James Stuart Douglas (19 June 1868 – 2 January 1949), popularly known as Rawhide Jimmy, was a Canadian born, American businessman and mining executive.

Early life

Douglas was the son of Canadian mining engineer and executive James Walter Douglas (1837–1918) and Naomi Eleanor Douglas (1838–1922). Born at

Inverness, Quebec Inverness is a municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of the province of Quebec in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and nor ...

, Jimmy Douglas grew up in

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek and the Schuylkill River. It is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population is 18,616 ...

, where his father managed the Chemical Copper Company. Douglas left home at 17 and moved west to

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, where he homesteaded. Suffering from

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

, he moved to the Arizona Territory, in the United States, in the hope that the drier climate might provide relief.

Career

He moved to

Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 ...

at his father's request to work as an assayer for the

Copper Queen Mine The Copper Queen Mine was a copper mine in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Its development led to the growth of the surrounding town of Bisbee in the 1880s. Its orebody ran 23% copper, an extraordinarily high grade. It was acquired by Ph ...

. His father had acquired an interest in the mine from the

Phelps Dodge Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, James & Co., the part of the o ...

mining company. In 1892 Douglas moved to Prescott to work for the Commercial Mining Company, an affiliate of the

. Eight years later he was transferred to Sonora,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, to manage the copper mine and smelter at Pilares and Nacozari; and directed construction of a railroad from

Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 i ...

to Nacozari. While at Pilares, he acquired his nickname, "Rawhide Jimmy", because of his technique of using rawhide to protect the rollers on mining equipment. Afterward, he moved to

Cananea Cananea is a city in the Mexican state of Sonora, Northwestern Mexico. It is the seat of the Municipality of Cananea, in the vicinity of the U.S−Mexico border. The population of the city was 31,560 as recorded by the 2010 census. The p ...

, Sonora, to manage the copper operations there.

UVX Mining Co.

In 1912, Douglas returned to central Arizona, where he took an option on the United Verde Extension (UVX) property, a speculative venture to find the down-faulted extension of the great "United Verde" ore body near

Jerome, Arizona Jerome is a town in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome is located more than above sea level. It is about north of Phoenix alo ...

. In 1914, with funds near exhaustion, an exploration drift cut bonanza copper ore. The UVX mine started to produce a profit. The mine produced copper, silver, and gold valued at $10 million in 1916 alone, with a profit of $7.4 million. The UVX paid $55 million in dividends during its life (1915–1938), making Douglas a wealthy man.

Personal life

James Douglas was married to Josephine Leah Williams (1872–1941). Their son, Lewis W. Douglas (1894–1974), also entered the mining business, went on to a successful political career as an Arizona Congressman from 1927 to 1933. He served as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1947–51). In 1939, Douglas retired to Quebec where he died of heart failure in 1949.

Jerome State Historic Park

The Douglas Mansion is open to the public as the Jerome State Historic Park.

References

External links

Official Jerome State Historic Park website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, James Jr. Canadian mining businesspeople American miners Arizona pioneers People from Lac-Mégantic, Quebec 1868 births 1949 deaths People from Centre-du-Québec People from Prescott, Arizona People from Jerome, Arizona American mining businesspeople