At Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour, Optimism Never Wanes

by John Peel Photos by Cole Davis

First, zoom in: you’re the miner, standing in the dim, dank tunnel; a candle or carbide lamp illuminates a rock wall deep within the mountainside. You’re chiseling away, or perhaps drilling holes and placing dynamite in a strategic pattern to explode in perfect sequence.

This was sometimes thrilling, often dangerous work, and the careful or perhaps lucky ones made it a career that fed, clothed, and housed their families. Or at least afforded some fun at the local bars and brothels.

Mining is the heart of the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour near Silverton. The awe of traveling tracks 1,700 feet into the rock has kept the curious returning for more than thirty years now.

OK, now zoom out: consider the whole picture. You’ll see that mining was part of a larger, interdependent economic network that involved all of southwest Colorado, with Durango playing a big role.

The ore produced was sent down an aerial tram, partially processed, then shipped via train to a smelter in Durango for further processing. The train brought back essential food and supplies from La Plata County ranches and farms to feed and service mining country.

For a deeper understanding of this pre-World War II network, a modern-day visitor can ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, visit the Mayflower Mill and tram, a National Historic Landmark near Silverton, and of course enter into miners’ territory on the Old Hundred tour.

“This is one of the only places in the United States where all of that stuff still exists to see,” says Bill Jones, a former assayer in Silverton and Durango who co-created the Old Hundred tour in 1991. “Nowhere else in the country can you really see these major pieces of both technology and what you might call the economic system of the olden days.”

By the 1870s, area prospectors had eyed quartz veins containing precious metal within Galena Mountain. The peak is visible from Silverton, rising above Cunningham Gulch to nearly 13,000 feet. With binoculars one can still spot the Old Hundred Boarding House, miraculously clinging to the rock at 12,500 feet. It was stabilized and restored by the San Juan Historical Society in 1998, and again in 2015.

The Niegolds, brothers from Germany, made first claims on Galena Mountain and worked the veins, tunneling into the mountain for about a decade until finally giving up in 1885. The Niegolds stuck around and made several surrounding claims, including one in 1898 that they named the “Old Hundred,” apparently from the Bible’s Psalm 100.

The Old Hundred Mining Company leased the claims from the Niegolds in 1904 and put prodigious funding into development. The company built tramways and trails, bored tunnels, and built the famous boarding house. Ultimately its expenditures dwarfed the profits, and by 1908 their gig was up.

Several other ventures gave it a shot, almost at the rate of one per decade over a century, but none for very long and none successfully. Texas-based Dixilyn Corporation made the last major effort in 1967. The stingy mountain took their money too, and Dixilyn halted operations in 1971.

“Basically this was a tremendously unsuccessful mine,” Jones concludes. “Investors lost money from the get-go. Hope springs eternal. You have to be an optimist to be a miner.”

Jones grew up in Arizona, graduated from Western Colorado University in 1976, and came to Silverton in 1977 as an assayer – a chemist who processes ore to analyze its properties and potential value. He closed his business in 1991 after the price of gold collapsed and the Sunnyside Mine shut down, basically ending the large-scale mining era in Silverton.

Jones and business partners Jim Melcher, Nolan Maclain and Bob Travis leased the dilapidated Old Hundred and got busy. After extensive work to dig out and stabilize the mill-level tunnel at 10,023 feet, mine tours began in July 1992. It wasn’t long before the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour was more profitable than any mining company had ever been on Galena Mountain. The tour will begin its 32nd season in mid-May.

Now tighten up your helmet, zip up your yellow raincoat, and grab a seat on the tiny train. Be prepared for a 20-degree temperature drop as you plunge into the nine-foot-wide tunnel.

Deep inside the mountain, one of the knowledgeable tour guides – often a former area miner – explains history, techniques, tools, and other tidbits of the trade. Originally, miners worked by hand, chipping away at rock with a steel chisel and four-pound singlejack hammer. By the 1890s, air drills made the work somewhat easier, but also produced silica dust that incapacitated workers’ lungs with what was dubbed “miners’ consumption.”

Once back outside, visitors can grab a gold pan, fill it with the gravel from the sluice box, and sift for gold nuggets. Are your odds good of making a fortune here?

Well, nobody’s gotten wealthy from the Old Hundred. Yet.

Signature Furniture Studio/Gallery

Since 1977, Bob Schmidt has been handcrafting furniture, cabinets, and doors in the Craftsman style using varieties of hardwoods, from Sapele mahogany to spalted maple. Recent designs and works are featured in Fine Woodworking magazine and Building Systems magazine. Schmidt’s working studio and furniture gallery are housed in an award-winning timberframe building he designed and built in the year 2000 on 12th Street, the terminus of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

321 E. 12th Street signaturefurnitureinc.com

772-828-0640

Carol Wilkins Designs

Carol Wilkins Designs understands your need to express yourself—to have the confidence that allows you to be you, from that place deep down inside. You like to show that little “wild side” of yourself. Wilkins’ jewelry is designed to celebrate the strength in you, as well as your own unique, artistic statement. Come by and find the piece that makes you feel special and empowered.

1130 Greene Street carolwilkinsdesigns.com

970-946-9460

Silverton Art Galleries

Silverton’s rich history is ever-present in the Old West charm of Notorious Blair Street and the colorful Victorian-era architecture of Greene Street. Silverton’s artists, living and working at 9,318 feet in elevation, have long used the dramatic backdrop of this Western mountain town to inspire paintings, photography, weavings, words, and more. Learn about these artisan crafts directly from the makers. Their doors open each day, offering a unique behind-the-scenes peek and an opportunity to chat with them about their craft.

Sand & Snow Studio

Plein air landscape artist Eileen Fjerstad has been painting in the San Juan Mountains and Four Corners region for nearly 40 years. Her colorful and captivating works showcase her intimate knowledge of the play of light and colors throughout the seasons. The joys and challenges of working from life in the amazingly diverse and dramatic mountains and deserts of this part of the Southwest provide constant inspiration to the artist. Drop by the studio in the "Tower House" at the corner of Greene St. and 11th.

970-749-8880 • 1070 Greene St./PO Box 116, Silverton, Co. 81433

Quiet Bear Art

Quiet Bear Art is a unique, artist-owned gallery and blacksmith shop. Ken Webb has become well-known throughout the Southwest for his exceptional sculptures and fine metal art. He incorporates old-world blacksmithing techniques into his creations. He has been selected for numerous commissions, from small tabletop and wall artwork to larger outdoor sculptures. Many of his originals are included in private collections throughout the world. Ken is available by appointment during the winter. 1130 Greene Street • quietbearart.com • 520-488-6831

September 8th - 10th, 2023

Silverton Creates! is a weekend-long celebration of the arts held high in the San Juan Mountains in the charming historic town of Silverton, Colorado.

Come enjoy the fall foliage and immerse yourself in a variety of uniquely “Silverton” creative experiences!

• Free, Live Open-Air Concerts

• Open Studio Tours

• Heritage Activities

• Hands-On Art Workshops

• Demonstrations

• Performances

• Healing Arts

• And More!

THE HISTORY OF SILVERTON