Ute-Ulay Mine and Mill Complex
- Our Life With Lucille
- Sep 30, 2018
- 4 min read
100 Years of Mining History
As part of our Alpine Loop drive, we stopped at the Ute-Ulay Mine and Mill complex. Over 100 years of mining history are represented here, as the site was in operation from 1874 up to the 1980s.
"The Ute-Ulay is known as The Mine That Made Lake City. Ute-Ulay mining claims were first discovered by trespassers on the Ute Reservation in 1871. With the Brunot Treaty of 1873, the Utes ceded the San Juan Mountains from their
reservation and the Ute-Ulay claims became the first patented mining claims in Hinsdale County. Commercial mining operations began in 1876, with an estimated $12 million mined before 1903.
The Ute-Ulay mining complex spurred regional development and powered Lake City's economy for decades.
This site demonstrates various eras of mining technology from 1874 up to the 1980s. Structures that remain today include residential cabins, an assayer‘s office, the mill, a blacksmith shop, a boarding house, a red-cedar water tank, the main headframe, and several additional historically significant structures. This 12-acre site has been donated to Hinsdale County through a unique partnership of local government, a private mining company, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
"Most mined veins in the Lake City area are between 1,000 and 1,200 feet long, but the Ute-Ulay vein has been traced for at least 5,000 feet, a testament to the mine’s consistent production over the years.
In 1886, the Ute-Ulay boasted the largest hoist made in Colorado at that time.
In 1904, a large body of ore was discovered at a deeper level than what had already been explored. Unfortunately, this ore was very high in zinc, and it wasn't until 1917 that activity at the mine picked up again when the American Smelting and Refining Company leased the Ute-Ulay. Their work was minimal and confined to the main shaft. Most work pertained to the rehabilitation of the shaft and shaft house, that had been destroyed in a the several years prior. This mine shaft headframe seen today was installed to facilitate the digging of a new shaft by the Colorado Standard Lead Zinc Mines, Inc. in 1951."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
"The red-cedar water tank is in fair condition. This tank stored water from the seasonal Ute Creek although most water used on the site was accessed from Henson Creek. The water tower together With a cement cistern stored water for residents. Water at the Ute-Ulay was also used in the mill for operations."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
"This unique outhouse is divided into two rooms, each with doorways and two-hole seats in each northwestern wall. The outhouse has vertical board-and-batten siding with diamond-shaped cutouts in the gables and is set on a cribbed log foundation. The outhouse was built with cut nails. Later repairs, such as reattachment of siding, were made with wire nails.The outhouse is remarkably intact, lacking only its doors. The corrugated roofing is the only non-historic aspect of the structure."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
[Side note: With our current notions of privacy, it's hard to imagine asking anyone to use this kind of facility. Can you imagine sharing your private bathroom moments with your coworkers, who are seated next to you?]
"The wood-frame boarding house with a gable roof was built in the 1880s.
The demonetization of silver by the United States Government inflicted economic hardship on hard-rock mining towns throughout the county in 1893. Mines that produced a lot of silver became unprofitable almost overnight.
The boarding house was reused as a bunkhouse in 1926 and last used as a residence by mine personal through 1929."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
[Side note: In 1899, mine workers staged a lock-down strike in the mines after the Auric Mining Company required all single men and men without families to move into the boarding house and pay exorbitant rent. It didn't end well.]
"Typical of log cabins of this era, these residences were built in the 18803 and have survived remarkably well. The location of the multiple log cabins, in close proximity to the four-hole outhouse, may mean that this specific area could have been a concentrated residential area. These log cabins are some of the oldest surviving structures on the Ute-Ulay site."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
"In 1882, Crooke’s Mining and Smelting Co. reinvested in the site by constructing a larger, more capable milling complex. At that time, a wooden dam was constructed to meet the rising energy needs of the Ute-Ulay; a boiler was used prior. Henson Creek froze entirely in the winter of 1884 affecting the energy source. The mill ceased operation and owners of the Ute-Ulay defaulted on their mortgage. The site was sold to Lake City Mining Co., who constructed a new engine and shaft house, which reportedly included the largest hoist ever made in Colorado at the time. While the Ute-Ulay sat idle, Lake City suffered the first of several large economic depressions. In 1887, the Ute-Ulay was reopened and began shipping ore. The new production finally brought the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to Lake City in 1889. In 1890, Lake City Mining Co. failed to pay its debts and went out of business. Production continued, however, under Ute and Ulay Mines, Ltd, another British group, and Lake City continued to reap the benefits of a booming economy. A new, concrete dam was constructed, along with an electrical power plant. The flume was supported by a log trestle and moved water from the dam about one thousand feet to the power house in the old mill.
The trestle collapsed with the flood in 1951 that also breached the dam. A diesel engine was then installed in the mine’s power plant."
- Ute-Ulay Upper Town Site Self-Guided Walking Trail brochure
[Side note: the water levels in this area have changed dramatically since the dam was breached. See that small building in the right-hand corner of the picture above? It used to sit right on the water, as evidenced in the photo below.]
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