Old Bookaroo
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- Dec 4, 2008
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HISTORY AND LEGEND OF THE IRON DOOR
PROPERTY.
Written for the Mexican Mining Journal.
By W. H. Byerts. *
* Socorro, N. M.
PROPERTY.
Written for the Mexican Mining Journal.
By W. H. Byerts. *
* Socorro, N. M.
This famous old property which is known at present only through legend and history was one of the most productive and wealthy properties on the American continent when worked over three hundred and fifty years ago. Worked by the Spaniards with the crudest of implements and methods, millions of dollars were extracted and the property was given a world wide reputation.
As the early Spanish explorers went up the Rio Grande valley a number of properties were located and worked with very satisfactory results and tradition tells us that some of these properties were of exceptional richness and only those that produced ore that was easy to treat were touched for there was no method of handling the rebellious ores with the primitive methods of metallurgical treatment known at that time.
At what now is the site of the city of Socorro, in these early times was located Mission City, which became famous for its mineral wealth and the large bodies of chloride and sulphide ores of gold and silver. The location was selected primarily because of the large spring of pure warm water which gushes out of the rock at the base of the Socorro mountains, three miles to the west of the Rio Grande river bottoms. The city was founded by catholic monks and called the Holy Mission City.
This beautiful valley with its fertile soils, producing wonderful fruits and champaign grapes soon became a vast garden, the monks importing the choicest fruits and grapes from Europe to which the soil was well adapted. While wonderful progress was being made in agriculture and horticulture, the mines in the Blue canyon, three and a half miles to the west of the Mission City were being opened up and their production was increasing yearly. The amount of gold and silver bullion that was annually exported to Europe amounted to millions of dollars and Mission City became famous through its wonderful mineral production.
These mines were worked for nearly a hundred years with an ever increasing number of men and corresponding increase in output, up to the year 1684 when calamity befell the community and the work was brought to a sudden conclusion. At this time an earthquake of unusual force broke off an overhanging ledge of mountain precipitating millions of tons of rock, completely burying the mouth of this famous property, which was then known as the "Iron Door."
The mine had but one opening, through a tunnel, which was closed with a heavy iron door from which the property derived its name. At the time of the calamity, the property was worked principally by convict labor, being made up mostly of indians, who as prisoners were forced to work out their sentences in the mines, which served as a prison as well as mine. The ores extracted were treated in the primitive adobe furnace, the ruins of which were still to be seen up to the year 1880. Besides the enormous wealth that was exported each year, the church became a treasure house in which was stored up great wealth in gold and silver. History tells us that there was connected with the church a number of silversmiths and goldsmiths, who were continuously engaged in fashioning filigrees, ornaments, images, urns and other decorations out of gold and silver for use in the church. A golden chandelier suspended from the ceiling by heavy silver chains together with the altar ornaments of gold and silver were evidence of the wealth of the mine and thrift of the people. The church was the wealthiest in the country at that time and the city was the largest and wealthiest in the southwest.
[Here part of the text appears to be missing from the article]
early people had to reckon which proved their downfall and resulted in the obliteration of all that had been accomplished, namely the indians.
[Here the text correctly continues] As these savage tribesmen saw their people being forced into the mines and their lands being taken up by the white man a spirit of restlessness began to grow upon them and finally resulted in the union of the various tribes for the purpose of wiping this new civilization out of the country and restoring to themselves their lands and property. This rebellion against the white man was declared in the latter part of August in the same year that the earthquake happened and at about the same time, the overthrow of Mission City being but a few days after the earthquake. At the time when the people were at work in an attempt to rescue the 500 imprisoned miners in the Iron Door mine, the indian hordes were coming down the river for an assault on the city and the work was abandoned leaving the hundreds of miners to perish, being entombed by thousands of tons of rock and history does not record that the property was ever relocated or reopened. The white man was driven from this section of the country and south into Mexico leaving the country to the indians, who held it for over a hundred years afterwards. Every vestige of this early civilization and immense wealth was wiped out; the church alone remaining, a monument to that which had gone before. All traces of the mines and city were destroyed during this time and not until the year 1880 was there another mining venture promoted.
At this time a number of claims were located including the Torrence and Merrit, Morning Star and others. The Torrence and Merrit were worked from 1880 to 1885 and produced over a million dollars worth of bullion and the deepest workings did not go down over 150 feet, only the surface deposits being worked. All of these properties have been purchased by one company together with the location where the famous Iron Door property was located and are again known as the Iron Door Mines of Socorro. At the present time a tunnel is being driven under the old workings from the base of the mountain, which will open up the mine at a depth of 500 feet. The tunnel is now in over 500 feet and is being pushed day and night with every expectation of opening up one of the great gold-silver deposits of the southwest.
~ The Mexican Mining Journal, September 1912 [Vol. XV, No. 3]
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"Mine With the Iron Door: ... (2) A perhaps non-existent rich silver mine located in Blue or Turquoise canyon SE of Socorro (N.M.). According to the Byerts & Slausen versions, Spanish padres developed a rich mine here in the 16th century. An earthquake & avalanche covered the mine entrance & trapped from 100 to 500 miners underground. An Indian attack drove off the rescuers & the miners perished. Since then, many have looked for but none have found the rich mine at the foot of Socorro peak. (M.Min.Jrnl, Sept-1912) (Tales of Old Mexico)." ~ Encyclopedia of Buried Treasure Hunting, Karl von Mueller (1965).
I don't know where to locate a copy of the "Slausen" version. That author isn't listed in KvonM's Journals of El Dorado or in Bartholomew's 1200 Treasure Books or in Probert. Byerts' account is above - it should be noted he wrote the famous GOLD; The Adams Gold Diggings (1919). Tales of Old New Mexico is not included in Journals, either.
Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo
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