A woman smiles as she sits on a piece of board placed across the wooden beams of a mine structure east of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1890s. She wears a straw boater style hat, high collared shirtwaist, and ankle length skirt with matching jacket. The jacket has a button front and puffed sleeves. The snowy peaks of the Tenmile Range in the background.
UnidentifiedHydraulic mining operations at Bemrose Placer on Hoosier Pass, south of Breckenridge, Colorado. The crew stands by as the hydraulic pipe with high pressure nozzle, called a "Giant", forcefully directs water at the gold-bearing hillside. Water rushes over the gulch and through the gravel pit. Circa 1900s.
UnidentifiedTwo Bucyrus dredges, the Colorado I (right) and Colorado II (left), in the Swan River Valley at Valdora, north of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa April 1908. The Colorado I dredged down the Swan River and turned up the Blue River, where it broke down in 1910 and sat idle until 1914. It operated on and off on the Blue River from 1914-1942. The Colorado II went up the Swan River where it operated continuously until 1919. In 1914, both dredges were purchased by the Tonopah Placers Company and renamed Tonopah No. 1 and Tonopah No. 2.
Westerman, OttoThe Evans hydraulic elevator system at the the Gold Pan Mining Company south of Breckenridge, Colorado, with a view of the elevated trestle and sluice. Tailings were hauled up the elevated wooden trestle by ore trolley and dumped over the edge, away from the Blue River and Gold Pan excavating pit. The sluice was used to collect potential gold-bearing dirt and gravel. Mine buildings in the background, with a view of Barney Ford Hill. Circa early 1900s.
UnidentifiedThe elevated wooden scaffold at the Gold Pan Mining Company in Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s. Far left, a sluiceway with a rubber conveyor belt moved rocks from the gold excavating pit and into an ore trolley. The trolley moved up the elevated wooden scaffold and dumped the rocks over the edge, eventually creating a massive tailings pile. The Gold Pan Mine operations nearly reached the buildings and houses on the southern edge of town. Tenmile Range in the background; the Colorado and Southern (C&S) Railway tracks are in the foreground.
UnidentifiedEvans elevator system and excavation pit at the Gold Pan Mining Company just south of Breckenridge, Colorado. Water diverted from the Blue River was forced under tremendous pressure down one pipe into the pit. A second pipe hydraulically lifted rocks, dirt, water and potential gold to the elevated trestle and sluice. Tailings were moved by conveyor belt into an ore trolley; the trolley hauled the rocks up the elevated wooden trestle and dumped them over the edge, away from the pit. In the background are houses on Ridge Street. Circa early 1900s.
UnidentifiedThe Evans elevator system and excavation pit under construction, on the Swan River at Galena Gulch near Breckenridge, Colorado. On the left is a wooden tramway tower and cableway. Circa 1900s.
UnidentifiedA gold dredge operating in the snow, probably near Breckenridge, Colorado. Along the dredging route are snow-covered boulder and rock piles. Snowy mountains in the background.
UnidentifiedEvans elevator system at the Gold Pan Mining Company operations south of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s. Water diverted from the Blue River was forced under tremendous pressure down one pipe into the pit. A second pipe hydraulically lifted rocks, dirt, water and potential gold to the elevated trestle and sluice. Tailings were moved by conveyor belt into an ore trolley; the trolley hauled the rocks up the elevated wooden trestle and dumped them over the edge, away from the pit. In the background are the Gold Pan Shops, including the pipe making shop and dipping tank; machine, blacksmith and carpenter shop; and pipe flanging and shearing shop. Also, the Gold Pan office building with dormer windows. Barney Ford Hill is in view, with Illinois Gulch to the southeast.
UnidentifiedGold Pan Mining Company operations at the southern outskirts of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s. A sluiceway with a rubber conveyor belt moved rocks from the gold excavating pit and into an ore trolley. The trolley moved up the elevated wooden scaffold and dumped the rocks over the edge, eventually creating a massive tailings pile. The Colorado and Southern Railway (C&S) tracks ran under the conveyor system and crossed a trestle to the west side of the Blue River. In the foreground is a wood frame house with a square bay window, facing east. A rail fence borders the property. Tenmile Range in the background.
UnidentifiedView of the Great Flume in American Gulch, located on Farncomb Hill near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1896. The mill, originally built for the Victoria Gold Mining Company in 1887, is in view on the steep hillside.
UnidentifiedPhotograph taken by Otto Westerman for the Wapiti Mining Company circa 1896. Shows the view of the Great Flume on Farncomb Hill above American Gulch, six miles east of Breckenridge, Colorado. The buildings of Dog Town can be seen below. This area was known for its crystallized gold.
Westerman, OttoHydraulic mining at Gold Run Placer on Gibson Hill, near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s. Men from the pit crew stand by while a "Giant" (a high pressure nozzle fitted on a hydraulic pipe) directs a powerful jet of water towards the base of a gravel bank.
UnidentifiedKingsbury (later called Banner) Placer hydraulic mining operations in Iowa Gulch near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s. On the bank above are wooden buildings and log cabins surrounded by piles of stacked logs. A buck and rail (or buck and pole) livestock fence climbs the hillside next to a split rail fence corral.
UnidentifiedHydraulic mining operations at Indiana Gulch, southeast of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1934. Water streams down the gulch, where below men are shoveling to remove rocks and debris. The gulch bed is strewn with river rock and boulders.
UnidentifiedHydraulic mining operations at Indiana Gulch, southeast of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1934. A forceful stream of water jets from a high pressure nozzle fitted on a hydraulic pipe (called a "Giant") and into a wide gulch strewn with log debris.
UnidentifiedHydraulic mining at Kingsbury Placer (later called Banner Placer) in Iowa Gulch, northwest of Breckenridge, Colorado. Men stand by as a hydraulic pipe with high pressure nozzle, called a "Giant", forcefully directs water at the hillside. A wooden sluice carries water above piles of discarded rock and small tree branches.
Westerman, OttoMen stand on the engine and processing house or behind the bucket line of the Reliance dredge after renovations. Circa 1909. At French Gulch east of Breckenridge, Colorado. The Reliance, built under Ben Stanley Revett and the Reliance Gold Dredging Company, started operations in 1905. By 1906 it was working between the Wellington and Country Boy Mines in French Gulch. It changed over from steam to electric power in 1908.
Westerman, OttoMen stand on the engine and processing house, or sit on the platform below, of the Reliance dredge after renovations. Circa 1909 at French Gulch east of Breckenridge, Colorado. The Reliance, built under Ben Stanley Revett and the Reliance Gold Dredging Company, started operations in 1905. By 1906 it was working between the Wellington and Country Boy Mines in French Gulch. It changed over from steam to electric power in 1908.
Westerman, OttoCompany manager George H. Evans (left) and shops superintendent Robert "Bob" Gore (right) stand beside the water diversion headgate run by the Gold Pan Mining Company, south of Breckenridge, Colorado. An unidentified man stands on top of the wooden frame. The nearly four mile long Gold Pan Ditch and connecting pipeline brought water from Indiana Gulch, Pennsylvania Gulch, and the Blue River, to operate the Evans hydraulic elevator system. Circa 1900s.
Unidentified