Part one of a two-part interview with Rich Skovlin conducted 2018-09-10. Skovlin was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where he developed a love for mining history and small mountain towns.
Sem títuloView of the town of Breckenridge and snow-covered dredge piles left behind by gold dredging operations. Looking east from Shock Hill, with Bald Mountain in the background.
Sem títuloAbandoned mine structures at the Jessie Mine and Mill site in Gold Run Gulch north of Breckenridge, Colorado. The Jessie operated from 1885 into the 1930s and was one of the largest gold, silver and lead mine and mill complexes in the Breckenridge area.
Sem títuloSnowy landscape in French Gulch, southeast of Breckenridge. In view are snow-covered piles of dredged rock leftover from the two gold dredging boats that worked the gulch from 1898 to 1942.
Sem títuloTitle quoted from handwritten text on the item: "Gold Dredge Tailings of Breckenridge". Near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1966.
Sem títuloTitle quoted from handwritten text on the item: "Wellington Mine Remains at Breckenridge". Shows the Wellington ore bin on the Extenuate (also known as X10U8) mine dump. In French Gulch, near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1967.
Sem títuloTitle quoted from handwritten text on the item: "Wellington Mine X10U8 Ore Chute Remains Breckenridge". Shows the Wellington-Oro ore bin on the Extenuate (also known as X10U8) mine dump. In French Gulch, near Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1967.
Sem títuloTitle quoted from handwritten text on the item: "Wellington-Oro X10U8 Mine Dump and Buildings". In French Gulch, east of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa 1970.
Sem títuloBreckenridge looking northwest with Shock Hill (left) and Gibson Hill (right) in the background. Snow covers the large piles of excavated rock left behind from gold dredging operations on the Blue River. In view are the houses and buildings on the southwest side of Main Street.
Sem títuloSnow-covered dredge tailings (rock piles leftover from gold dredging operations) with a view of the ski runs on Peak 8 of the Breckenridge ski area in Colorado.
Sem títuloPostcard, "Colorado Photography" by John Topolnicki. Caption on the reverse: "Tiger-On-The-Swan; 8 Miles North of Breckenridge" and "High Country - Summit County - Colorado; Virtually a ghost town, and a fine example of how old mining towns of the area looked. Tiger was a later arrival, its curious name stemming from the fact it was built to house employees of the Royal Tiger Mine and Mill. Buildings erected in the 1920's and 1930's."
Sem títuloA man empties an ore car on the side of a mine dump at the Wire Patch Mine on Farncomb Hill in French Gulch, southeast of Breckenridge, Colorado.
Sem títuloA man sits on ore car tracks coming out of a mine adit (opening) encased with ice. Quote from caption at the bottom of the image: "Ice Tunnel 7:30 6/3/22". Probably the 7:30 Mine on Bald Mountain, east of Breckenridge, Colorado.
Sem títuloView 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.
Sem títuloCompany 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.
Sem títuloMen 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.
Sem títuloMen 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.
Sem títuloTwo 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.
Sem títuloA 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.
Sem títuloView of the trough used to carry excavated rock and debris waste from Bucyrus No. 4 gold dredge, on the Swan River, east of Breckenridge, Colorado. Circa early 1900s.
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