The Galisteo Basin and the Cerrillos Hills, an ancient seabed ringed by ancient volcanic upheavals, are located in Central New Mexico. The region has been occupied for thousands of years. The oldest known turquoise mines in North America, as well as the earliest significant gold strike in North America, can be found in this region. The town of Galisteo was founded in 1617, while Los Cerrillos got its start as a railroad stop and regional center in 1880. Archaeological work on eight major Pueblo ruins was initiated in 1912 by Nels Nelson of the American Museum of Natural History. Many photographs from his expedition are found in this book, with several of them never having been published before. Also included are images of Cerrillos Hills mining in 1880; again, some of these photographs have never been previously published.
This book is a history of over 1,000 years of mining in the Cerrillos Hills, that are located about 15 miles south of Santa Fe. The Hills contains some of the richest and most varied mineral deposits in New Mexico. The oldest known and largest prehistoric turquoise mine in North America is found in this are. Siver and lead were mined by the Spanich, Mexican and American. In addition to works by Homer E. Milford and Bill Baxter this book contains extensive supporting documentation including transcription of the 1880 and 1900 census, Cerrillos Town Records, Mining District Minutes, and much more.
This book presents a detailed account of mining in the Cerrillos Hills, New Mexico which are located about fifteen miles south of Santa Fe. This area contains some of the oldest mining activity in North America. There is evidence Turquoise, which continues to be mined today, being mined as early as 900 A.D. and lead in about 1300 A.D. The Spanish in the sixteenth and seventeenth century mined silver there. The area was most active in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century with well over 500 claims staked by 1880.This material was originally written for New Mexico Abandoned Mine Land Bureau Reports ion the mid-1990s. The author, Homer E. Milford was the former Environmental Coordinator of the Abandoned Mine Land Bureau, the State of New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and was responsible for documenting mine history before a mine was closed for safety reason. He had been active in efforts to preserve the Cerrillos Hills for over thirty years and passed away in April 2019 within hours of working on revisions to this book.
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