September 12, 2000
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Site Highlights:
Close to Magdalena
Open summers only
Modest entry fees
Preserved ruins
Self guided
Pick tailings
View of valley
Photo opportunities
| Go to first part of day trip - Very Large Array Go to third part of day trip - Fort Craig |
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Kelly Mine Update! Available at last ... the latest and most complete information regarding legally accessing the Kelly and associated mines.
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| The Rise and Demise of Kelly |
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J. S. Hutchason, known as "Old Hutch," is credited with being the father of the Magdalena mining district. His discoveries spawned the mining camp of Kelly. |
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Hutchason was poking around the Magdalena Mountains in the spring of 1866 when he found rich lead outcroppings. He staked the Juanita Mine and, three weeks later, the Graphic Mine. In those early days the ore was smelted locally in adobe furnaces called "vassos," and then an ox team to Kansas City hauled the metal.
In the late 1870's Hutchason sold his Graphic Mine for thirty thousand dollars. He also sold the Kelly Mine, which in turn was resold to Gustav Billing for forty-five thousand dollars. In 1881 Billing erected a smelting plant near Socorro at Park City which treated ore from the Kelly and other mines until 1893. In 1896, with the construction of the Graphic Smelter, Magdalena became the smelting town for Kelly. It treated the ore there until 1902.
About the turn of the century, as lead and silver were being wrenched from the earth, a discarded greenish rock was being tossed high on the waste dump piles. Cory T. Brown of Socorro shipped away some of the rock to have it tested. It turned out to be a valuable zinc carbonate called smithsonite. Brown, in partnership with J. B. Fitch, immediately leased the Graphic property and began stripping the dumps of the smithsonite. Kelly's
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With the advent of the 1880’s, the small camp of Kelly began to experience a promising growth and much activity. A branch line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe reached Magdalena, four miles from Kelly, in 1885. Daily stages ran to Magdalena, a school, two hotels, a resident doctor, and the usual assortment of stores and saloons served Kelly. The camp also boasted a fine water system with pipes conducting mountain spring water throughout the town. With the increasing influx of miners, sleeping accommodations were scarce. Supposedly, the two hotels rented beds in eight-hour shifts.
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In mid-2009 we were contacted by Ms. Jeanette Hopkins regarding the availability of any maps relating to the Kelly mine area. Maps of Kelly, of any kind, we did not possess. Our subsequent e-mail exchanges resulted in Ms. Hopkins, on her own, obtaining two significant maps of Kelly which she graciously forwarded to me as scanned images.
For those visitors to this web page that wish to obtain a true copy of the maps of the Kelly Townsite and Kelly Mining Claims, they may be purchased from the Socorro (NM) County Assessor. The particulars are:
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| Site Gallery - Kelly Mine |
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February, 2010
The Bullion (Newspaper) of Socorro, NM
A particular thanks to Ms. Jeanette Hopkins for the submission of this information, which is passed along to those researching the Kelly Mine and Socorro, NM.
The Kelly Mine (and town) was frequently mentioned in the Socorro, NM newspaper called "The Bullion." For anyone interested in reading period (1883 thru 1887) pieces on Kelly and surrounds, microfilmed archives of the Bullion paper are available through the ILL (Inter-Library Loan). When ordering these microfilms (there are 3 films), use these particulars when ordering through ILL:
Title: The Bullion NewspaperAuthor: Charles Longuemare (editor) Year Published: 1883 World Cat Reference #: OCLC-15465023 World Cat URL http://www.worldcat.org/title/bullion/oclc/15465023 The microfilms include the Bullion of Socorro, NM and El Paso, TX (two different publications) so use care when viewing the films. The films are of adequate reading quality. The material covered by the newspaper was eclectic ... it is fascinating to read simple copy on subjects and news of particular interest to mining and the community. To give the visitor a glimpse of the range of topics considered "newsworthy" in Socorro in 1883, we extracted a number of snippets from The Bullion and offer them below: Advertising #1 Advertising #2 Cattle Ranches Alcohol Consumption Definition of Desert and Timberland Rare Metals and their Uses Determination of Silver Detrrmination of Copper Black Range News Socorro District Calumet + Hecla Mine Cabinet Mill Pueblos Mountains Mining Notes - Magdalena #1 Mining Notes - Magdalena #2 Mining Notes - Magdalena #3 Kelly Mine #1 Kelly Mine #2 General News of 1883 Miscellaneous Musings |
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| Kelly Mine Update | ||
Through the persistent, tenacious, and diligent efforts of one individual with particular interest in the Kelly and associated nearby mines, a detailed summary of how a person may legally access and explore this region is now available. For years prior, anyone entering the Kelly Mine did so without apparently realizing (or ignoring the fact) that this mine as well the surrounding land was private property. This author was equally guilty of that ignorance 10 years ago when he first briefly visited Kelly. With this newfound awareness, this author as well as future visitors now have information and guidance of how to walk and explore Kelly, not in violation of property rights, but with sanctioned permission (with signed waivers) as well with advisories as to how to explore the mine area safely.
The update summary is detailed and specific and is available as a downloadable PDF document. Upon downloading, the visitor may store that document off line for later retrieval and/or print out a hard copy for contact information as well as an in-field in-hand guide to the mine area.
Downloadable update ... Kelly Mine Update ...  (1.04 Mb)
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| Site Gallery - Kelly Mine Update |
All images in this gallery © 2010 Matt Thompson
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| For More Information |
| Magdalena, NM Home Page |
| Text source partially exrtracted from: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of New Mexico, James E. Sherman, 1975 New Mexico's Best Ghost Towns, Philip Varney, 1999 |