Our last museum while we were in Monument, Colorado was to the Western Museum of Mining & Industry. All of the machines in the museum work and our guide actually turned them all on; some were pretty loud so he did not run them very long.
In 1970, the Museum of the West was incorporated as a private non-profit with a mission to preserve and interpret the rich mining history of Colorado and the American West. The nucleus of the collection was a group of mining artifacts contributed to the museum by Mr. Frederick McMenemy Farrar and Mrs. Katherine Thatcher Farrar.
In 1972 the name was changed to the Western Museum of Mining & Industry to better define the museum focus.
Over 4,000 artifacts are on display at the 27-acre indoor/outdoor exhibit site; which includes a ten-stamp ore mill, a multi-purpose center with exhibits, a theater, and a 5,000-volume research library. The entire exhibit complex is an exciting and exceptional tool for learning about Colorado history, mining and industrial technology, geology, and the environment.
Here is a You Tube video that was done about the museum:
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| Acme Steam Engine, ca. 1886 |
The Acme Automatic Safety Engine with Boiler was first developed in 1885. Fueled by kerosene oil, meticulously regulated by an automatic fire regulator, this machine harnessed the power of steam to drive pistons, flywheels, and belts with remarkable precision. Notably efficient, it used only three and a half gallons of fuel for ten hours of one horsepower operation.
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| Corliss Steam Engine, ca 1895 |
Steam engines, such as this Corliss, powered the Industrial Revolution. The pressure created by the expanding force of steam is converted into mechanical energy by the steam engine to power factories, mills, and mines. The mechanical energy of steam pushing on pistons caused the Corliss's large red flywheel to rotate. The motion of the flywheel can then be transferred to other machines by belts and pulleys.
The story behind the Corliss Steam Engine is that in July 1972, the museum staff learned of the engine in Massachusetts. The museum accepted the engine on August 3, 1972, but it took over five months before the engine arrived in Colorado Springs.
The massive machine had to be taken apart and loaded onto trailers which were then loaded onto rail cars for cross country shipment. The train arrived in Colorado Springs on January 11, 1973, and trucks then hauled the trailer pieces to the museum.
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| The Corliss out in the field |
The engine was completely reassembled and run for the first time on July 28, 1982 -- the day before the museum's grand opening.
Flywheel and belt ~~ as the flywheel spins, it transfers the energy of the steam engine to the rest of the mill or factory by a large leather belt. The steam engine's pistons push to rotate the flywheel. Each piston turns the flywheel approximately half way around. The flywheel on the Corliss weights 17 tons and is 15 feet in diameter. Originally rotating 100 times per minute when it operated at a paper mill, the museum operates it at ten revolutions per minute. As the flywheel spins, a leather belt wrapped around the wheel would have been forced into motion. The Corliss's belt was three feet wide and 183 feet in circumference.
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| The Corliss Centennial engine |
So you think the Museum's Corliss engine is huge? Well, it is, but in 1876 the company built its largest engine ever to run 13 acres of equipment with over a mile of lineshafting. This engine was installed in Machinery Hall at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, a "world's fair" to show off a century of American ingenuity. After its service in Philadelphia, the engine was dismantled and shipped to the Corliss factory in Rhode Island. In 1883, the company sold the engine to the George Pullman Company, located in Chicago, where it powered their railroad car factory until 1910.
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| Downie Water Pump, ca. 1900 |
The Downie water pump was a crucial piece of equipment used in mines to remove water that naturally accumulated in underground tunnels and shafts. In mining, water can seep or collect in lower areas, posing a risk to miners and machinery. The Downie pump efficiently extracted this water, preventing flooding and allowing miners to work safety and effectively.
It could move 8,000 gallons of water per hour. By continuously removing water from the mine, the pump helped maintain dry conditions, facilitating mining operations and ensuring the safety of workers.
Skinner self-lubricating steam engine, ca. 1905 was a revolutionary advancement in steam engine technology. It incorporated a self-contained lubrication system, eliminating the need for manual lubrication by operators. Instead of relying on external lubrication sources such as oil cans, the engine featured internal mechanisms that automatically distributed lubricants to crucial moving parts. This not only simplified maintenance, but also improved efficiency and reliability by ensuring proper lubrication at all times.
Elijah J. McCoy (1844-1929) was a Canadian-American engineer of African-American descent who invented lubrication systems for steam engines. He was born free in Ontario to parents who fled enslavement in Kentucky. He traveled to the United States as a young child when his family returned in 1847 and became a U.S. resident and citizen.
At the age of 15, he was sent to Scotland where he acquired an apprenticeship and studied at the University of Edinburgh where he became certified as a mechanical engineer.
His inventions and accomplishments were honored in 2012 when the United States Patent and Trademark Office named its first regional office in Detroit, Michigan the "Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Patent Office."
The expression "The Real McCoy," typically meaning the real thing, has been attributed to Elijah McCoy's oil-drip cup invention. One theory is that railroad engineers looking to avoid inferior copies would request it by name and inquire if a locomotive was fitted with "the real McCoy system."
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| The Mining West |
Beginning at Sutter's Mill near San Francisco in 1849 and continuing until the "last rush" to Goldfield, Nevada in 1903, people were drawn to the American West. With dreams of striking it rich, experienced miners and greenhorns alike came from every state in the Union and from all corners of the world. Following stories of gold and silver discoveries, they crossed and recrossed the mountains and deserts from Alaska to Mexico, from the Badlands to the Pacific Coast. The abandoned remains of mines and towns throughout the West bear witness to the miners' optimism and courage. This map identifies just a few of the mining districts that sprang up across the West.
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| Iron Pyrite |
Veteran prospectors knew that "all that glitters is not gold." This shiny piece of rock is simply iron pyrite, not gold.
Gold vein material with fluorite, quartz, & pyrite in a chalcedony in vugs (open cavities), all in a phonolite breccia, found in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
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| High grade silver ore |
The Last Chance Mine is located in Colorado's Creede Mining District and operated from 1891 into the 1970s. In 2005, the Last Chance reopened as a tourist mine. Owner Jack Morris discovered this specimen in 2018 while cleaning out a rift. The original miners missed this vein by only a foot or so.
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| Galena |
Galena is a lead sulfide mineral that is found worldwide in all three types of rocks -- metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. It is the most important source of lead ore. Even small pieces of galena are heavy to pick up so you can imagine the weight of this large specimen, which shows the black-gray metallic luster of galena. The main use of lead today is in making the lead-acid batteries used to start automobiles; a typical battery contains about 20 pounds of lead.
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| Gold Dredge, Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada |
Gold Dredge No. 4 was the largest wooden-hulled steam dredge ever built in North America. From 1913 to 1959 the dredge operated along the Yukon River, recovering nine tons of gold. It was powerful enough to scoop 22 buckets of gravel per minute. In 1992, the dredge was salvaged and moved to a site near Dawson City, Canada. In 1997, it became a Canadian National Historic Site.
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| Postcard view of a small gold dredge on Middle Creek, Redding, CA |
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| Hydraulikers in Illinois Gulch, Colorado ca. 1900 |
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| Diamond Core Drill |
The diamond core drill was originally designed to bore blast holes. In the 1870s, its real value as a sampling tool was recognized.
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| Pack train in the mountains |
This painting of the pack train highlights the important services rendered by donkeys to the mining industry of the 19th century. Prospectors trekking through the western mountains were accompanied by their faithful donkeys who carried their equipment. Donkeys worked in underground mining operations, pulling ore cars filled with either waste rock or ore to the shafts, then tugging the empty cars back to the working force of the drifts to begin their journey all over again. By the 20th century most mines replaced donkeys with steam- or compressed air-powered trammers (nicknamed iron donkeys) that could pull more cars with less effort and trouble.
Legend has it that when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Cripple Creek during his presidency and learned that donkeys were being used below ground, he objected to their treatment. The donkeys were brought to the surface and turned loose. Today, visitors to Cripple Creek can get up close and personal with their descendants, who still roam the streets to the delight of both children and adults.
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| Mule-drawn ore train at the entrance to the Revenue Tunnel, Ouray County, Colorado ca. 1880s |
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| Mule train pulling ore |
Before mining areas were connected by rail to mills, ore was transported by animal-pulled wooden wagons. Here is a small ore train pulled by mules in front of Cripple Creek's Portland Mine, 1894. The ore was shoveled into cloth sacks for easier transport.
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| Miners with a mule underground in an unidentified Colorado mine |
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| "Iron Donkey" Trammer, 1890s |
Initially donkeys, mules and horses were lowered into the mines to haul ore cars. A donkey could haul up to three ore cars which carried about 6,000 pounds of ore. The "iron donkey" trammers later replaced these animals in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
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| Time Clock |
In 1888, William L. Bundy, a jeweler in Auburn, New York, invented the time clock that employees used to "punch" in and out of work. In 1900, the Bundy Manufacturing Company merged with two other companies to form the International Time Recording Company, which eventually became IBM. Like other industries, mining adopted the time clock to keep better track of employee hours.
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| The ore bucket miners used to lower tools and themselves into the mines |
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| Miner standing on an ore bucket in the Hubert Mine |
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| Statute of St. Barbara found inside the mines |
The Legend of St. Barbara ~~ Barbara lived in the 3rd century A.D. and was the only child of a high-ranking man named Dioscuros. To protect Barbara from outside influences, he provided her with sumptuous living quarters in a tower. From here she received training to reinforce a faith in the Roman-Greek gods.
Without her father's knowledge, Barbara converted to Christianity. When Dioscuros found out in 235 or 236 A.D., he was so outraged that he put his daughter to death. Upon doing so, a terrible thunderstorm arose and Dioscuros was killed by a blast of lightning as punishment for his crime.
St. Barbara's protective patronage included miners, artillerymen, engineers, and architects. December 4 of each year commemorates the time-honored custom of her remembrance by the mining profession.
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| Listen for the Tommyknockers |
Knockers are goblin type creatures who live in the mines. Generally, knockers would help miners by leading them to good seams of ore by tapping or knocking, and in return they were happy to receive a small piece of pasty (meat pie). They have also been known to knock as a warning of danger if a mine was about to collapse.
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| Stamp Ore Mill Model |
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| Chilean Rescue Capsule |
In 2010, the world was captivated with the rescue of 33 miners from the San Jose Mine near Copiapó, Chile. This rescue capsule is an exact replica of the one used to bring up each miner. It weighs over 900 lbs. and is 12 feet in overall height. The inside space is 6 feet 4 inches in height and 21 inches in diameter. You can read the entire story of the miners' rescue above.
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| Yellow Jacket II Stamp Mill |
The original Yellow Jacket stamp mill was located in the Montezuma Mining District (west of Denver) and operated into the 1940s. The museum purchased the contents of the mill in 1970 and erected this replica mill building to house the two 5-stamp batteries and amalgamation tables. This mill is one of only five such mill buildings in the United States that are fully operational. The Yellow Jacket II is demonstrated to the public during major museum events. Stamp mills were invented by the Germans during the 16th century as a way to crush ore-bearing rock and to separate the valuable gold and silver from the worthless material.
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| Nordberg Steam Stamp |
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| Cornish Walking Beam Engine |
The Cornish Beam Engine powered the mine's ore crushing stamp mill and other machines until just before the Civil War. The mine was reopened after the war and sporadically functioned until the mid-1920s. Henry Ford purchased the property and in 1930 rescued the rusted beam engine, taking it to his Deerfield Village museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The Ford museum deaccessioned the engine in 1983 and transferred it to WMMI, which placed it here on exhibit in 1987. Cornish engines could be found in western mining operations throughout the 19th century.
This 1929 photograph shows the beam engine as it appeared when Henry Ford purchased the mine property.
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| Double Cylinder American Hoist |
Powered by steam, the three drums were connected to cranes or derricks and were used to control these machines by raising and lowering, opening and closing the bucket, and varying the boom radius. The hoist could be mounted on a railcar or floating barge in addition to operating on land. This hoist was nicknamed a "donkey engine" because of the large workload it could perform.
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| Osgood Steam Shovel |
This steam shovel was used at the Sunrise Mine in Wyoming from 1929-1940, digging iron ore in an open pit mine 750 feet deep and a quarter mile wide. The steam shovel was then disassembled and hauled outside the mine, where it continued to do odd jobs until 1945. Colorado Fuel & Iron donated the steam shovel to the museum in 1982. The shovel's reddish tint is a result of the accumulation of hematite (iron) dust over the years. This machine is still in operating condition and is demonstrated during the museum's major events.
The Osgood Steam Shovel is shown at the bottom of the Sunrise Mine, flames shooting out of its stack, as it loads iron ore into ore cars.
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