Colorado Mining District was primarily a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mining district Mining district may refer to: * Mining district (North America) * Mining district (Europe) {{dab ...

organized in El Dorado Canyon,

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

on the west shore of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

in what is now

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, across ...

. The Colorado District was part of

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

from 1863 to 1869. In 1869, the land of Arizona Territory north and west of the

east to the 114th meridian of longitude, including the Colorado District, was turned over to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

History

The Colorado District had been organized by at least June 1, 1862. At a District meeting organized on January 8, 1863, officers were elected including a Mr. Lewis to fill an unexpired term as recorder that had begun on June 1, 1862. There were 611 locations recorded at the end of 1863. James H. McClintock, Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern: The Nation's Youngest Commonwealth Within a Land of Ancient Culture, Volume 2, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1916
/ref> El Dorado City was the site of the El Dorado Mills or Colorado Mills, first stamp mill in the canyon, at the mouth of January Wash at its confluence with El Dorado Canyon, about a mile down the canyon from Huse Spring. Its site was located nearby to the south southeast of the Techatticup Mine the primary source of the ore its mill processed. In late 1863, the mill made with parts of abandoned or closed mills brought in from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

was completed. Col.

James Russell Vineyard James Russell Vineyard (January 16, 1801August 30, 1863) was an American Democratic politician and pioneer. He served in the California State Senate and Assembly, and earlier was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, the legislature of the W ...

at the time a State Senator from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

began the mill, to process the ore of the district mines cut out the cost of shipping the ore down the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

, and by sea to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

for processing, thus cutting costs in half for those mine owners. Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978

References

{{reflist Gold mining in Nevada Silver mining in Nevada Colorado River History of Clark County, Nevada New Mexico Territory Steamboat transport on the Colorado River 1862 establishments in New Mexico Territory Populated places established in 1862 Mining districts in North America