The town of Nelson lies in the upper reach of the canyon. Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours operates mid way in the canyon at the Techatticup Mine one of the oldest and most productive mines in the canyon.
HistoryEdit
Prospecting and mining in the El Dorado Canyon started by 1857, if not earlier.[4]: 13, note 27 [5] But in April 1861, as the American Civil War began, word got out that silver and some gold and copper lodes had been discovered by John Moss and others in what became known as El Dorado Canyon, in New Mexico Territory, now Nevada. The canyon was on the west side of the river sixty five miles above Fort Mohave at what was then considered the limit of navigation of the river. George A. Johnson came up river and made a deal to supply the mines with his steamboats at a lower price than that provided overland across the Mohave Desert from Los Angeles. That fall, news of the strikes in the Colorado Mining District, (by 1864 also called the Eldorado Canyon District), brought a flood of miners to the canyon.[6]
Several mining camps were founded in the canyon over the years. At the beginning San Juan, or Upper Camp, was at the top of the canyon miles from the river near the modern town of Nelson. Midway down the canyon near the Techatticup Mine were Alturas and Louisville. At the mouth of the canyon was the boat landing of Colorado City.[7]: 33, 35
During the time of the American Civil War, three new mining camps developed in the middle canyon. In 1862, Lucky Jim Camp was formed along Eldorado Canyon above January Wash, south of the Techatticup Mine.[8] Lucky Jim Camp was the home of miners sympathetic to the Confederate cause. A mile up the canyon was a camp with Union sympathies called Buster Falls.[4]: 15, and Note 33 [9]: 611
In late 1863, Col. John R. Vineyard, at the time a California State Senator for Los Angeles, completed a ten stamp mill the first in the canyon, on its north side just below Lucky Jim Camp, at what soon became El Dorado City.[10] Vineyard's mill, assembled from mill parts salvaged from abandoned works in the Mother Lode country of California, processed the ore of its mines and cut out the cost of shipping the ore out to San Francisco for such processing, cutting costs in half. George Alonzo Johnson's steamboat company losing this downstream ore trade and making fewer trips up to the Canyon responded by raising its freight rates.[7]: 33, 35
In 1867, to secure the riverboat traffic and protect miners in the canyon from Paiute attacks the U.S. Army established Camp El Dorado, an outpost at the mouth of El Dorado Canyon that remained until it was abandoned in 1869. From 1870 the mines again were active to the point where from 1879 to 1907 El Dorado Canyon again had a post office, now in Clark County, Nevada.[12]
The mines continued to produce ore until World War II.[13]
ReferencesEdit
^. Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
^Carlson, Helen S. (1 January 1974). Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press. p. 106. ISBN978-0-87417-094-8. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^ abVanderburg, William O. B027: Placer mining in Nevada. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. p. 62. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^ abTownley, John M. (Spring 1968). "Early Development of El Dorado Canyon and Searchlight Mining Districts" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 11 (1). Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^Angel, Myron, History of Nevada, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Thompson and West, Oakland, Cal., 1881, p. 476, "In 1852 the Mormons obtained the contract for carrying the mail over the route which Congress had that year established from Salt Lake to San Bernardino. A station was established at Las Vegas, and Brigham Young located a settlement at that point, partly for protection to the route, and partly for smelting lead from the Potosi mines nearby. The Mormons occupied this place till the time of the Mountain Meadow massacre in 1857, after which they sold out to parties from El Dorado Canon, and returned to Utah."
^Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona, With All The Recent Explorations. Compiled by Richard Gird C.E. Commissioner. Approved By John N. Goodwin, Governor. In Accordance With An Act Of The Legislature, Approved Oct. 23d. 1864. We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona, and approve the same. Prescott October 12th 1865. (with signed seal dated 1863). Published By A. Gensoul, Pacific Map Depot. No. 511 Montgomery St. San Francisco. Lith. Britton & Co. San Francisco.. Accessed from www.davidrumsey.com, December 1, 1865. Shows the name at the location of the El Dorado District along the Colorado River was already established in 1864.
^ abRichard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978 January 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lucky Jim Camp
^James Graves Scrugham, Nevada: A Narrative of the Conquest of a Frontier Land, Vol. 1, American Historical Society, Chicago, 1935
^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Eldorado City (historical)
^John and Lillian Theobald, Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters, The Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961.
^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Eldorado Canyon Post Office (historical)
^El Dorado Canyon Nevada Historical Marker 6 from http://shpo.nv.gov accessed January 19, 2015
External linksEdit
Wikimapia satellite map of Eldorado Canyon showing locations of historic mines and mining camps from wikimapia.org accessed May 24, 2015. (Note: One error in this map, is the location of Camp Duncan in El Dorado Canyon. It was located miles to the south near the historic Camp Dupont mining camp,35°33′55″N114°45′48″W / 35.56528°N 114.76333°W / 35.56528; -114.76333, which was approx. 17 miles NE of Searchlight, Nevada, north of Dupont Mountain. See Avertt, Walter R. Directory of Southern Nevada Place Names. Revised edition: printed by the author, 1963, p. 20. This error derives from the erroneous location entry in the Feature Detail Report for: Camp Duncan (historical), U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Camp Duncan (historical).
Photos from El Dorado Canyon, 1880s - 1890s from The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection, Huntington Digital Library, hdl.huntington.org accessed June 22, 2015.
Steamer "Mohave II" at El Dorado Canyon. The mill is at the left; c.1885
The mine operations at Eldorado Canyon served by steamer and barge, 1890. Photographer: Stanton, Robert Brewster, 1846-1922. This is the steamboat Gila tied up at the canyon landing with a barge load of coal it brought for the stamp mill, something it did several times a year. See Lingenfelter, Steamboats of the Colorado, p. 69.
Steamer "Gila" approaching Eldorado Canyon, Mar. 20-21, 1890, Photographer: Stanton, Robert Brewster, 1846-1922
Mining operation at Eldorado Canyon, 1890. Photographer: Stanton, Robert Brewster, 1846-1922
Photos from El Dorado Canyon, 1907 from digital.library.unlv.edu, Nevada State Historical Society Photo Collection, accessed 5/12-13/2014.
Abandoned mill at Eldorado Canyon
Prospectors' camp in El Dorado Canyon, 1907
Miners inside Techatticup Mine
Horse-drawn ore hauler in Eldorado Canyon
View of Eldorado mill in basin
Room and pillar surface stopes on the Wall Street Mine-which produced $1,5000,000.00 in gold alone from about 80 feet depth. El Dorado Canyon Clark County Nevada
Dredge below Eldorado Canyon. 1907 from The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection, Huntington Digital Library, hdl.huntington.org accessed June 22, 2015. If this is the dredge North Dakota, then the date of the photo is wrong. It should be 1909. It was constructed between March and June, 1909, then used from June to November, 1909, with no success. It swamped and sank in a flood surge of the river on January 2, 1910. See Lingenfelter, Steamboats of the Colorado, p. 100.
dorado, canyon, nevada, dorado, canyon, canyon, southern, clark, county, nevada, famed, rich, silver, gold, mines, canyon, named, 1857, steamboat, entrepreneur, captain, george, alonzo, johnson, when, gold, silver, discovered, here, drains, into, colorado, riv. El Dorado Canyon is a canyon in southern Clark County Nevada famed for its rich silver and gold mines The canyon was named in 1857 by steamboat entrepreneur Captain George Alonzo Johnson when gold and silver was discovered here 2 3 It drains into the Colorado River at the former site of Nelson s Landing 3 El Dorado CanyonAbandoned mining buildings in El Dorado Canyon at about 5620 feet on the western slopes of Star Peak NevadaLocationU S Highway 95 near Nelson NevadaNevada Historical MarkerReference no 6 1 The town of Nelson lies in the upper reach of the canyon Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours operates mid way in the canyon at the Techatticup Mine one of the oldest and most productive mines in the canyon History EditProspecting and mining in the El Dorado Canyon started by 1857 if not earlier 4 13 note 27 5 But in April 1861 as the American Civil War began word got out that silver and some gold and copper lodes had been discovered by John Moss and others in what became known as El Dorado Canyon in New Mexico Territory now Nevada The canyon was on the west side of the river sixty five miles above Fort Mohave at what was then considered the limit of navigation of the river George A Johnson came up river and made a deal to supply the mines with his steamboats at a lower price than that provided overland across the Mohave Desert from Los Angeles That fall news of the strikes in the Colorado Mining District by 1864 also called the Eldorado Canyon District brought a flood of miners to the canyon 6 Several mining camps were founded in the canyon over the years At the beginning San Juan or Upper Camp was at the top of the canyon miles from the river near the modern town of Nelson Midway down the canyon near the Techatticup Mine were Alturas and Louisville At the mouth of the canyon was the boat landing of Colorado City 7 33 35 During the time of the American Civil War three new mining camps developed in the middle canyon In 1862 Lucky Jim Camp was formed along Eldorado Canyon above January Wash south of the Techatticup Mine 8 Lucky Jim Camp was the home of miners sympathetic to the Confederate cause A mile up the canyon was a camp with Union sympathies called Buster Falls 4 15 and Note 33 9 611 In late 1863 Col John R Vineyard at the time a California State Senator for Los Angeles completed a ten stamp mill the first in the canyon on its north side just below Lucky Jim Camp at what soon became El Dorado City 10 Vineyard s mill assembled from mill parts salvaged from abandoned works in the Mother Lode country of California processed the ore of its mines and cut out the cost of shipping the ore out to San Francisco for such processing cutting costs in half George Alonzo Johnson s steamboat company losing this downstream ore trade and making fewer trips up to the Canyon responded by raising its freight rates 7 33 35 From 1865 to 1867 as part of Mohave County Arizona Territory El Dorado Canyon had its own post office 11 96 In 1867 to secure the riverboat traffic and protect miners in the canyon from Paiute attacks the U S Army established Camp El Dorado an outpost at the mouth of El Dorado Canyon that remained until it was abandoned in 1869 From 1870 the mines again were active to the point where from 1879 to 1907 El Dorado Canyon again had a post office now in Clark County Nevada 12 The mines continued to produce ore until World War II 13 References Edit Nevada Historical Markers Nevada State Historic Preservation Office Archived from the original on 4 February 2013 Retrieved 23 February 2013 Carlson Helen S 1 January 1974 Nevada Place Names A Geographical Dictionary University of Nevada Press p 106 ISBN 978 0 87417 094 8 Retrieved 5 January 2013 a b Vanderburg William O B027 Placer mining in Nevada NV Bureau of Mines amp Geology p 62 Retrieved 5 January 2013 a b Townley John M Spring 1968 Early Development of El Dorado Canyon and Searchlight Mining Districts PDF Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 11 1 Retrieved September 19 2020 Angel Myron History of Nevada with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers Thompson and West Oakland Cal 1881 p 476 In 1852 the Mormons obtained the contract for carrying the mail over the route which Congress had that year established from Salt Lake to San Bernardino A station was established at Las Vegas and Brigham Young located a settlement at that point partly for protection to the route and partly for smelting lead from the Potosi mines nearby The Mormons occupied this place till the time of the Mountain Meadow massacre in 1857 after which they sold out to parties from El Dorado Canon and returned to Utah Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona With All The Recent Explorations Compiled by Richard Gird C E Commissioner Approved By John N Goodwin Governor In Accordance With An Act Of The Legislature Approved Oct 23d 1864 We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona and approve the same Prescott October 12th 1865 with signed seal dated 1863 Published By A Gensoul Pacific Map Depot No 511 Montgomery St San Francisco Lith Britton amp Co San Francisco Accessed from www davidrumsey com December 1 1865 Shows the name at the location of the El Dorado District along the Colorado River was already established in 1864 a b Richard E Lingenfelter Steamboats on the Colorado River 1852 1916 University of Arizona Press Tucson 1978 Archived January 18 2016 at the Wayback Machine U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Lucky Jim Camp James Graves Scrugham Nevada A Narrative of the Conquest of a Frontier Land Vol 1 American Historical Society Chicago 1935 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Eldorado City historical John and Lillian Theobald Arizona Territory Post Offices amp Postmasters The Arizona Historical Foundation Phoenix 1961 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Eldorado Canyon Post Office historical El Dorado Canyon Nevada Historical Marker 6 from http shpo nv gov accessed January 19 2015External links EditWikimapia satellite map of Eldorado Canyon showing locations of historic mines and mining camps from wikimapia org accessed May 24 2015 Note One error in this map is the location of Camp Duncan in El Dorado Canyon It was located miles to the south near the historic Camp Dupont mining camp 35 33 55 N 114 45 48 W 35 56528 N 114 76333 W 35 56528 114 76333 which was approx 17 miles NE of Searchlight Nevada north of Dupont Mountain See Avertt Walter R Directory of Southern Nevada Place Names Revised edition printed by the author 1963 p 20 This error derives from the erroneous location entry in the Feature Detail Report for Camp Duncan historical U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Camp Duncan historical Photos from El Dorado Canyon 1880s 1890s from The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection Huntington Digital Library hdl huntington org accessed June 22 2015 Steamer Mohave II at El Dorado Canyon The mill is at the left c 1885 The mine operations at Eldorado Canyon served by steamer and barge 1890 Photographer Stanton Robert Brewster 1846 1922 This is the steamboat Gila tied up at the canyon landing with a barge load of coal it brought for the stamp mill something it did several times a year See Lingenfelter Steamboats of the Colorado p 69 Steamer Gila approaching Eldorado Canyon Mar 20 21 1890 Photographer Stanton Robert Brewster 1846 1922 Mining operation at Eldorado Canyon 1890 Photographer Stanton Robert Brewster 1846 1922 Photos from El Dorado Canyon 1907 from digital library unlv edu Nevada State Historical Society Photo Collection accessed 5 12 13 2014 View of Southwestern Mining Company s Quartz Mill along river View of Colorado River from Eldorado Canyon Down river and towards the mill from just below the house probably the mail carrier s boat in foreground Abandoned mill at Eldorado Canyon Eldorado Canyon from Colorado River From a boat in mid stream looking west above Southwestern Mining Co Quartz Mill Mouth of El Dorado Canyon Boarding House Store Millmen s cabins Weather Observation Station below From the Arizona Shore looking southwest S W M Co Mill at outlet of El Dorado Canyon Store building end view Millmen s camps and cabins on the Mesa abandoned adobe home Prospectors camp in El Dorado Canyon 1907 Miners inside Techatticup Mine Horse drawn ore hauler in Eldorado Canyon View of Eldorado mill in basin Room and pillar surface stopes on the Wall Street Mine which produced 1 5000 000 00 in gold alone from about 80 feet depth El Dorado Canyon Clark County Nevada Dredge below Eldorado Canyon 1907 from The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection Huntington Digital Library hdl huntington org accessed June 22 2015 If this is the dredge North Dakota then the date of the photo is wrong It should be 1909 It was constructed between March and June 1909 then used from June to November 1909 with no success It swamped and sank in a flood surge of the river on January 2 1910 See Lingenfelter Steamboats of the Colorado p 100 40 31 5 84 N 118 13 19 94 W 40 5182889 N 118 2222056 W 40 5182889 118 2222056 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title El Dorado Canyon Nevada amp oldid 1093678941, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
