The Tucson Gold Rush of the 1880s
During the Arizona gold rush of the 1880s,
numerous newspaper accounts described the "gold bearing quartz" found in
the mountains north of Tucson that helped spark the rush.
The Santa Catalina mountains had been
extensively mined for copper, silver and gold by some of Tucson's
community leaders of the 1900s, like E.O. Stratton, Sheriff Bob
Leatherwood. Even William "Buffalo Bill" Cody invested and explored the
mines in search of precious minerals.
Prospectors and wealthy industrialists staked
multiple mining camps and hauled out thousands of pounds of gold from
the hills well before Arizona became a state in 1912. This gold,
encrusted in quartz, was not far from the legendary lost mine.
Gold placering sites in the Catalinas had a
reported production as much as 1,000 ounces of gold from 1904 to 1949.
One jewlery grade nugget found weighed over 6 ounces.
In 1982, a reported 230 oz of gold was recovered
in a resource assessment test on "placer gravels allegedly near
200-year-old placer sites of the Spaniards.
Gold mining the Santa Catalina Mountains still
has some lucrative prospects, according to a mining assessment report
published by the US Bureau of Mines in 1994.
Is there any gold left?
Some prospectors and gold hunting groups insist
that the patient hobbyist, or entrepreneur can recover some gold, mostly
in the form of flakes and occasional nugget. There are some claims that
plenty of gold is still available if properly mined.
Recently mining operations has been revived on the Oracle Ridge by Gold Hawk Resources, a Canadian mining company.
A lost city, lost mines and buried treasure
While American mining ventures have been
extracting as much of the gold and copper it could from the Catalina
mountains for over a century, there are still some spots that haven't
been explored in a long, long time.
The lost mine and the lost city are among the
most well known legends. Somewhere deep inside the basin of that
mountain range, some of those great treasures may still be hidden,
according to legends. Read about the Lost Mine in the Catalinas.
The Treasures in the Catalinas
The real treasure is what the Spaniards supposedly hidden, or took with them, when and what's left in those mountains.
This is where the legend of the treasure in the
Santa Catalina begins. These are the stories, histories and legends of
one of the biggest secrets in Southern Arizona- Arizona's rush for gold.
Discover the history of Arizona's rush for gold
through old newspaper articles and personal accounts recorded from
pioneers who helped spark Arizona's golden treasures. Discover more Treasures of the Santa Catalinas.
The Santa Catalina Mountains
The Santa Catalina Mountains
rises north of Tucson, Arizona. Its peak near Mt. Lemmon reaches over
9,000 feet above sea level. This earns its name as a "sky island" as it
juts out in the middle of the Sonoran desert. The Catalina mountains are
also the source of lost treasure legends and a long, documented history
of gold and precious metal mining for centuries.
The history of habitation of the Tucson
basin spans over ten thousand years. Ancient canals and artifacts
provide the evidence of Tucson being the longest inhabited
"civilization" in the North America.
The majesty of the sky island mountain range
has lured foreigners and native residents of the dusty desert valley to
the towering pines of the Santa Catalinas.
Today, the road to Mt. Lemmon
provides a quick way to get to the top of the Santa Catalinas within a
hour. Flowing out of the north end of the Catalinas is the Cañada del
Oro (Canyon of Gold or gold gulch), a now dry riverbed that once had
year round running water.
Local Books on Tucson's History
The Entertainment Magazine, in conjunction with BZB Publishins (the publisher of EMOL.org and the Entertainment Magazine) is producing print and digital books
for the public. Copies are available through Amazon.com and other
retailers. Read sample chapters of the following new releases:
Authors: This research project
is conducted by the following Tucson, Arizona residents fascinated with
the history and legends of the Old West. Robert Zucker is available as
speakers for groups and events.
Robert E. Zucker, a Tucson, Arizona native, author, former journalism instructor and newspaper publisher, is the CEO of the Entertainment Magazine network and publisher of AZentertain.com. Robert has researched and explored the Santa Catalina Mountains for decades. Contact Robert at email publisher@emol.org.
William "Flint" Carter
is a local miner who has been prospecting the Santa Catalinas and
surrounding areas for decades. Flint Carter has held dozens of mining
claims and has been in pursuit of the lure of the legends for over 40
years. Flint Carter passed away in December 2018.
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