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Show 2 - DUBIOUS TIMES - AUGUST 15, 1998 HISTORY FROM THE CASTLE VALLEY AREA MINER’S BASIN—GHOST TOWN connection with this, Bob Thomson put in a stamp mill which crushed rocks. At first the miners loaded their ore onto pack burros and took it to the mill. From the mines to the mill was a difficult journey for the burros because of snow. Finally Henry and Ed Wolf began hauling the ore to the mill on a sled. At the mill they crushed the rocks, then ran water over the crushed rocks so that any gold would settle at the Switchbacking up the side of a steep tree-covered mountain is a road that leads to a valley of lush meadows, pine trees. and wild berries. A sparkling cold mountain stream completes the scene. A little further along the road, log cabins betray the presence of man. The first prospectors to venture into Miner’s Basin were Matt and John Martin, Joseph Burkholder, a Mr. Malloy, and Guss Manville. These men soon left to settle elsewhere in the county. The first miners to locate in the basin were Edd Bee Bush, Harry Turner, Murner Fowler, George Hepburn, and William Price. Pappy Loutsenhizer, better known as Pappy Lout, and Sam McGrew came over the mountains from Montrose, Colorado, to Mr. Fish’s ranch in Castle Valley, inquiring about the way to Miner’s Basin. They were duly directed. These men stayed and others came. In 1898 they built about twenty cabins. Several families moved in, including Byron Davis, Sam McCormic, Guss Schmelzer, a Mr. Lotzhauzer and his daughter May, Giddon Propper, Clark Akers, two Dillion brothers, and Fred McCoy. Sam McGrew ran the saloon. He was blind. Sometimes the miners tried to take advantage of his blindness and shortchange him. However, they never sucweded. He could tell by the feel of the money. One history tells that he wasn’t very good to his wife. She took revenge by hitting him with a heavy cream pitcher, almost knocking him out. Everyone agreed that he deserved it. A family by the name of Fays owned the hotel and boardinghouse where dances were held. Mart Fish played the bottom of the mill’s equipment. The miners then collected it and sold the gold. The miners worked for wages outside the Basin all winter, as it was too cold and the snow too deep in Miner’s Basin. They used the winter's wages for a grubstake during the summer in order to do more prospecting. None of the prospectors found enough ore to pay them to stay. It was all low grade. The work in the mines was called development work. In 1898 a man was killed by a falling rock in the High Ore Mine. Fred McCoy was also killed in the mine by a missed dynamite shot. Harry Turner and Ed Bee Bush made a tlmnel and hit water. It froze so hard one winter that the tunnel was nearly packed to the top with ice. It became known as the ice tunnel. Ranchers on the Mesa made good use of it. Every summer they made several trips with pack outfits to get ice for picnics and domestic use. Eventually everyone drifted away from Miner’s Basin. For years sheepherders, cowboys, and an occasional rancher were the only ones to go into the high mountain basin. Sometimes the Indians would go through on hunting trips. In 1929 Gordon Fowler came to prospect and develop. In June 1946 he put a crew of men to work. With the aid of the county, he built a road into the Basin. There were several families staying there at that time. Mr. Fowler spent the rest of his life there. Since 1946 people have come, stayed through the summer, and left. Over the years a large number of geologists came to inspect the mining property. Cypress Mines spent three summers in the Basin prospecting and banjo and Pappy Davis played the violin. Mrs. Bob Thom- son and her brother, Allen Price, would step dance. Mail collection and delivery was a problem. The route stopped at Castleton, so a group of miners hired Tom Parriott to carry the mail from Castleton to the Basin. He delivered the mail to Ged Propper, who then distributed it among the settlers. After Gid, May Lotzhauzer took over the job, and finally the Fays. Then in 1904 a mail route was established by the issuance of a government contract to Fletcher Hammond. Mrs. Sam McGrew was the Basin’s first real postmaster. Life was informal. In 1906 Postmaster G R. Proper appointed E. H. Wolf to serve his post while he spent the winter in Grand Junction. That same year Lucy Burr operated an eating house, collected subscriptions to the Times, and wrote news about the town. One Fourth of July when the Basin was really booming, some Moab and Castleton people packed their lunches and went to the Basin to spend the day. They were in their summer clothes. Before the day was over they all wished for their coats. It snowed enough to come to the top of the ladies’ oxfords. As evidenced by the name of the little village, mining was th most prevalent occupation of the residents. In mining. They finally cancelled their lease in 1971. William Conner and his wife spend summers in the Basin doing assessment work and taking care of teh property. They live in a cabin that was built in 1898. It has been lived in continuously since that time, although repairs have been made to the cabin. It presently has its third roof. For the first time since 1946, the beautiful Basin presently has a winter resident (1971-1972) —Bob Sherman. Mr. and Mrs. Conner visit him twice a month and take him supplies. Their transportation is the increasingly popular snowmobile. (This historical material is reprinted with the permission of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. from their book, Grand Memories.) Castle Valley Times The Castle Valley Times is available at cost for those who wish to receive it. The printing and mailing costs are just covered by the $10 per year requested. Other incidental expenses incurred in getting out the CV Times have been covered by donations. If you would like to receive the Castle Valley Times, please contact Jack Campbell at (435) 259— 5115 or write to Castle Valley Times, HC 64 Box 1903, Castle Valley, UT 84532. |
