Mine names...

　

We seem to have attracted several history buffs to our website and blog… which brings up the question of how much undiscovered history of the Black Hills is still out there, maybe in a family album, a box of old documents tucked in the back of the attic?

We are not looking to buy artifacts, but we’d sure love to photograph them! Did your prospector ancestor keep a journal or photo album, have maps of old workings? That could be scanned or photographed!
Quite often someone tells us, “You should talk to ‘Joe‘, his dad worked in all the old mines!” We’re not real aggressive people, and unless they want to introduce us we’re not comfortable going door-to-door soliciting mining memorabilia!

But… there’s always more isn’t there? If you know of someone, or are someone who treasures this memorabilia and would be willing to have it documented, we would love to hear from you.
Please get permission from the individual before contacting us. It would then be up to their discretion if they wanted the information made public on our website or if they just wish to have it documented.

Funny how life works…I had started this blog and we were at Spearfish Coins and Antiques talking with Dean about mining, past and present, in the Black Hills.

He walked over, pulled out a binder and showed us a report someone had given him about Mine Names in the Black Hills. Bob kindof elbowed me when I said we have offered to document (copy or scan) old documents. Dean then graciously told us we could borrow the report if we wanted to copy it! I’ve seen bits and pieces of this before, but acquiring a copy gives time to really READ it!

Here is just a teaser of some of that info that I am in the proesss of scanning and transcribing:


“Mine names differ from other place-names in several particulars. In the first place, they are attached to a comparatively small territory. A butte may be seen for miles and a creek or river may cross several counties, but the name of a mine designates a few hundred square yards of earth. Again, a canyon or river is of vital interest to a number of people who perhaps depend on the one for shelter and the other for water. A mine, on the other hand, is of principal interest to one or, at most, a few men. It follows that the name of a natural feature often represents the general consensus or opinion on the part of a whole community, while a mine is frequently named by one person. It is therefore much more difficult to trace the origin of mine names then that of other place-names. The owner of the mine may have died or moved away; the mine itself may have been abandoned for many years, the very location of it choked with underbrush. The reason for the naming may be buried in the forgotten annals of pioneer days. Obviously the best source of information regarding mine names lies in the memory of old-timers. But these sources do not always agree. Sometimes the very location of the mine is in doubt. In one case the owner of a mine committed suicide in a state of despondency over its prospects, and the chances for discovering his reason for naming it are exceedingly slim.”

Couldn’t have said it better! So please email us if you know someone or are in possession of historic information… we want to help preserve mining history for ourselves and others!