Iron Door Mine

[Bell Wright]

I am fairly new the the Treasure Hunting thing but pretty much fell head over heels. My parents live in Tucson, AZ and just to the North of Tucson are the Tortollita Mountains. Supposedly there is a mine up their with an Iron Door that was used by the Jesuits to mine Gold. That is a pretty quick overview anyway. So I have done some research and gathered as many clues as I can find (which are sadly few and far between) but I have seemed to come into conflicting information. I expected this of course. However a few of the coincidences are just too much to handle. I have come across lost mine stories from two other areas that are 90% identical in characters, clues, scenery and events. I also know that Harold Bell Wright wrote a novel and movie based on this legend, but as far as the Historical Society is concerned there was no legend until Wright's book hit shelves.

Does anyone know anything about this legend or where I might find more information? I have searched the forums here and it seems to be infrequently mentioned but never discussed. I am an archaeologist and historian and am trying to piece together a book with having a little adventure of my own. Any info would be greatly appreciated, perhaps even mentions in the book!

Thank you very much ahead of time!

 

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[Bell Wright]

wow another new face...welcome!

Thanks for the Welcome! I appreciate it. I guess legend doesn't have much behind it or I'd get more replies huh? I've have done about a years worth of research so far and have conducted one exploratory expedition myself. i was hoping for some history that i haven't come across, but maybe the pickings are slim.

Thanks again for the welcome!

 

[GreyGhost]

Only thing I've ever heard about it (which isn't much) is that it's somewhere on the westside of the Catalinas. Maybe around Oro Valley?
Could just be a silly treasure myth tho. I don't think they did much mining at all in the Catalinas, it was mostly all south in the Patagonias and Santa Ritas. Guess that's where all the minerals were.

 

[Bell Wright]

I was surprised to learn about mining in the Catalina's as well. However, Canada del Oro (Pathway of Gold) has a long history of placer mining and there are a still few private gold bearing mines in the mountains. One of the key players in the iron door mine story is a man named Flint Carter has a mine (which he seems to no longer be able to reach due to age) that bears rich "Cody Stone", a compination of Gold and Silver. There are also sections of the mountains that are riddled with abandoned mines. On a more scientific basis, the Santa Catalina's are on a fault line and a section of rock high on the mountain is known to contain gold everywhere else in the world. However it appears to be just too hard to reach. Canada del Oro still gives up small amounts of placer from time to time so perhaps the true lode has never been found.

 

[GreyGhost]

There are also sections of the mountains that are riddled with abandoned mines.

Care to share the general area of these mines?

 

[Bell Wright]

Check out Thunderbird Trail. It should take you near some. On the the other side near Oracle there are quite a few. The back side of the Mountains is also made of soft rock as a fault line splits the range. On that side there are numerous caves and this is where Canada del Oro begins. Somewhere up there is a lode that supplied placer gold to the canyon below.

 

[Randeecobra]

Is this area state park land?

 

[Mackaydon]

Bell,
Welcome to Treasure Net !
The Mine with the Iron Door is one of those treasure stories that continues to be repeated year after year. Here's an article that states this treasure has been looked for--without success--for over a hundred years.
It's probably listed in every treasure hunting book relative to Arizona.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.mining.recreational/browse_thread/thread/96722b344ce59bd2

You may also find this article interesting:
http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2009/11/25/news/saddlebrooke/doc4b0d5aafb53b6944548795.txt
Don.....

 

[Bell Wright]

Hey thanks for the info. I haven't had much time to read over all of it due to life intervening. I will say that I have encountered the Flint Carter man before and he seems to be rather in the way of making any real progress on research. While he has an interesting story and has earned mentioned in the book I am writing what I have encountered just seems a little fishy. He claims to have found the mine with the iron door, which is cool, and if he did good for him. However he offers no real proof that he has found it. He does have a mining claim in the mountain from which he mined Cody Stone (a mixture of gold and silver) to make jewelry. I have yet to visit his museum so the info that I have found has just ben rad from the many articles and interviews with him. Who knows.

As for the other poster, yes it is on state park land.


thanks for the interest guys!

 

[GreyGhost]

Hey thanks for the info. I haven't had much time to read over all of it due to life intervening. I will say that I have encountered the Flint Carter man before and he seems to be rather in the way of making any real progress on research. While he has an interesting story and has earned mentioned in the book I am writing what I have encountered just seems a little fishy. He claims to have found the mine with the iron door, which is cool, and if he did good for him. However he offers no real proof that he has found it. He does have a mining claim in the mountain from which he mined Cody Stone (a mixture of gold and silver) to make jewelry. I have yet to visit his museum so the info that I have found has just ben rad from the many articles and interviews with him. Who knows.

As for the other poster, yes it is on state park land.


thanks for the interest guys!

I found this today while reading about info on the Tucson Gem and Mineral show- http://emol.org/flintcarter/index.html
You're right, that Flint Carter guys seems to be a real character. Jewelry, DVD's, paintings jeez-louise.
I had no idea there was an old movie about the Iron Door Mine too.

 

[hoodoodave]

would you be interested in a partner?

 

[Bell Wright]

That is a nice poster there GreyGhost. I have a copy of the novel and an invite to the screening of the silent film after it was rediscovered in a museum in New York. The film was thought to have been lost forever but fortunately it was found again. Unfortunately I was unable to make the screening seeing I had moved to another state just before it. I am still kicking myself for that. I am trying to find time to interview Flint Carter, perhaps over the phone or maybe I can make time during the summer when I am back in Tucson for a vacation. Who knows, his whole deal just seems fishy to me.

To Dave, thanks for the offer and I will definitely keep you in mind for when I return to Tucson, but right now the explorations have to be put on hold seeing I am elsewhere and am about to finish up my BA in Archaeology. I hate when real life intervenes. I wish I was able to be back on the mountains. A las...bills need to be paid. If you have any info on the mine or surrounding area I am more than willing to share. Just something to think about.

 

[Oroblanco]

WELCOME TO TREASURENET Bell Wright!

Fascinating subject! My wife and I looked for this one (once) without luck, but remain convinced the mine exists and may be found some day; perhaps the entrance has been covered by a mudslide, which time and erosion may remove?

BW if you are looking to document the mine, you will have an uphill fight. The Jesuits of today deny any and all mining, as well as ever having used Indians as slaves.
Oroblanco

 

[turtle123456]

HELLO, I LIVE IN TUCSON AND HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE IRON DOOR MINE. I BELIEVE THAT IT IS IN THE CATALINA STATE PARK LAND. WHILE LOOKING AT SATILLITE PHOTO OF THE AREA I BELIEVE THAT I MAY HAVE FOUND THE ENTERANCE (SEE PHOTO). IF YOU LOOK YOU CAN SEE A RECTANGLE SHAPE OF AN ENTERANCE IN THE SIDE OF A CLIFF.(NEAR THE CENTER OF THE PHOTO, RED ARROW). THIS IS LOCATED NEAR THE ROMERO POOL ABOUT 1 MILE PAST THEM. THIS IS A ROUGH AREA OF THE MOUNTAINS. ALSO IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER TWO RED ARROWS I BELEVE THAT THESE ARE THE REMAIN OF TWO arrastre.

 

[Oroblanco]

Hola amigo and thank you for posting. May I ask what is the scale in those satellite images? Thank you in advance.
Oroblanco

 

[Bell Wright]

Very interesting pics there. I see the "door" however from that angle and distance it could still be anything. As for the other points of interest, I don't quite see it. It is a place that I will note and go look at the first chance I get, however the chance probably won't come until early May, and I may not even get to do to time constraints. If you happen to make it out there, give us an update. I wish I had more time to put in to the research and exploring, but I am young and having a hard time dealing with the real world right now. I still have to finish college and what not plus there are bills to pay. So all of my time is spent on studying and working a crappy job I hate.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive! Any new info is greatly welcome, heck even just some interesting treasure talk is welcome. I'd love to get to know some of you, you all seem very nice and helpful, plus we share a passion.

Bell Wright

 

[turtle123456]

I DO NOT SEE A SCALE ON THE IMAGE BUT IT WAS ZOOMED ALL THE WAY IN. AS FOR GOING UP AND LOOKING. THIS WILL BE A SUMMER TRIP AS IT WILL INVOLVE A OVER NIGHT TRIP. ABOUT 5 MILES IN AND ALOT OF MOUNTIAN CLIMBING, BUT A TRIP IS GOING TO HAPPEN. THE ORE CRUCHING AREA LOOK AT THE CIRCLUAR ROCK THAT THE MULE WOULD HAVE WALKED AROUND CRUSHING THE ORE.

 

[hooch]

You can get to that spot through the romero canyon trail, that place is high up you really think they would have donkeys up there at 4k feet crushing stone?

 

[froggy]

Does anyone know who Donald Page was? He wrote an article for the OCTOBER, 1956 Desert Mag
titled:[FONT=&quot]Lost Jesuit Mine with the Iron Door . [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Any background[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]would be helpful. [/FONT]Want to know if he had 'the facts' or made them up.

 

[Bill_In_Tucson]

I see this thread "died".....c'mon, what happened? Is it the mine or not?