Kellogg.
Kellogg had arrived in California Gulch (the site of Oro City) in May as
a member of Horace A. W. Tabor’s party and had become acquainted with
Baker.
Baker and six companions made their way down the Arkansas River, over
Poncha Pass, through the San Luis Valley, up the Rio Grande River, over
Stony Pass, and down into the valley of the Animas River. Here they
found a large park extending from just below Silverton, up past
Howardsville to just beyond Eureka. They forthwith named it Baker’s
Park. They also found some placer gold which would yield about
twenty-five cents to the pan. This seemed encouraging enough for others
to follow, and a settlement was established, called Baker City (now
Silverton). Their diggings and some brush shanties were nine miles above
at what was later Eureka.
But the placer gold proved disappointing. Baker spent one terrible
winter in his park and remained for the summer of 1861. Then he
retreated to Fort Garland rather than attempt the hardship of a second
winter. Here he heard about the Civil War and went home to Virginia to
enlist in the Confederate army.
Years went by. Finally in 1874 Henry Gannett, leader of a detachment of
the famous F. V. Hayden Geological Survey party, came down the Animas
River, climbed over an enormous rockslide and “came out into a thick
clump of trees in which were several log cabins, bearing on a flaring
sign board ‘Eureka,’ evidently intended for the name of a town that was
expected to be, though what had been found there to suggest the name was
not immediately apparent.”
What was not apparent to Henry Gannett was the Sunnyside mine. It was
staked in 1873 and had gathered around itself the cabins he encountered.
The mine was so rich in gold that it operated continuously until 1931.
Despite the richness of the Sunnyside, Eureka attained no greater rating
in the Colorado Business Directory than “a small mining camp in the San
Juans” until 1896 when Otto Mears’ railroad, the Silverton Northern, was
completed, and more people moved in for a time. Again there was a boom
period in 1918 when the Sunnyside mill was rebuilt, and a large crew was
hired. Eureka’s population rose to two hundred and fifty.
Until 1931 no great change occurred. Then for six years, from 1931 to
1937, it was a ghost town. When the mine and mill re-opened in 1937,
Eureka had about two years of new life only to die again because of a
strike by the miners which the owners refused to settle. Again people
moved away, and finally the Silverton Northern was sold and junked in
1942. By 1960 the town was almost leveled—and its unique jail towered
alone—one of the most unusual buildings in Colorado. This odd jail gives
Eureka its quality of uniqueness....
Five miles farther up the Animas is Animas Forks which supported three
mills and was close to many good mines—the Iron Cap, Black Crow, Gold
Prince, Eclipse and others. In 1877 it was a stagecoach stop on Otto
Mears’ toll road from Silverton to Lake City. According to George
Crofutt’s _Grip-Sack Guide of Colorado_, published in 1881, Animas Forks
also had two stores, a hotel, a number of saloons and several small
shops. Its population was then close to two hundred. But through the
years its location at 11,200 feet altitude was extremely unfortunate
because of snowslides. Dispatches frequently told of injuries and deaths
to men only a short distance from town. Nevertheless, the Silverton
Northern was extended to Animas Forks in 1904, and the town lived on in
spurts until World War II.
In 1960 its jail, two of its mills, scattered outlying cabins, and a
substantial residence with an impressive bay window were still standing.
A number of erroneous tales have grown up around this house, saying that
Thomas F. Walsh built it and that his daughter was born there. Actually
Walsh’s San Juan interests were all centered around Ouray and the Camp
Bird mine.
But this house gives Animas Forks the uniqueness to enter our
collection—a spot of pure folklore—Animas Forks. So don’t believe what
you hear while there!
(_Photos of both towns on next two pages_)
[Illustration: Unknown, 1918; D.P.L.]