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aka Gold Creek
HISTORIC CONTEXT
Gold Creek, a northward flowing tributary of the Clark Fork River = holds a=20 special place in not only the history of mining, but in the history of = Montana=20 as well. The stream was the scene of the first discovery of gold in = Montana.=20 While the quality of the strike was soon overshadowed by the Bannack = strike, it=20 was the Gold Creek mines that first drew prospectors to the region and = directly=20 led to the discovery on Grasshopper Creek. Because of its unique = position in=20 history, the events leading to the discovery are of more than passing=20 interest.
In 1852, Francois Finlay, who was also known as Benetsee, found the = first=20 float gold in what is now Montana, in a branch of the Clark Fork, later = to be=20 called Gold Creek. His findings became known to the few mountain men in = the=20 area, and the stream from which the gold came was called Benetsee's = Creek. Angus=20 McDonald, in charge of Fort Connah near Flathead Lake, had some of the = dust=20 Benetsee found assayed, and reported the discovery to the Hudson's Bay = Company=20 in Victoria, British Columbia. With the California gold rush only three = years=20 old, the Hudson's Bay Company well knew what would happen if news of the = gold=20 strike were to get out. To prevent prime beaver grounds from being = overrun by=20 gold-seekers, McDonald was ordered to keep the dust a secret.
One year later John Mullen and other members of the U.S. = Government-sponsored=20 Stevens railroad expedition were said to have washed some flakes from = Benetsee=20 creek. Popular tradition and nearly every historical source states that = Mullen=20 knew nothing of Finlay's discovery and so renamed the stream Gold Creek = after=20 finding the gold. However, Mullen and Finlay's daughter, Mary Ann, were=20 apparently well-acquainted. Peter Mullen, Mary Ann's first child was = born not=20 long after the expedition. Whether Mullen actually panned the gravel of = Gold=20 Creek or merely noted it after hearing about it, Mullen's name became = linked=20 with that of Gold Creek. At the time, little was made of the discovery, = the=20 expedition report notation of gold in a remote northern stream could = hardly=20 compete with the banner headlines heralding vast gold strikes and the = reality of=20 tons of gold dust coming out of contemporary California (Mullen = 1991).
The stream was next prospected in 1856 by a group of miners led by = Robert=20 Hereford. The group included John Sanders (known as Long Tom), Bill = Madison and=20 a couple of others. The party of men was enroute from the Bitterroot = valley to=20 Salt Lake City when they apparently heard of Gold Creek and did some = panning=20 there. Some gold was found, but not enough to slow the men. When they = connected=20 with the California Trail just west of Utah, they stopped and talked = with=20 Granville Stuart, James Stuart and Reece Anderson; the trio were on = their way=20 back from the California mines. The Stuart-Anderson party was cooling = their=20 heels in camp waiting for the dust to settle on the Mormon War so they = could=20 proceed across Utah safely. When they saw the gold dust of Hereford and = company,=20 they altered their plans to take a side-trip to Gold Creek. Although the = Stuarts=20 tried to work the stream early in the spring of 1858, the lack of tools = brought=20 a halt to the operations. Stuart built a log cabin on the Mullen Road = where it=20 crossed Gold Creek. This cabin became the nucleus of a small community = named=20 American Fork where 45 people lived and conducted an active trade of = goods=20 (Pardee 1951).
In 1860, Henry Thomas (also known as Gold Tom) dug a 30-foot shaft in = the=20 glacial till of Gold Creek at a point about one mile west of what later = became=20 known as Pioneer City. The small prospect returned $1.50 a day from = axe-hewn=20 sluices. However, the gold was little return on the effort involved in = producing=20 home-made mining equipment. It was, however, enough to push Stuart into=20 obtaining the means to properly work the gravels of the stream. In the = spring of=20 1862, miners were hurrying through the area from the head of navigation = on the=20 Missouri to the new Idaho mines. From them Stuart obtained the tools = necessary=20 to work the stream. On May 8 1862, Granville Stuart set up the first = effective=20 sluices in Montana. When he found gold, the news was not lost on the = prospectors=20 passing through the area. A party of prospectors arrived on May 14 and = found=20 diggings that paid 20 cents per pan. On May 20 another party arrived and = prospected along a branch of Gold Creek which they named Pikes Peak = Creek. On=20 June 1, yet another group of prospectors arrived on the scene and found = gravel=20 that paid about $10 to the man by working the stream with sluices = (Pardee=20 1951).
Miners on the way to diggings such as Stuart's often stopped and = panned the=20 streams along the way. In such a manner John White came upon the = fabulous=20 placers of Grasshopper Creek. When word of the rich strike arrived at = Gold Fork,=20 the miners left for more promising operations. By August 1862, only four = months=20 after the first sluices were in place, the Gold Creek placers were = nearly=20 abandoned; only two men remained to work the gravel. There followed a = dizzying=20 number of fabulously rich strikes at Alder Gulch, Last Chance Gulch, = Confederate=20 Gulch and many others. Gold Creek became a backwater and the town of = American=20 Fork was abandoned (Pardee 1951).
There was little activity on Gold Creek until 1866, when the Pioneer = mining=20 district was organized. The placers of Pioneer Creek and its = tributaries, French=20 and Squaw gulches, soon overshadowed the initial placers on Gold Creek. = Under=20 laws of the new district, bar claims of 200 feet running back to the = summit of=20 the hill could be made. In 1867, the Pioneer Company began using = hydraulics on=20 the bars. Although no rush ensued, mining activity picked up and the = population=20 of the Pioneer district rose to a high of 1000. Most of the population = was=20 concentrated in the new camp of Yam Hill near Batterton Bar.
Lack of water was more of a problem than the apparent lack of gold. = In 1868=20 or 1869 Conrad Kohrs and others, formed the Rock Creek Ditch Company, to = build a=20 16 mile canal to deliver water from Rock Creek to the Pioneer, Willow = Creek, and=20 Pikes Peak districts. The system initially delivered water to the Gold = Hill=20 terraces; the first terrace to be worked was the slope descending down = to Pikes=20 Peak Creek. These terraces contained rich gold deposits. Several hundred = men=20 worked the placers and a reported $140,000 was recovered in a single = season from=20 a pit on Batterton Bar. By 1870, it was estimated that $20,000,000 in = placer=20 gold had been taken from the gulches (Pardee 1951; Wolle 1963).
The Pioneer district never rivaled the other major strikes of = Montana, but=20 just the same the district flourished all through the 1870s. New placer = deposits=20 were discovered and developed at French Gulch, Squaw Gulch, Woods Flat = and=20 Wilson's Bar. By 1874 the richer parts of the terraces had been worked, = but new=20 deposits were discovered at Pioneer Bar and Ballard Hill. As these = placers grew,=20 the town of Yam Hill became deserted and a new town of Pioneer City = began to=20 grow. It has been estimated that over a million dollars of gold dust (at = $20.67=20 per ounce) was removed from the Pioneer Bar in the late 1870s and early = 1880s=20 (Pardee 1951; Wolle 1963).
Around 1875, Conrad Kohrs, a stockman and trader who had been = involved in the=20 Rock Creek Ditch Company, bought up a number of mining claims and water = rights=20 in the Pioneer district, planning to leave them to his son as a legacy. = His=20 plans failed to materialize, for his son died and he quit mining. = Another man,=20 Tim Lee, brought a company of 800 Chinese miners to the gulch. He = directed these=20 laborers for several years. They worked to wash gold from the tailings = and=20 carried away the waste rocks in baskets to restack it on new dumps. When = they=20 could no longer recover any gold, they left the area.
Prior to 1890 the deposits on Pioneer Bar and at the Ballard mine = were nearly=20 worked out, but extensive hydraulic operations were being conducted at = the K=20 & K Bar, a low terrace in Pioneer Gulch. This operation was = conducted by=20 F.J. Slaughtner for the owners, Kohrs and Bielenberg. The hydraulic = operation=20 continued until 1918 (Pardee 1951).
In the 1890s, an English syndicate, the Gold Creek Mining Company = Ltd., sank=20 test holes in the gravel and began to work the ground with a small = dredge. The=20 dredge proved too small and light in construction to deal with the deep, = bouldery gravels and efforts stopped after a shallow trench was = excavated. The=20 English Company also met resistance from some of the older residents of = the=20 district, including Conrad Kohrs, who cut off their supply of timber and = water.=20 The company ceased work and filed suit against the hecklers. The case = dragged on=20 for many years and was not settled until 1927, when Pat Wall, a miner = from=20 Butte, offered to buy the English Company's holdings. He bought up 3,200 = acres=20 held by the Kohrs-Bielenberg interests, which included water rights and = the=20 townsite of Pioneer. These two purchases, which gave him 7,000 acres of = placer=20 ground, permitted him to plan big-scale dredging on 6,500 acres and=20 hydraulicking on 500 acres more.
Between December 1933 and June 1939, the Pioneer Placer Dredge = Company, Inc.,=20 recovered a gross total of $1,374,631 from these gravels. The company = used a=20 sturdy "California-type" electric chain-bucket dredge.
Production figures for the creeks of the district have generally been = combined reports, so a fair and accurate estimate of the production of = each=20 creek cannot be made. The total production of the placer mines in the = district,=20 up to 1949, was estimated to be $28,526,000. An estimate of about = $7,000,000=20 seems to be fair and conservative for the total production of placer = gold from=20 the Pioneer district from 1860-1945, because the "cream had been = skimmed" from=20 the richest bars prior to 1898. In fact the dredge at Pioneer held first = rank as=20 a gold producer in Montana in 1934. Although primarily a placer mining = district,=20 some lode mines have been developed at the head of Gold and Little Gold = Creeks.=20 Most of the lode mines, however, are in Granite County (Sahinen 1935; = Lyden=20 1948; Wolle 1963).
In addition to the efforts of Pat Wall and the Pioneer Placer Dredge = Company,=20 other smaller mines continued to work in the early 20th Century. Prior = to 1920=20 the west side of Gold Hill was reworked in the Squaw Gulch pit. In 1920, = the=20 Rock Creek ditch and its water rights were purchased and diverted to = water=20 fields. Water was then brought into the district from Pikes Peak Creek = and used=20 to work deposits on Gold Hill above the Rock Creek ditch. The largest of = these=20 workings were the Kelley and Irvine pits. For several years after 1920,=20 hydraulic operations were conducted on the gravels of Pioneer Gulch at = the foot=20 of Ballard Hill. This deposit had been missed by earlier efforts because = of a=20 heavy talus overburden (Pardee 1951).
On the upper parts of the middle and east forks of Pioneer Gulch as = well as=20 on China Bar, Chinese miners worked the gravel prior to 1930. The amount = of gold=20 production is not known, but may have been large.
Gold Creek and Pikes Peak Creek flow into an area of complexly folded = and=20 faulted Mesozoic and Paleozoic sediments which have been intruded by an=20 elongated batholith of quartz monzonite. The lode deposits occur in = veins and=20 replacement deposits in highly altered granite or quartz monzonite. None = of the=20 lode deposits have been particularly important as points of production, = but=20 erosion of these gold-bearing deposits have resulted in extensive placer = deposits in Gold, Little Gold, Pioneer, and Pikes Peak Creeks. The = placer gold=20 occurs in recent stream gravels and also in bench gravels. The deposits = have=20 been mined by sluicing, hydraulicking, and dredging (Sahinen 1935).
No production figures are available prior to 1904 when the majority = of the=20 gold was recovered from the district. However, from 1904 to 1951, the = operations=20 in the district worked 4,625,700 cubic yards of gravel to recover 65,000 = ounces=20 of gold and 7,442 ounces of silver. Estimated value of historic = Twentieth=20 century production was reported to be over $2,000,000. Most of this = production=20 occurred in the 1930s with the advent of dredging (McClernan = 1976).
BOUNDARIES OF THE DISTRICT
Sahinen (1935) places the district southwest of Gold Creek, a station = on the=20 Northern Pacific and Chichago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroads. Figure = 1 shows=20 the historic mining district as defined by Sahinen (1935) which includes = the=20 primary creeks and gulches which were the scene of the placer=20 activity.
HISTORIES OF SELECTED MINES
Friday
From 1909 to 1930, the Friday mine reported production in 19 years = (WPA=20 1941).
Gold Creek Placer
The Gold Creek placers during the Twentieth century reported = production=20 intermittently from 1905 to 1910 and again in 1930 and 1931. The mine = was=20 discussed in the mining literature in 1904 and 1905 and again in the = 1930s (WPA=20 1941).
Gold Hill
The Gold Hill placers can be divided into two areas, the north = portion which=20 was called the Squaw Gulch pit and the southern portion which contained = the=20 Kelley and Irvine pits. The area around the Squaw Gulch pit was worked = early in=20 the history of the district. Extensive workings were excavated on the = western=20 side of Gold Hill above the steep slope to Squaw Gulch. The Squaw Gulch = gravels=20 were prospected in 1931 by the Henderson Mining Co., but no paying = ground was=20 found. The Kelley and Irvine pits contained gold in an unsorted mass of=20 boulders, cobbles, sand and clay. The pits were reported to have = produced=20 $20,000 in gold. No production figures are available for the larger = Squaw Gulch=20 pit. Other small gulch and ravine placers have also been worked on Gold = Hill=20 (Pardee 1951).
Independence
The Independence mine is located on Windy Hill. Although the vicinity = was=20 worked in the district's early days, no production records have = survived. The=20 mine next reported production nearly every year between 1926 to 1930. = The gold=20 was of exceptional purity, assaying at 968 fine. The rough angles on the = gold=20 recovered indicated that the gold was little water worn, having been = deposited=20 by glacial action (WPA 1941; Pardee 1951).
K & K Bar
Located on the east side of upper Pioneer Gulch, the K & K Bar = stretches=20 nearly a mile and a half in length with varying width. The workings on = the lower=20 third of the bar was collectively known as the Kohrs and Kelley mine. = The upper=20 two-thirds of the bar was known as the Kohrs and Bielenberg mine. In = 1916 the=20 upper workings were extended 600 feet; the area is known as the 1916 = pit. From=20 it 711 ounces of gold were recovered. Work continued in the pit until = leaner=20 gravels were encountered in 1918 (Pardee 1951).
Oro Fino
The Oro Fino was active intermittently from 1909 to 1929 (WPA = 1941).
Pikes Peak Creek
Prior to the advent of dredge operations in 1934, nearly half of the = gold=20 recovered in the district came from the Pikes Peak placers. The = Batterton Bar in=20 the district produced $140,000 in a single season. Gold was found in = small=20 particles with some nuggets up to $10 in value. The gold assayed at = $17.75 an=20 ounce at a time when pure gold ran $21.67. Some gold from the Larrabee = Bank ran=20 as high as $18.60 per ounce.
Part of the pay streak was mined by drifting, but this area was = covered by=20 waste rock from mines higher on the hill. Below Treadwater Bar, a 3,000 = foot=20 segment of recovered pay streak was worked by a dragline shovel and a = dry-land=20 washer (Pardee 1951).
Pioneer Property
The Pioneer property was active in 1916 and again from 1928 to 1931. = The mine=20 was discussed in the mining literature during the latter period of = production=20 (WPA 1941).
Pioneer Placer
It has been estimated that over a million dollars worth of gold was = taken out=20 of six gravel terrace channels on a spur west of Pioneer Gulch. Bank = records=20 indicated that the gold assayed at $18.50 per ounce. The Pioneer placer = was=20 active 18 years from 1910 to 1938 (WPA 1941).
Pioneer Placer Dredging
The Pioneer electric dredge reported production from 1933 until the = operation=20 was stopped by Federal order at the advent of World War II (WPA 1941; = Pardee=20 1951).
Other Placers
The Montana Bureau of Mines vertical files list the following = placers:=20 Dawson, Dry Creek, Fin de Siecle, Fowler Tibbetts, French Gulch, Gold = Hill,=20 Hart's Gravel, Middle Falls, Prowse Par, Rocker Gulch, Squaw Gulch, = Trail Gulch,=20 Wilson's Bar, Windy Bar, Wood's Flat, and Yam Hill (Pilgrim's = Bar).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowman, A. H. and Barclay Craighead
1926 Montana, Resources and Opportunities Edition, Vol. 1. = Department=20 of Agriculture, Labor and Industry, Division of Publicity.
1928 Montana, Resources and Opportunities Edition, Vol. 3. = Department=20 of Agricultural, Labor and Industry, Division of Publicity.
Calderhead, J. H.
1898 "Montana Bureau of Agriculture, Labor, and Industry, 6th Annual=20 Report."
Dingman, Oscar A.
1934 "Placer Mining in Montana", Mines Magazine. Vo. 24, No. = 1, pp.=20 13, 17-18.
Emmons, Samuel Franklin
1885 "Geological Sketch of the Rocky Mountain Division", U. S. = 10th=20 Census, Vol. 13, pp. 60-104.
Emmons, William Harvey and Frank C. Calkins
1913 "Geology and Ore Deposits of the Philipsburg Quadrangle, = Montana", U.=20 S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 78.
Ferguson, Henry Gardiner and L. P. Benedict
1906 Montana Bureau of Agriculture, Labor and Industry, 10th=20 Report.
1908 Montana Bureau of Agriculture, Labor and Industry, 11th = Biennial=20 Report.
Gardiner, C. Roe and Johnson, C. H.
1934 "Placer Mining in the Western United States", U.S. Bureau of=20 Mines, Inf. Circ. 6786, pt. 1; Circ. 6787, pt. 2; Circ. 6788, pt. = 3.
Hammond-Fogarty, K. T.
1907 "Early Mining History of Montana", Mining World, Vol. 26, = pp.=20 722-773.
Lyden, Charles J.
1948 The Gold Placers of Montana. Montana Bureau of Mines and = Geology=20 Memoir No. 26. Montana School of Mines, Butte.
Montana Bureau of Mines
nd Vertical Files.
McClernan,H. G.
1976 "Metallic Mineral Deposits of Powell County, Montana", = Montana Bureau=20 of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 98.
Mullen, John
1991 Miners and Travelers' Guide. (Reprint) Ye Galleon Press,=20 Fairfield, Washington. Originally published by W. M. Franklin, New = York.
Pardee, J. T
1951 "Gold Placer Deposits of the Pioneer District, Montana", U.S. = Geological=20 Survey, Bulletin 978-C.
Sahinen, Uuno M.
1935 "Mining Districts of Montana", Thesis, Montana School of Mines,=20 Butte.
Trauerian, Carl J.
1939 "Mining in Montana Exclusive of Butte", Seven Talks About = Mines,=20 pp. 31-41, Butte Chamber of Commerce.
Wolle, Muriel S.
1963 Montana Pay Dirt. A Guide to the Mining Camps of the Treasure = State. Sage Books, Denver.
Works Projects Administration (WPA) Mineral Resources Survey
1941 Montana Mine Index, An Alphabetical Index Arranged by = Counties,=20 Districts and Mines of Information on Montana Mines from 1867-1940. = Montana=20 School of Mines, Butte.
Figure 1. The Pioneer or Gold Creek historic mining district as = defined by=20 Sahinen (1935) which includes the primary creeks and gulches which were = the=20 scene of the placer activity.
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