By Ed T. Nesdill

Last week, Part I dealt with the 1884 homestead claim of Frederich Barth, (today known as Ponderosa Park) and some of the many owners of the divided property down through the years. Part II, presented here, tells the geology and some of the mining history of the area.

The Geology of the Ponderosa Park area is very interesting and complex. In summary, the Ponderosa Park area is composed of Proterozoic (Precambrian) "undifferentiated granites and schists". Located between the Chaparral Shear Zone on the south and the Mesa Butte Shear Zone on the north, there are light-colored granites (aplite to granidorite), diorite, gabbro, gneiss, schist, metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. On one tributary to Indian Creek to the east, over 15 different types of granite and metamorphic rocks can be found. These rocks were metamorphosed (altered by heat under tremendous pressure) about 1.75 to 1.8 billion years ago. The rocks themselves are older, in the order of 2.0 billion years. Considerable detail of the geology of the area is available in hard-to-find books by Waldemar Lingren and Charles Dunning.

Because the Ruth Mine is adjacent to Ponderosa Park to the south and there seems to be considerable misinformation as to Ponderosa Park originating out of the Ruth Mine property, a little information on its status and history is presented here. The original mining claim was patented in January 1899, under Mineral Survey #1264. Earliest reports on the Ruth Mine appear in the Prescott Journal Miner in 1911. This report states that ‘work will resume after some shutdown’ so we can assume that the mine was in operation prior to that time. The Ruth was reported as a gold mine and was producing 40 tons of ore a day worth $17 to $20 per ton of gold and silver. (The value of gold at that time was approximately $20 per ounce.) A tunnel was constructed at that time and extended 500 ft. to connect to surface shafts #1 and #2 at the 100 ft. level. The tunnel and tailings just to the south of the Ponderosa Park Subdivision boundary is on a separate claim and is believed to be a "Tunnel Site" or "Mill Site." The original patented load claim is located to the south, up over the hill from this tunnel and/or mill site. It is privately owned and is posted against trespassing.

A mill was planned to run on power brought in from Kingman. In 1912, the Ruth Mine was owned and operated by J. R. Slack and J. I. Gardner, but was listed at that time as a lead and zinc producer, rather than gold and/or silver.

(As a side note, the Miner had an article next to the story on the Ruth Mine that reported a Mr. Grahgam Reibling on June 4, 1912, driving an EMF automobile from Prescott to Phoenix, set a new record for the 140-mile route in 9 hours and 20 minutes. It is believed that this route went out through Iron Springs, Skull Valley and down through Wickenburg and was a graded wagon road at best.)

During World War I (1914 to 1918), operations at the mine continued with shafts down to 300 ft. and a 3-shift operation was in progress. The mill was shipping 35 tons a day of high-grade lead-zinc concentrates. In 1916, the mine was sold to a California syndicate and operated by W. S. Welhelm. They had five trucks to haul the ore and they reported that road repair would begin at once (4/21/1916). There are records in Sharlot Hall Museum archives that show production in 1928 and intermittent activity in the 1930′s. Records also show that the equipment located at the mine was sold off in 1942 and 1943. This was when the mine was closed during World War II. The owner, H. E. Ludwick, of 2525 Firestone Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, subsequently sold the equipment. There is some evidence that the mine was operated for gold content before the war but further investigation is needed. It also appears that attempts to reopen the mine after the war were made but flooding and rapidly escalating costs could not make it pay.

(As another side note, in 1918, The United Chino Oil and Refining Co. claimed that there was proven oil in Chino Valley and that there was only 300,000 shares left at 5 cents a share ($15,000 value). The shares could be purchased at their operating headquarters listed as "Lobby, Head Hotel".)

As reported in the Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Bulletin No. 137, W. Lindgren describes the Ruth Mine as a vein "occuring in Bradshaw granite which, near the walls, is schistose, soft, probably sericitized, and impregnated with tourmaline and pyrite. The vein dips steeply eastward. It consists of coarse-grained milky quartz, with narrow seams of pyrite, anchorite, and tourmaline. Pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite occur as irregular bunches and streaks in the quartz".

The Silver Flake is another interesting mine located about two and a half miles from Ponderosa Park by way of the Maripai Road (out of Groom Creek) or by a one-mile hike due east of the subdivision. Records go back to 1876 with the mine producing gold, silver, lead, zinc and other metals up to the early 1970′s.