Flatiron, South Dakota Yellow Creek | |
|---|---|
  Flatiron Location of Flatiron in South Dakota. | |
| Coordinates: 44°19′35″N103°46′07″W / 44.3263733°N 103.7685318°W [1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| County | Lawrence County |
| Elevation | 5,436 ft (1,657 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
Flatiron, formerly known as Yellow Creek or Flat Iron City, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was known for its highly successful gold mining.
As people began to move into the Black Hills, several cabins sprang up around Yellow Creek in the Black Hills. In 1894, the town began to be staked out, but was not yet fully founded; when the area boomed around May 1896, a series of large buildings and small cabins, including a two-story boarding house, were built. Flatiron was first advertised on a billboard as Flat Iron City. Freshwater springs were located nearby, and a well was dug. [2] Eventually, it became known as Yellow Creek, and then again as Flatiron.
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad ran through Flatiron, and the town was home to the Wasp No. 2 Mine, which was founded in the 1890s. This open-pit mine was known for its gold. The first few attempts to mine the area were slow until a new general manager, John Gray, took over direction. The mine was then able to employ the use of explosives to extend the mine and break up the ore. Usually, 5,000 to 6,000 tons of ore were broken up at a time using about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of powder. The ore was very low-grade, but was found in large deposits. The ore was hauled from the site using the company railroad and was pushed through the cyanide mill using gravity. The gold ore sold for US$1.6 a ton, which was a huge accomplishment at the time. The Little Blue Mine to the north became just as successful for producing gold and flux. The main railroad was eventually extended to the mill; however, the grade was so steep that the cars had to be hauled up by a winch. Two separate railroad lines ran through the town. One began and ended in the town, while the other lead into the town. The finely-ground tailings were used as fill and ballast in the form of sand. [3]
The town prospered because of the mine. Shortly after its founding, it had one dozen homes. [2] By 1915, it had about 30 buildings, including a school, several large mills, many stores, and a post office. [4] The tailings covered one side of a nearby large valley. In 1927, a powerful flood resulting from heavy rain caused this accumulated tailings to slump. The railroad, train, and engine were buried under several feet of sand, killing the engineer in the process. The tracks were not uncovered until around 1974, when Lead and Deadwood, two neighboring towns, began to use the tailings to sand icy roads during winter. The mines eventually shut down and the town was completely abandoned. More than 80% of the town has sunk into the caving tunnels below, and the rest are only foundations. [3]
Flatiron is located in the Black Hills of east-central Lawrence County. It is approximately two miles (3.2 km) south of Lead. The town itself is built on the side of a hill and near a large valley. To the north is the abandoned Little Blue Mine. [3]
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada, which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after American miner Henry Comstock.
The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in Western Hemisphere. The mine produced more than forty million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime. This is about 2,500 cubic feet (71 m3) or a volume of gold roughly equal to 18,677 US gallons.
The Idarado Mine was a mining operation in the San Juan Mountains of Ouray County, Colorado near the now-ghost town of Guston, producing primarily lead, zinc and silver along with small amounts of gold and copper. The mine is within the Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride mining district. The remains of the operation are visible from the Million Dollar Highway, north of Red Mountain Pass, between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado. The tunnels of the Idarado extend some 5 miles (8 km) west under 13,000 foot mountains to the Pandora Mill near Telluride, a trip of more than 60 miles (100 km) by highway.
The Black Hills gold rush took place in Dakota Territory in the United States. It began in 1874 following the Custer Expedition and reached a peak in 1876–77.
Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver mines in the surrounding mountains. The "Little Fannie" mine became the most important employer for the town. During the 1890s, Mogollon had a transient population of between 3,000 and 6,000 miners. Because of its isolation, it had a reputation as one of the wildest mining towns in the West. Today Mogollon is listed as Fannie Hill Mill and Company Town Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rochester was a silver-mining town in Pershing County, Nevada, USA, approximately 110 mi (180 km) east of Reno. It is now a ghost town. Lower Rochester is still accessible to visitors, but was largely destroyed by a wildfire in 2012; Upper Rochester has been buried under mine tailings of the more recent Coeur Rochester open pit mine.
Mill City is a former settlement in Mono County, California. It was located 8.5 miles (14 km) west-northwest of Mount Morrison and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southwest of Old Mammoth, at an elevation of 8320 feet.
Gold Trails and Ghost Towns is a Canadian historical documentary show, created and produced by television station CHBC-TV in Kelowna, British Columbia for Canadian syndication and hosted by Mike Roberts with historian/storyteller Bill Barlee. The show was filmed in a studio which resembled an old trapper's cabin. Mike and Bill discussed prospectors and the history of British Columbia around 1900.
Carbonate, also known as Carbonate Camp, West Virginia, Virginia, and Carbonate City, is a ghost town located in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States.
Cambria (1889–1928) is a ghost town located in the Black Hills of Weston County, Wyoming, United States. It was a successful coal mining town for decades.
Tinton is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1876, it started out as a gold mining camp and later began to produce tin. It had a heavy decline in the early 20th century due to the decline in the mining industry, and the town was fully abandoned by the 1950s.
Etta, also known as Etta Camp and Etta Mine, is a ghost town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It was a successful mining town, known for its discovery of the largest spodumene crystal ever found.
Maitland, originally called Garden City and sometimes misspelled Midland, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was a mining community that boomed during the Black Hills Gold Rush, but was abandoned by about 1915.
Rochford is an unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Roubaix, formerly known as Perry or Lewisville, is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is not monitored by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nahant or West Nahant is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It flourished as a logging and, to a lesser extent, mining town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Galena is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is often considered to be a ghost town, even though a few families still live in the area. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Novak, also known as Cindell Spur, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was an early mining camp.
The Cripple Creek Gold Rush was a period of gold production in the Cripple Creek area from the late 1800s until the early 1900s. Mining exchanges were in Cripple Creek, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Victor. Smelting was in Gillett, Florence, and (Old) Colorado City. Mining communities sprang up quickly, but most lasted only as long as gold continued to be produced. Settlements included:
Manchester was a mining town in the Los Burros Mining District in the southern Big Sur region of Monterey County, California from about 1875 to 1895. The town was reached by a 20 miles (32 km) road from King City to Jolon. From Jolon travelers could ride or take a stage or wagon to the Wagon Caves, followed by a difficult 14 miles (23 km) trail over the steep Santa Lucia Mountains to the site, about 4 miles (6.4 km) inland of Cape San Martin. Prospecting began in the area in the 1850s.
Municipalities and communities of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Township | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||