Hoosier Gulch Explained

Hoosier Gulch
Settlement Type:Mining district
Pushpin Map:Colorado
Coordinates:39.37°N -106.03°W
Area Total Acre:240
Elevation Min Ft:10500
Elevation Max Ft:11250

The Hoosier Gulch was a mining district, also known as the Hoosier Pass district,[1] located along the Park-Summit County line, at the headwaters of the Blue River, ten miles south of Breckenridge, at over 10,000 feet in elevation.[2] [3]

Mining operations

The mining district contained the Bemrose-Bostwick placer camp, founded by William Bemrose and Henry M. Bostwick,[4] which primarily produced from 1871 to 1877 and between 1914 and 1941.[5] The Bemrose-Bostwick placers were worked intermittently as there was not sufficient water,[6] but had produced $25,000 worth of gold by 1879.[7] The district also contained other gold placer camps that were being worked by around 1860, and there were some operations as late as 1959.

Discovery

The gulch was discovered by men from Indiana, "The Hoosier State," in 1860, providing its name, and it in turn provided the name of Hoosier Pass, located nearby.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dunn, Lisa G. . Colorado Mining Districts, A Reference . Colorado School of Mines Library . 2003 . 0-918062-19-5 . 2015 Revised . Golden, Colorado, USA . 310–311.
  2. Book: Raymond, Rossiter W. . Mining Industry of the States and Territories of the Rocky Mountains, including Descriptions of Quartz, Placer, and Hydraulic Mining; Amalgamation; Concentration; Smelting, etc. . J. B. Ford and Company . 1874 . New York . 283 . Commencing in the extreme southern part of the mining-districts of the county, and on the head of the Blue River, the first mining-camp is that of Bemrose & Co., in Hoosier gulch, a tributary of the Blue River. This company is working in an old side-channel in good pay-grael, overlaid with cement. Four men are employed during an average season of only two and one-half months, caused by the early failure of water at the location worked, which is over 10,000 feet above sea-level. The ground pays about $12 per day to the hand employed..
  3. Book: Parker, Ben H. . The Geology of the Gold Placers of Colorado . . 1960 . Golden, Colorado . 200–201.
  4. Book: Colorado Mining Directory . Colorado Mining Directory Company . 1883 . Kansas City . 523 . Bemrose and Bostwick Placer.—Wm. Bemrose, Alma, and Henry M. Bostwick, Denver, owners; claim covers 266 88-100 acres; situated in Hoosier Gulch, Montgomery district, seven miles from Alma; located in 1860, and patented in 1880; developed by two ditches one and one-fourth and two miles in length, and two flumes 100 and 250 feet in length, and some other workings..
  5. Book: Burnell, James R. . ON-007-08D Historic Metal Mining Districts of Colorado (Data) – v20201112 . . 2015 . Golden, CO . 537 . According to Henderson (1926), the Hoosier Gulch District overlaps the Pollock District. Lying along the Park-Summit County line, the district consists of historic placer operations at the headwaters of the Blue River (Dunn, 2003). It bounds the Upper Blue River District to the north. It is interpreted to include the mines discussed in the paper by Singewald (1951). Parker (1974) describes the Bemrose and Bostwick Placers as producing from 1871 to 1877 and again sporadically from 1914 to 1922. Singewald (1951) describes the Bemrose Mine, in addition to the productive placer, as consisting of a shaft into mineralized rock consisting of replacement deposits in Pennsylvanian rocks. The mines of Monte Cristo Gulch are also included in the Hoosier Gulch District. The Monte Cristo Mine also produced a small amount of gold and silver from a lode deposit possibly in Dyer Dolomite..
  6. News: 1914-06-05 . MINES AND MINING NEWS - Late items from the Mines of the District for the Week . . 2024-08-10 . The Summit County Journal & Breckenridge Bulletin . 1 . I. F. Lincoln, one of the lessees of the Bemrose-Bostwick placer in Hoosier gulch, states that the actual washing of the gravel of the high bars of that rich gulch was commenced this week. He expects that a good clean-up for the season will be made, as there is a better supply of water for hydraulic mining this year than for several years..
  7. Book: Corbett, Thomas B. . The Colorado directory of mines, containing a description of the mines and mills, and the mining and milling corporations of Colorado, arranged alphabetically by counties, and a history of Colorado from its earliest settlement to the present time . Rocky Mountain News Print Company . 1879 . 1st . Denver . 412 . 978-0-598-27718-3 . Hoosier Gulch Placer. Owned by Henry M. Bostwick and William Bemrose; claim comprises 240 acres of placer ground; situated in Hoosier gulch, ten miles from Breckinridge. It is worked by Hydraulic pressure, and has a flume 1,000 feet in length; yield to date, $25,000..

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hoosier Gulch".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.