Getting the Lead Out

At Milepost 55, (30 miles northeast of Yuma and 45 miles south of Quartzsite in Arizona) a hard left from U.S. 95 took me two miles on paved road. The next eight miles were dusty and barely tolerable washboard but worth the scenery of distinct Castle Dome Mountain in the distance. The desert and mountains of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge are perfect for good boondocking, but with the tow car, I knew I’d be returning to Milepost 99 at Quartzsite by the end of the day. My destination was the Castle Dome Mines Museum.

Paying the $5 entrance fee allows you to be transported back to the 1860s. Let your imagination wander as your feet wander the stone-lined pathways and boardwalks. At one time, Castle Dome City was like so many mining towns sprinkled liberally in Arizona’s history, bustling with life and promise. It was bigger than Yuma, and the stagecoaches made this a stop on their way to Phoenix.

Brush houses, caves, mines and Civil War tents made up the first dwellings—anything to keep the Arizona heat at bay. These gave way to or became incorporated with simple board cabins and houses, a hotel, a theater, a cantina, a cookhouse, a church, and various mining buildings. At least five saloons supplied the area. Castle Dome City, the very middle of the “Wild Wild West,” had its share of all that came with it—murders, brawls and prostitutes.

In 1882, twelve children attended the Castle Dome School. When the mines were up and running, attendance grew, especially throughout the world wars when lead from the mines sold at a premium.

Long History
Castle Dome Mountain was a draw for those seeking her riches as early as the 1400s. The Spanish Conquistadors, the French, and the Yuma (Quechan) Indians mined the area and then abandoned it for various reasons.

One mining entrepreneur was Jacob Snively, who had arrived in the Southwest via Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. He joined the military and helped defeat Santa Anna’s troops, made some questionable raids along the Santa Fe Trail, and after serving for several years as secretary to Sam Houston, governor of the Republic of Texas, made his way to Arizona in 1862. Col. Snively supposedly became Arizona’s first citizen and in 1864 bought mining interests near Castle Dome.

After discovering gold 20 miles south of Castle Dome, he found a “mother lode of silver” at Castle Dome itself. This brought a new rush of investors and miners. The remote Castle Dome Mining District included 300 major mines, but there was no water or fuel to run smelters. New York and San Francisco eventually brought in corporate investment money and with it, improvements to run a large, efficient operation.

Colorado River riverboat captains, most notably Capt. Isaac Polhamus, an experienced pilot from New York’s Hudson River, bought mines and shipped ore by steamboat to San Francisco for smelting. By 1878, the largest wagons ever built, requiring 40 horses or mules to pull them, hauled ore the 20 miles to the river. These “prairie schooners” also carried merchandise and mining supplies back to Castle Dome City. Their 20-ton carrying capacity was approximately the same as a semi tractor-trailer.

Mines Revived
The mines were seemingly “played out” when they were obtained by William and Eliza Deluce in 1898. But William combed the dumps and came up with enough pieces to build a 200-ton-a-day concentrator plant. Shortly thereafter, he left with another woman and went to Alaska. Being one of many enterprising woman of the day, Eliza did what she had to do to keep body and soul together by getting the mines in production again. The mines produced nine million pounds of lead ore for use in making ammunition for World Wars I and II.

The Historical Overview of the Castle Dome Mining District claims, “After the war was over and Japan had surrendered, it was discovered that had Japan been able to bomb inland, Castle Dome was one of the top five on the list.”

Eliza mined and shipped silver galena ore for nearly half a century and became a well- known businesswoman whom the miners admired. If she said, “Dig here,” they were certain they would find ore. She died in 1946 at the age of 88. High-grade ore continued supporting the miners until silver prices fell in 1979. Ore is there to be mined should silver prices ever rise again.

Town Preserved
Allen and Stephanie Armstrong bought the property in 1998, literally rescuing these historical artifacts from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who nearly destroyed it.

In more than 20 restored buildings, you can walk into the Spartan lives of the miners. A miner’s haven in an old shack has a Bible lying on the makeshift table and a washtub in the corner (for clothes and body) with a frying pan on the heating/cooking stove. A blacksmith shop looks like a giant man might arrive at any moment and start the equally giant bellows to fan the coals for making necessities.

The sheriff’s office has reports tacked to the wall telling of mayhem and murder, nothing unusual. One man fired down a mineshaft at two fellows he believed had stolen his property. He had been smoking marijuana. And we thought that all started in the 1960s!

Eliza’s Dress Shop awaited customers for its clothes and hats. Colorful supplies filled the mercantile shelves. And Carmelita’s Cantina offered all the strong liquid refreshment for the right price, plus the accompanying companion, for the right price. Levi Strauss jeans for whatever reason left deep in a mine are authenticated to be over 100 years old. Each building has a detailed description of its history, function and owner.

Ideally, you should make this trip early on a cool winter Wednesday (immediately after a slight rain to keep the dust down). The museum offers a 90-minute guided, half-mile hike through the Castle Dome Mining District. The narration brings out the unique and fascinating stories you shouldn’t miss. It starts at 10 a.m. and the fee is $5 in addition to the museum’s general admission.

If you have your RV with you, a moonlight desert night with howling coyotes and a crackling campfire could be the perfect ending to a fascinating day at Castle Dome Museum. God Bless.

Autographed copies of Revised RVing Alaska and Canada ($16.95); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen $14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8), and Freedom Unlimited, The Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. Postage and handling are $4 for one book and $1 for each additional book.