Observant travelers heading east out of Silverton on the Alpine Loop might spot a large wooden building high on the west slope of Galena Mountain, as they approach the old mill site of Howardsville. It is an astonishing sight— the structure appears to impossibly cling to a sheer and inaccessible cliff, near the top of the mountain. This is the Old Hundred Mine's upper boarding house and tram house, built in 1904, which can still be reached via the original trail.
History
The Old Hundred Mine's long and checkered history began in the early 1870s with the arrival of the first prospectors in Cunningham Gulch. In 1872, the German immigrant Niegold brothers (Reinhardt, Gustave, Otto, and half-brother Oscar Roedel) filed their first claim on Galena Mountain at an elevation of almost 13,000 feet. The outcropping they discovered contained gold, silver, galena (lead sulfide), and chalcopyrite (copper). This vein, which was referred to as the Seven Vein, eventually proved to be the richest on the mountain. The brothers also filed several claims on adjacent Green Mountain, leading to discoveries of rich silver ore at their Philadelphia Mine. While concentrating most of their mining efforts on Green Mountain, they continued to prospect and file claims on Galena Mountain.
In 1876 the Niegold brothers established a small community near Stony Creek, which they appropriately named Niegoldstown. They became well-known for their hospitality to friends, neighbors, and travelers arriving from Stony Pass on their way to the area's mines. Their free-spending ways, as well as high costs and the inevitable decline of good ore in their mines, caught up with them by the end of the decade. Facing bankruptcy and the loss of their Green Mountain mines, they founded a new corporation in 1880, which would focus on their Galena Mountain holdings.
Their newly-formed Midland Mining Company continued to work the brothers' holdings high on Galena Mountain during the next five years, while opening new tunnels on the Five Vein lower on the mountain. While the late 1880s saw little activity, the company made occasional small ore shipments, and continued prospecting and filing new claims. One such claim filed in 1898 was named the "Old Hundred", presumably named for the Bible's "Old One Hundredth" psalm.
By the late 1890s, the Niegold brothers had laid claim to a continuous section of Galena Mountain, stretching from its base to near the summit. Lacking the capital to properly develop such a large property, they began to search for a well-funded buyer. An investment group agreed to purchase all of the Niegold holdings in 1899, but the deal fell through within a year. Serious development finally began in 1904, when the newly-organized Old Hundred Mining Company acquired everything. The company invested an enormous amount of capital to develop the new operation, building a 40-stamp mill at the base of the mountain, three trams, three boarding houses, and constructing miles of trails.
L: Five-Level Mine Buildings. R: Seven-Level Boarding House and Tram House in 1904. Photos courtesy of the San Juan County Historical Society. Used with permission.
The lowest tram climbed 670 feet from the mill to the Number Two Level tunnel at a 30° angle. From there, a second Bleichart jig-back tram climbed 530 feet to the Number Five Level, where a large boarding house, tram station, and blacksmith shop perched on the side of the mountain. Finally, a third Bleichart tram climbed at a 40° angle up to the Number Seven Level tunnel at an elevation of 12,300 feet.
Platforms for the Seven-Level boarding house and tram house had to be blasted out of the steep cliffs. There was little room to spare— the tram house sits just feet from the portal of the adit. The two-story boarding house was designed to allow year-round mining operations. The ground floor contained a common area with a kitchen and dining room, as well as a vertiginous balcony overlooking Cunningham Gulch. Upstairs were 24 bunks, as well as a small foreman's bedroom.
With all the infrastructure in place, the Old Hundred Mining Company vastly expanded the underground workings on both the Five-Level and the Seven-Level, opening three miles of new drifts and raises by 1908. They also began work on a planned 4000-foot tunnel down at the Mill-Level (10,000 feet elevation), which would eventually connect to the upper levels. However, it became increasingly apparent that the low quality of most of the ore would not cover the high costs of building and running the mine, and the company ceased all operations by late 1908. Investors had contributed over one million dollars for a total return of just half that.
Several more attempts to extract wealth from Galena Mountain occurred over the subsequent years, none of them any more successful. The Dresser Mining Company acquired the property for back taxes in 1928, but financial difficulties as well as the death of the owner ended that venture within two years. Another new corporation, the Old Hundred Gold Mining Company, took over in 1935. Poor ore quality, high costs, and damaging avalanches took a heavy toll, with the last ore shipping a year later. The owners continued to maintain the mine for several more years, in hopes that higher-grade ore could still be discovered. A company survey crew lived in the Seven-Level boarding house during the summer of 1937, the last time it was to be occupied. Intermittent attempts to re-open the mine continued until 1952, after which the mine lay dormant for fifteen years. The next attempt was made by the Dixilyn Mining Corporation, which signed a lease/option for the mine in 1967. They invested heavily in the mine, drilling over two miles of new tunnels, including extending the Mill-Level tunnel to almost 4000 feet. That enterprise ended in a 1975 bankruptcy, with a total loss of $6 million. One short-lived final attempt to cash in was made in 1981 by the Asamera Minerals Corporation, but they too discovered that any valuable ore had long since been taken.
Today, much of the Old Hundred Mine infrastructure that was built over the decades is gone, the victim of avalanches, fire, and salvage operations. However, two important components can still be visited, thanks to the dedication of many local volunteers and benefactors: the Seven-Level Boarding House/Tram House, and the Mill-Level Tunnel. A trip to the Boarding House requires a strenuous hike, but the highly-recommended Mill-Level Tunnel Tour is easy and family-friendly.
In 1992, local mine contractor Jim Melcher and a group of investors leased and rehabilitated the Mill-Level Tunnel near the floor of Cunningham Gulch. Visitors can now ride an electric mine train 1,600 feet into the mountain, where former miners explain the workings of the mine and even demonstrate mining equipment. The tours operate from May until September; see https://minetour.com/ for details.
It is a small miracle that the Seven-Level Boarding House still exists today. Heavy snowfall in 1983 caved in the roof, and the Tram House was not in much better shape. Both structures were in danger of collapsing down the mountainside. In 1998, the Old Hundred Mining Company, the San Juan County Historical Society, the State Historical Society of Colorado, the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology, and the BLM, as well as many dedicated volunteers, combined to mount an audacious rescue operation. Supplies were helicoptered in (no easy feat!) and some very brave builders rebuilt the roofs on both buildings and repaired the considerable damage. The San Juan County Historical Society has produced an outstanding documentary on this amazing project, which is available on YouTube. A link to the video (“Castle in the Clouds”) is at the bottom of this page.
We would like to extend special thanks to the San Juan County Historical Society, for their important work preserving the Old Hundred Boarding House, as well as many other historical sites in the Silverton area. Thanks also to SJCHS Archivist Casey Carroll, for providing historical photos.
For the definitive history of the Old Hundred Mine, read Ghosts and Gold— The History of the Old Hundred Mine by local author, geologist, miner, and business owner Scott Fetchenhier.
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