Though various types of mines have existed across the nation, almost from
the very discovery of America, those in the
American
West, are and were, the
most plentiful and the history they've left in their wakes, is of romance,
fortunes made and lost, hardships, greed,
Indian Wars, and numerous crusty
old
ghost towns.
From the beginning, America presented an image of golden wealth, and that
image has never been lacking to the rest of the world. A key factor in
shaping the national character of this country, the discovery of gold and
other precious metals in the
American
West accelerated western expansion,
beginning with the
California Gold
Rush
in 1848.
After the discovery go gold in
California,
which clearly showed how rich the strikes could be, more prospectors
by the thousands headed west to explore every promising region in
their search for wealth. To these many adventurers, no mountain was
too high to climb, no canyon to precarious to descend, and no river
too difficult to cross. They were a determined lot.
Though there was never another find that was as large as that of
California, there were numerous others that led prospectors by the
thousands to the west, sure that they would find their fortune. in
1859, gold was found near Denver,
Colorado and the Comstock Lode was
developed in
Nevada. In the 1860s, precious minerals were found in eastern
Oregon,
Montana and
Idaho. In the 1870's, more strikes were made in
the Black Hills of
South Dakota and in
Tombstone,
Arizona. Other finds led
to boom camps in the Coeur d'Alene region in
Idaho in 1883 and the
Klondike Gold Rush in 1898.
Many states in the
American
West
were originally settled primarily by prospectors and miners, including
Nevada,
Colorado, Idaho,
Arizona,
Montana,
North Dakota,
South Dakota and
Alaska. Though, these states and others had been traveled by explorers,
trappers, and traders, there were far more miners than those other
fearless pioneers. These states' histories are intimately tied to
mining activities and many became territories and attained state status
because of the mining activities. .
The early attention paid to mining, focused on gold and silver
discoveries. However, later, discoveries of industrial minerals like coal, copper, iron, oil and gas, stimulated new
and continued growth of settlements in the west.
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