Mining the Summit: Colorado’s Ten Mile District, 1860–1960 by Stanley Dempsey, James E. Fell, Jr

Abstract

304 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE substituted for even the most preliminary assessment of possible eth­ nic or regional typologies. A search of the extensive bibliography yields more than 100 sources for early descriptive material but scarcely a handful of regional studies that would shed light on the broader context of Ohio’s log architecture. It is certainly true that the author acknowledges this problem in his introduction, and I must express my appreciation for the dozens of valuable references and details I found with direct relevance to the Chesapeake region. However, I hope that Hutslar will continue to pursue his research and shift his attention from expanding the catalog of buildings to the intensive study of key issues for which his ex­ haustive collection is ideally suited—the origins and identities of the settlers and builders and a comparison of Ohio building traditions with other regions settled before and after that state. For those interested in log architecture and particularly in the set­ tlement period in Ohio, this will be a useful and at times invaluable book, but for the reader interested in broader questions of material culture or the interplay oftechnology and culture, there will be glaring questions left unanswered. Orlando Ridout V Mr. Ridout, an architectural historian for the Maryland Historical Trust, directs the statewide survey and registration program and has previously worked as historic sites surveyor and as survey coordinator. His work focuses principally on vernacular architecture and social history. Mining the Summit: Colorado’s Ten Mile District, 1860—1960. By Stanley Dempsey and James E. Fell, Jr. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. Pp. xiv + 306; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $19.95. Mining history has captured the public’s attention in a variety of ways, from operas to movies to fiction. Only in the last generation, however, has Colorado mining history lured serious research scholars, who have subsequently dissected it in all its variety—from Aspen to Victor, and from the prospect hole to the miners’ union hall. The state’s mining history still has rich veins to tap, as Mining the Summit aptly demonstrates. The Ten Mile District’s gold and silver mines were hardly household names, even in their heyday a hundred years ago. Nonetheless, the district eventually made a major contri­ bution to mining and industrial development with the discovery of the world-famous molybdenum deposit, now AMAX’s Climax Mine, or Bartlett Mountain in the district’s southeast corner. Stanley Dempsey and James Fell are to be commended for diligent research that brings back to life this district, which was so typical of TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 305 most mining areas of the 19th century. Their task was not an easy one, because the sources are few and scattered, but perseverance paid off handsomely. Dempsey, mining man and lawyer, and Fell, historian and writer, formed a partnership that brings admirable balance in their approach to the topic. The mountain-surrounded valley that constitutes the Ten Mile Dis­ trict in central Colorado was first prospected for gold in 1860. After a cycle ofboom, bust, and fitful recovery, it hit full stride as a sideshow to the more dramatic silver discoveries in neighboring Leadville dur­ ing the late 1870s. The pattern of the earlier gold excitement was repeated, somewhat more successfully. Camps blossomed almost over­ night, promotion soared higher than the valley’s 10,000-foot eleva­ tion, the railroad came, and mining evolved from placers to hardrock mines. Mining the Summit recounts the history of it all with a vigor that would have made those earlier Coloradans proud. Mining men, pro­ moters, miners, camp boomers, townspeople, and a host of hangerson crowd into the story, giving it a life and spirit often lacking in historical writing. They represent a cross section of frontier America, with both its dreams and its crushing reality. In the long run, these pioneers failed to achieve permanence, but that does not signify fail­ ure or diminish their importance. The essence of this book is in its descriptions of the mundane experiences of western mining. For every Leadville, there boomed and busted four or five score Ten Miles. Mining the Summit concludes with the coming of molybdenum...