Circa 1876 Miner’s Letter from Mineral Park, Arizona

Mineral Park, Arizona, 1876. Unbound. Very Good. Autograph Letter Signed. Octavo. 4pp. Mineral Park, March 15. Four small archival clear tape mends along the old folds, else very good or better. A long, detailed letter written in pencil by a miner working for the Keystone Mining Company at Mineral Park. Located in the valley of the Cerbat Mountains in Mohave County, Arizona, the mine was renowned for its gem-quality turquoise found in gold-bearing quartz veins. Gold was discovered in the area in 1863, and the camp of Mineral Park was established seven years later with the discovery of silver. Its surface ores were very rich and carried high values in both gold and silver. Many prospectors ventured into the area, and by 1876 the mining town reached a population of 700, serving as the county seat of Mohave County from 1873 through 1887. Written to his sister, the letter provides a first-hand account of a prospector’s life at the camp:

“… I am working for the Keystone Mining Company and making a little over $100 a month … Will & Aunt [?] & Uncle John are over at the ranch building a house … The mines are booming better than ever, the C.O.[?] struck the richest mineral in the camp. We have the extension to it & I think we will come out ahead of our expenses by a good bit. We took out 3 tons of ore on the Columbia and have 20 inches of ore in the face of the tunnel which is in 90 feet. It will come in play … I have specimens of rock salt from the salt mountains and some ore from the Columbia which I will send soon … I am working nights – well in fact night & day … I am making lots of over time but have a soft job and plenty of time to read …”

An informative, well-written letter dating from the heyday of the mining town at Mineral Park.