KGCnewbieseeker
Sr. Member
The obscure and nearly forgotten mining camp known as Beartown was located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains, about 10 miles southeast of Silverton. This little-known mining district was situated at the head of Bear Creek, a small tributary of the Rio Grande River. The mines were clustered around Kite Lake, a small glacial pool located just below the Continental Divide. The mining camp that sprang up two miles downstream from the diggings was known variously as Gold Run, Sylvanite, Bear Creek, and Silvertip. Eventually it came to be called Beartown.
Beartown was one of the most remote mining camps in the San Juans. Indeed, prospectors did not enter the area until 1893. When they finally penetrated the Bear Creek country, they discovered incredibly rich ore worth $4000 a ton! A number of mines were developed in the area, including the Sylvanite, Gold Bug, Silver Bug, and Good Hope. Beartown eventually acquired a post office (which only lasted one year), a grocery store and hardware store, a blacksmith shop, a boardinghouse for the local miners, an assay office, and of course a saloon.
Unfortunately, all was not well with the new mining district. Although the ore itself was incredibly rich, the veins were small and tended to pinch out at depth. That, combined with high transportation costs, doomed the Beartown District. Mining continued for a number of years, but by 1938 the area was abandoned.
During its heyday, the Beartown District was plagued by bandits and high-grading miners. The Timber Hill area, just downstream from Beartown, was a favored ambush site for highwaymen preying on the gold shipments. The Beartown area is famous for another reason. It is home to a little-known lost mine consisting of an old tunnel filled with rotting timbers, sacks of ore, and the bones of three decomposing skeletons.
The Lost Mine on Bear Creek was first discovered and worked prior to the 20th Century, but was rediscovered during the early 1900's by an old prospector who was wandering the area. He had stumbled onto the mine portal by accident and had then discovered the caches of ore and the skeletons. He showed up in Durango in 1905 carrying a heavy bag filled with "highly concentrated gold ore". The old prospector sold the ore and then disappeared into the mountains. He was never seen again. Interestingly, a similar incident occurred 13 years later when a Mexican prospector also showed up in Durango carrying a satchel full of rich ore. It was the same old story! He had discovered the ore in an abandoned mine shaft in the heart of the San Juans, near the headwaters of Bear Creek. Unfortunately, before he could return to the mine, he died of pneumonia. Then, in 1938, a sheepherder appeared in Durango with some more of the gold ore and the same story. This time, the sheepherder tried to return to the mine but was unable to find it. It remains hidden to this day.
Beartown was one of the most remote mining camps in the San Juans. Indeed, prospectors did not enter the area until 1893. When they finally penetrated the Bear Creek country, they discovered incredibly rich ore worth $4000 a ton! A number of mines were developed in the area, including the Sylvanite, Gold Bug, Silver Bug, and Good Hope. Beartown eventually acquired a post office (which only lasted one year), a grocery store and hardware store, a blacksmith shop, a boardinghouse for the local miners, an assay office, and of course a saloon.
Unfortunately, all was not well with the new mining district. Although the ore itself was incredibly rich, the veins were small and tended to pinch out at depth. That, combined with high transportation costs, doomed the Beartown District. Mining continued for a number of years, but by 1938 the area was abandoned.
During its heyday, the Beartown District was plagued by bandits and high-grading miners. The Timber Hill area, just downstream from Beartown, was a favored ambush site for highwaymen preying on the gold shipments. The Beartown area is famous for another reason. It is home to a little-known lost mine consisting of an old tunnel filled with rotting timbers, sacks of ore, and the bones of three decomposing skeletons.
The Lost Mine on Bear Creek was first discovered and worked prior to the 20th Century, but was rediscovered during the early 1900's by an old prospector who was wandering the area. He had stumbled onto the mine portal by accident and had then discovered the caches of ore and the skeletons. He showed up in Durango in 1905 carrying a heavy bag filled with "highly concentrated gold ore". The old prospector sold the ore and then disappeared into the mountains. He was never seen again. Interestingly, a similar incident occurred 13 years later when a Mexican prospector also showed up in Durango carrying a satchel full of rich ore. It was the same old story! He had discovered the ore in an abandoned mine shaft in the heart of the San Juans, near the headwaters of Bear Creek. Unfortunately, before he could return to the mine, he died of pneumonia. Then, in 1938, a sheepherder appeared in Durango with some more of the gold ore and the same story. This time, the sheepherder tried to return to the mine but was unable to find it. It remains hidden to this day.
