Description

Interior view of machinery and tooling in one of the mines owned by the Bannie Gold and Copper Mining Company, circa 1920. These mines were situated in the Walker Mining District, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory. They were approximately eleven miles by wagon train to the east of the city of Prescott. Spring Creek, a branch off Lynx Creek, passed through the property. Nearby mines included the Mudhole, McCabe, Gladstone, Henrietta, Dividend and many other smaller workings. The Bannie Mine Group holdings consisted of eight large claims and two smaller fractions.

Activities at these mines were their busiest starting in the early 1900’s, most especially in the 1920’s and 30’s. The elevation at the top of the winze (a vertical or steeply inclined mine shaft dug or drilled downward and connecting to a lower shaft) on Spring Creek was 6650 feet above sea level. The mine was dug to a depth of 1600 feet, and claims comprised more than 365 acres, before it was closed in the 1940’s. All the buildings and machinery were since removed.

The most notable promoter and developer of these mines was Robert M. Garrett, his name was synonymous with Bannie Gold and Copper Mining Company. Garrett, who came to Prescott, Arizona in 1889, was of African American descent, and one of the first of his kind to settle in the area. He was treasurer, then general manager, and finally head shareholder of the Group. Robert Garrett also owned and operated a successful barbershop business in Prescott, and held numerous real estate properties in both Prescott and San Francisco, California. He died on September 22, 1948 in Prescott, Arizona.