by Jane Bennett
 

Ouray, Colorado

THERE WERE OTHER Bachelor mines in Colorado—it was a pretty popular name in the late 1800s—but this was THE Bachelor Mine on Gold Hill, and for 100 years it was one of Ouray’s strongest and most reliable producers. So rich was its ore that its three owners made about $250 thousand each in its first few years; even after the disastrous silver crash of 1893 when the price of silver plummeted twenty-five percent in four days.  Today, that would be over $4 million each.

Charlie Armstrong, a prospector, George Hurlburt, a surveyor, and J. Frank Sanders, a speculator, were the lucky owners.  The three loved a good time and were known to bet on almost anything—even which raindrop would make it to the bottom of a windowpane first.  Sanders took a gamble and invested in Armstrong and Hurlburt’s mine just before it hit a huge silver vein.

Soon, ore worth $200 to $500 a ton rolled down Red Canyon to the railroad siding below, which became known as Bachelor Switch.  Meanwhile, a town of about 200 sprang up at the mine’s main portal. Named Ash, from the first letters of Armstrong, Sanders and Hurlburt, the town sported a mill, school, post office and brass band: the Bachelor Band.  The town’s remains still straddle Red Canyon Creek, now known as Dexter Creek.

In the 1920s, a new tunnel was driven to access the Bachelor’s old workings from below. Dubbed the Syracuse Tunnel, it was financed by investors from Syracuse, New York.  This is the part of the Bachelor that’s open to the public. Not a sanitized amusement park ride, the Bachelor/Syracuse mine tour looks and feels like the real thing because it is the real thing. Whether or not you leave with any gold or silver (you might), it’s an experience you’ll treasure.

Jane Bennet is the Author of "Tales of the Bachelor Mine" published by San Juan Publishing. Available from San Juan Publishing, at the Bachelor Mine, Ouray, Colorado, and local bookstores.

Photo Captions

1. George Hurlburt, circa late 1920s. Courtesy Cora K. McCarty

2. Blacksmith Louis Duke at the Bachelor Mine. © Craig Henry