Vulture Mine, AZ

Visiting the Vulture* (see note below)

By

Gary B. Speck

There are at least a dozen versions of how Henry Wickenburg made his discovery, but the facts are: he did; it was 1863; and the Vulture Mine was one of the richest gold mines found in Arizona, possibly yielding as much as $40 million in gold. Active mining continued off and on for nearly 80 years, before being shut down in 1942 by the government as part of the “War Effort.” Some exploratory work and reworking of tailings has occurred since.

Located a quarter mile west of the Vulture Mine Road, 13 miles south of US 60, at a point 2.6 miles west of downtown Wickenburg, the Vulture Mine is the consummate example of an old Arizona gold mine. It has not been restored, renovated, or filled with gussied-up tourist-enticing trappings. It is the real thing, and squats on the alluvial fan south of the Vulture Mountains.

Old Henry found the gold in 1863, and since physically working a mine wasn’t high on his priority list, he let others do the work, charging them a flat fee of $15/ton to work the mine. In 1866, he sold an 80% interest in the mine for $85,000, but only received $20,000 as a down payment. However, he remained a partner in the company until it folded in 1872.

The Vulture Mine proved to be a true bonanza. However, Henry Wickenburg barely shared in the wealth the mine produced. After he sold out, he established a ranch near the town now bearing his name.

In 1872, after producing over 2½ million dollars, the Vulture Mining Company was so far in debt that they were forced to shut down, despite the fact the ore was still rich. However, a good mine can’t be kept down, and in 1878 new owners reopened, and began mining in earnest. Ore dumps and tailing piles were reworked, and the mine was operating fully again. By 1880, the Vulture Mill had 60-80 stamps crushing its ore, an assay office, blacksmith shop, a half dozen boarding houses, carpenter shop, cookhouse/mess hall, laundry, offices, saloons, stores, and warehouses. A school was added to educate the children of the 300 or more miners. Over 40 cabins housed the families, and Vulture City was a self-contained small town. Population estimates of the mining town range from 500 to 5000. Personally, I feel the former is closer to the truth, although some 3000 are said to have been here in the 1930s, when the second schoolhouse was built to educate the added children.

In 1884 financial troubles again shut down the mine and in 1886 a new owner reworked tailing piles and mine dumps, but did not venture underground. In 1887 they sold out.

Famed Colorado mine owner/investor Horace Tabor purchased the mine, but had a rocky go of it. In 1892 the silver market collapsed, and Tabor’s holdings in Colorado took a major hit. He had trouble keeping the finances of the Vulture on the plus side, and finally in 1896 he leased the mine out. The new operator tore down a number of stone buildings to run the rocks through the mills, as the gold showing there was higher grade than what showed in the tunnels. In addition, the main vein hit a fault and disappeared. Tabor canceled the lease and put the mine up for sale. However, he couldn’t sell fast enough, and it ended up being taken from him, and sold at auction.

In 1897 the new owners built a ball mill and cyanide plant and reworked tailings and dump material. In 1911 the faulted vein was found, and production began in earnest again. But in 1916 the slippery vein disappeared again, after officially producing over four million dollars. The mine never reopened in a big way, but small production runs and leasers kept it alive until it officially closed in 1942.

The crumbling remains of Henry Wickenburg’s cabin sits in the shade of a huge ironwood tree whose branches are said to have been the last thing that 18 men saw as they dangled by ropes. In the area immediately around the hangin’ tree are a dozen or so buildings in various stages of stability. Here in the heart of the camp you can wander through the buildings and see what life must have been on this desert frontier a hundred years ago.

The largest building in the central part of the camp is a rock-walled, two story structure that was built by the Central Arizona Mining Co in the mid 1880s, and served as mine office and assay office. The rocks came from the mine, and are claimed to contain thousands of dollars worth of gold. Most of the remaining buildings were also constructed in the mid 1880s.

Behind the mining company office building is a low hill capped with a small headframe over the original discovery site, and a tin-sided building housing the blacksmith shop.

To the south are some mill buildings and in 2003, there was some heap-leaching, that yielded 7-12 ounces of flour gold per ton of material treated. (That was in 2003. I have heard I may be closed now. But, I have not verified this yet). Looking to the north, the Vulture’s Roost peeks out of the desert vegetation, and a small hill just to the west has a couple lived-in cabins that once housed mine executives. North of the hillside cabins and entry drive are a cluster of workers’ cabins and the two school buildings, with their remaining playground equipment.

The Vulture Mine/Vulture City sits about a quarter mile west of the paved Vulture Mine Road. The entry is well marked, and hard to miss. As mentioned previously, this is not a gussied up tourist trap. The buildings have not been restored, nor have they been stabilized. They remain as they were, and are slowly crumbling as time and the elements take their toll.

On a scale of 1-10, the Vulture Mine rates a 12. Prior to the site closing, it was well worth the nominal entry fee.

LOCATION:

GNIS does NOT list the camp’s GPS coordinates on its listing.

ENTRANCE:

· E½ Sec 36, T6N, R6W / SW¼ Sec 31, T6N, R5W, GSRM (Gila & Salt River Baseline & Meridian)

· Latitude: 33.8164284 / 33° 48’ 59”

· Longitude: -112.8286028 / 112° 49’ 43”

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for April 2003

This is one of the towns featured in my newest book, GHOST TOWNS: Yesterday & Today^TM^.

PLEASE NOTE:

Sometime in 2011 ownership of the Vulture Mine and Vulture City changed.

The new owner has CLOSED the property.

As a result IT IS NO LONGER OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

IF & when I hear otherwise, I will advise.

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FIRST POSTED: April 01, 2003

LAST UPDATED: September 15, 2013

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