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| From Baker County Historical Society |
The Cornucopia Mine group located 12 miles west of Halfway
Oregon in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest was once one of the 6 largest
gold mines in the United States. It ran the longest continually of any mine in
Oregon. It had 36 miles of tunnels with a depth of 3,000 feet.
It’s believed the mines output was $20 million from gold,
silver, lead, and copper.
The mining area began when Lon Simmons one of the first to
discover gold in the early 1880’s. It’s said he hadn’t planted the first stake
of his section before men were all over the side of the mountain looking for
gold.
There were many small mines in the area. The Cornucopia Mine
group was made up of Union-Companion Mine(the biggest), Last Chance, Queen of
the West and Red Jacket.
Last Chance was a pocket mine. Meaning it was a dense accumulation
of ore that was under the surface and down to the bedrock and perhaps in the
bedrock. While the other mines were dredged and drilled.
Union-Companion produced the most and was said to be on the
mother lode. This means it was located on a vein of the ore it produced.
The mines were so remote they used outdated equipment and methods
to extract the ore. Only horses and wagons were used for transportation. The
first few years were a slow process of not only getting the ore out of the ground
but also delivering it to a railroad station. Baker City was the closest and it
was a 3 day trip.
They still used teams of horses to haul the heavy wagons in
the 1920’s. In 1922 electricity came to Cornucopia. With it came a twenty-stamp
mill. The heavy stamps were like huge
1,000 to 2,000 pound hammers which could
crush 60 tons of ore a day.
It wasn’t until the railroad came to Robinette on the Snake
River, electricity and the pneumatic drill that finally had the mines producing
to their fullest potential.
1894 the Union -Companion sold for $800.
1895 it sold for $60,000.
1897 it sold for $200,000.
Later the mine sold for $700,000
In the early 1900’s the Cornucopia mines employed 700 men.
During the years the mines operated the price of gold was
from $20.67 to $35 a troy ounce.
High graders were men who worked at a mine and somehow or
another, nuggets of pure gold found their way into their shirts and boot tops.
Many nationalities worked at the Cornucopia mines. Being as remote as it was the
miners had to create their own fun. They had Saturday night dances. Anyone who
could play an instrument was included in the band ensemble for the dances.
A shift was 10 hours in the mine and 12 in the mill. They
worked 7 days a week, so holidays were well-earned. They celebrated Christmas
and the Fourth of July. Then when Labor Day was recognized as a holiday in
Oregon in 1887 they relished that holiday.
The city ordinance of Cornucopia only allowed saloons to serve beer. But
when there was a holiday it brought in ranchers, townspeople, the miners and
the millworkers. And someone would bring along some “tangle leg”. A mixture of
Pine Creek water and corn squeezins. "It’s said a few drops would turn a
squirrel into a screaming panther."
While I didn’t have any dances or holidays in my book,
Isaac: Letters of Fate, you will find the mining area of Cornucopia. Isaac is a
mine guard at the Union-Companion at the start of the story.
Historical western filled with steamy
romance and the rawness of a growing country.
Alamayda Wagner’s life has left her
cynical, but also vigilant, and that’s what propels her to Cornucopia, Oregon
to uncover the secrets her father took to his grave. She quickly discovers her
only hope includes trusting Isaac Corum. That soon proves to be expensive, and
not just financially.
The last thing Isaac Corum needs or wants is a snooty
woman telling him he didn’t do enough to save her father, which is what
her letter implied. He’d helped the man more than most people would have, and
swears he won’t go out of his way like that again. He’ll meet her at the Baker
City train station, deliver her father’s belongings, and send her back the way
she came.
universal buy link: https://www.books2read.com/u/mVBAjl
Paty Jager is an
award-winning author of 32 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder
mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American
elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what readers have to say about the Letters of
Fate series- “...filled with romance, adventure and twists and turns.” “What a
refreshing and well written love story of fate and hope!”
I used the book Oregon's Golden Years by Miles F. Potter for all the information for this post.
