Clay Mine

Join HistoriCorps for the Clay Mine
Stabilization Project in Summer 2011!

6/6 – 6/10; 6/13 – 6/17; 6/20 – 6/24

The Clay Mine project will be to stabilize what remains of the site to include restoring the appearance of a facility for the visual interpretation/education, but not necessarily for it to perform its original function. The intent of this project is to restore the “look” of the ore bin while it was in use, not to get the mine back into operation.

Location: The Clay Mine is located in Mineral County, CO in the Rio Grande National Forest. The site is easily seen from the Silver Thread Scenic Byway and is located two miles south of Creede, Colorado.

Lodging: Housing will be provided at a nearby Forest Service bunkhouse on Columbine Lane, Creede, CO, about three miles south of the mine.

History: Constructed in 1928, the Clay Mine near Creede, Colorado was used to mine and mill refining oils, used during the Great Depression to make face powder and as an ingredient in salt water taffy. Miners were paid with shares in the mine, which were issued by the Corsair Mine Company. The mine became bankrupt after World War II. The Clay Mine is significant due the rarity of this type of mine in the area, as this region was normally mined for silver and zinc.  At the time of construction, two other buildings, including the remaining ore bin, existed as well. A rail system, track bed and trestles, carried ore from the mine to the bin. None of these earlier features remains except for the last trestle near the bin. The only remaining structure and subject of this effort, the ore bin, is of common post and beam type construction.

Scope of Work: In an effort to stabilize the mine, the HistoriCorps team will repair the main support posts and braces, tighten structural framing connections and replace missing wall planks on ore bin, construct the framed enclosure on the open bin top, sheath and roof the framed structure, and construct framed enclosure (roof), which is the trestle, log cross ties, and railing that accessed the bin.

Dates: 6/6 – 6/10; 6/13 – 6/17; 6/20 – 6/24