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When the dams still did not provide enough water, the company built a
15 mile long pipe extending to the Santa Cruz Valley that lifted water
1,500 feet in two storage tanks. Before long, the town had electricity
provided by the company’s diesel engines, a doctor, an infirmary,
company stores, a school with three teachers instructing eight grades,
the ever present
saloon, and
some 2,000 residents. The mine ran 24 hours per day, only closing on
Christmas and July 4th.
From 1934 to 1937,
the Montana Mine was the leading producer of lead and zinc in the
state, and the third largest in silver production. However, the ore
finally played out in 1940 and the town became a ghost. The mill
operation was moved to Sahuarita. The post office closed forever on
May 31, 1941. Though no records exist on the dollar amount taken from
the Montana Mine, one estimate puts the total for the Oro Blanco
district at more than $10 million for the period between 1909 and
1949.
The
Ruby Mercantile
remained intact until 1970, until it finally collapsed. For decades,
the area remained private and because no access was allowed to anyone
other than owners, Ruby has suffered few of
the indignities of vandalism and theft often found in other
ghost towns.
Today,
Ruby remains
private, owned by a couple of different families who are working to
preserve the town and make it into a recreational area. The good news
is, they now allow visitors. The old settlement continues to boast
more than two dozen buildings. Only Vulture City rivals it in the
number of remaining structures in a
ghost town
mining camp.
Some of the more
interesting structures remaining today include the school, which
continues to display its chalk boards and some furnishings; the jail,
mine offices, warehouse, head frame, the infirmary, and several homes.
Two small lakes created
by the dam remain shining blue against the
mountains and surrounded by sifting sands created from the many
tailings of the area. It’s a beach oasis in the middle of the desert.
Across the sand dunes is an old cemetery.
The hill behind the
warehouse is unsafe for hiking, as it is filled with collapsing mining
shafts below the ground. During the mining heyday, the main shaft
extended down some 700 feet with lateral bores heading out some 2,000
feet at various depths. Over the years, water erosion has added to the
instability and large cave-ins have occurred across the mountainside.
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