Coeur d’Alene shows inner workings of 1885 shaft house
The grindstone sitting in the corner of the Coeur d’Alene shaft house doesn’t look dangerous, but the pedal operated sandstone wheel, or one like it, could be the implement of explosive destruction in 1940. A miner, sharpening a shovel, must have thought he was far enough away from the box of blasting caps being trimmed by mine superintendent (and Central City mayor) Charles Richards. He wasn’t. A spark alighted amidst the caps and Charles Richards was no more.
The Couer d’Alene mine, Central City’s “sentinel on the hill,” is once more open for tours. The structure, owned by the Gilpin Historical Society, has been used for storage for years. Around five months ago, Ed Lewandowski and his crew from the Hidee mine, began clearing, cleaning, repairing, reinforcing and finally, arranging mining artifacts and equipment so that folks can see for themselves the size, layout and inner workings of the structure atop the mine shaft..
“Heavy” describes just about everything at the Couer d/Alene. Outside are numerous massive pieces of iron equipment. The building itself is constructed of strong thick beams and timbers. Inside – more heavy massive pieces of equipment. The Couer d’Alene was designed for efficiency with the engine room, smith’s shop, furnace room and shaft all under one roof. Originally there was a high collar around the shaft, which drops into the dark belly of Academy Hill a full 700 feet. The gallows style head frame towers above it, the reason for the high roof. Volunteers shinnied to its top to run the cable over the wheel for the bailing bucket now on display, hanging above the grated shaft. The guide stands on the grate, directing the beam of his flashlight past his toes where it illuminates 75 feet of “new” timbers descending the shaft. Below that, it’s bedrock. The Couer d’Alene’s shaft was a double-wide – one side was the bucket-way and the other, the ladder-way. Imagine climbing the wooden rungs up from the Couer d’Alene’s six levels (tunnels were at 200, 400, 450, 550,600 and 700 feet). Guides explain the rhythm of the mine, with the huge Fairbnaks (someone goofed the mold) coal-fired steam engine that converted water, pumped from the mine, to the steam that ran the hoist. That was the elevator that lowered and raised the bailing and ore buckets-three men to an ore bucket or 1,000 pounds of ore. Near the engine, guides Jon Northern and Tom Haus pointed out the depth guide. A man stationed there would watch it as the bucket traversed the shaft. When the bucket needed to stop or resume moving, he rang the bell, signaling the bucket’s movement. A wrong or missed signal could cause the death of a miner below. The bell signals were so important that the same signals were used in every mine.
There were hazards above ground, too. If the steam engine exploded, and that was always a real risk, the hoist operator, engine man, and likely everyone in the shaft house, would be killed. In later years, as mine operations became larger, the engine works were located in a separate building. Explosives were always kept outside the shaft house. The Couer d’ Alene’s magazine was an iron-doored dug-out one hundred feet from the shaft house. Miners at the Couer d’Alene reaped gold, silver, copper and lead. A tunnel at the 600 level accessed a body of ore ten feet wide. Production averaged two ounces gold per ton. The mine stopped ore production the same year Charles Richards was killed, 1940. Ownership passed to the Central City Opera House Association and then to the Gilpin Historical Society. Gaming impact funds restored the roof, which had caved in during a 1986 snow storm, and preserved the shaft house for today’s visitor. The rust red structure is a prominent sight as visitors drive into Central City. From the Couer d’ Alene, the sight of Central City and Gregory Gulch spread out below is a picturesque panorama that’s worth a visit all by itself.
On Saturday, that view looked down on a courtyard full of folks at the old Central City High School, located on East First High Street. It now houses the Gilpin Historical Museum, and numerous displays about the mining and commerce of days gone by. This year, the museum’s director, Dave Forsyth has added a special exhibit to include some of that commerce not discussed in high society; drinking, gambling and prostitution. He calls the exhibit, “The Sins of Gilpin County.” Forsyth has also added new items and displays throughout the museum-for example, a dress shop has “opened” this year in the Main Street exhibit. 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the Gilpin Historical Society. They hosted a well-attended full-blown barbecue on the lawn and dropped the museum entrance fee to 40 cents. The “panning” exhibit just outside the front entrance was especially popular, indicated by the excited whoops from children discovering shiny “nuggets.” Chuck Roberts, dressed in period costume, including a long-gun, rounded up the tourists from the streets below. They were greeted by more members dressed in period costume and the aroma of hamburgers and hot dogs hot off Chris Rogers’ grill.
All five of the Society’s Central City venues are now open for the season. In addition to the museum and Couer d”Alene, visitors can tour the Teller House, Opera House and Thomas House.