Description

Congress Mine, Martinez mining district, Yavapai County, Congress, Arizona Territory.

Although prospecting in the Congress area originated in the 1860's, production at the Congress mine soared in the 1890's with the arrival of the railroad just a few miles away at Congress Junction. The junction served as as a jumping-off point for the surrounding mines and was the terminus of the Congress railroad. New investors poured money into the mine's infrastructure.

The Congress mine, also nicknamed “Queen of the Hills,” became for a time one of Arizona's largest gold producers. An article in the December 22, 1897 edition of the Arizona Weekly Journal Miner boasted: “A visit to the Congress Mine would convince the most skeptical of the mineral resources of the southern part of the county. The pay roll at Congress embodies 425 men and this number is regularly employed. The present mines have plenty of gold in sight…” A population of 2000 supported a number of saloons, stores, theatres, schools and professional offices.

By 1902, the area's mining operations consisted of two 40-stamp mills, large roasting furnaces, and a cyanide plant that produced concentrates that were sent to distant smelters. During the 1950’s, after the mine shut down, the town didn't last long and the post office was moved to the railroad hub at Congress Junction. Leasers perodically worked the many tailings for the next thirty years. Scant traces of wooden buildings, foundations and numerous huge white and pink tailings' dumps remain. Today, the town known as "Congress" is actually old Congress Junction, and little remains of the original town site.