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By Bill Wilson The Capital Prize Mine is an example of a 20th-century Georgetown mine that has a long history of ups and downs. During the last 30 years or so of the 19th century, various prospectors and miners, starting with George Griffith, explored the flanks of Griffith Mountain. The most prominent and active of these was Gabriel J. "John" Hite. Most of the early workings were high up on the mountainside, where prospectors and miners had discovered and successfully mined the rich Aetna vein. Hite was the first to drive a tunnel, or adit, near the base of the mountain, in hopes of intersecting the vein deep in the mountain. Starting in 1897, he drove his tunnel about 950 feet but did not encounter the vein. In 1902 the Capital Prize Mining and Tunnel Company acquired extensive property, including Hite's tunnel, on Griffith Mountain. With financial backing from the Atlas glass-jar company of Washington, PA, the new company either extended Hite's tunnel or began a new one (the records are not clear), which ultimately intersected the Aetna vein at about 3,100 feet. The caved-in portal that is behind and to the left of the yellow Capital Prize building is the entrance to that tunnel. The Capital Prize Company owned the mine for two decades. Eventually, the holdings covered 300 acres, consisting of 37 lode claims. Lessees almost always operated parts of the mine along with company crews. Over the years, numerous interconnected tunnels, drifts, and raises at multiple levels honeycombed the mountain's interior. According to the Courier, by 1916 the Capital Prize had produced $1,500,000 worth of minerals, primarily gold but also copper, lead, and silver. Quite a complex of surface facilities grew up in association with the operation. At various times, buildings in the vicinity of the mine site included a powerhouse, shaft house, assay office, blacksmith shop, supply house, changing house, stable, ore bins, three-story boarding house, and superintendent's home. The company also constructed a concentrating and amalgamation mill north of their main dump (near today's 11th and Main streets). However, starting in the 1920s and for decades afterwards, problems beset a succession of owners, operators, and lessees-timbers gave way, cave-ins were common, and adequate mine ventilation was difficult to sustain.
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Production was sporadic, and annual mine reports commonly describe the mine as a "non-producer." Many years were devoted to "development" - retimbering, clean-up, and new drifting-in hopes of being able to resume mining operations.
The last time that miners hauled ore from the mine was in 1948, when they trucked the ore to a mill in Idaho Springs. During the 1960s and 1970s, various lessees undertook extensive development and exploration activities to ascertain the feasibility of resuming ore production. Despite some promising results, no one has resumed mining. The entire layout of ore-cart tracks is still in place and resting on serviceable ties; and all of the ducts, air-handling equipment, and lifts are still there. Thus given the right circumstances, mining could resume without much difficulty, assuming zoning issues could be resolved. Today, the yellow building is the only structure on the site that remains from the days of the Capital Prize operations. It housed the blacksmith shop and contained the air compressors that circulated fresh air through the mine. The massive mine dump in front of the portal is mute testimony to the huge volumes of rock that were removed from inside the mountain. One can only imagine the early excitement and rewards, followed by decades of hope, frustration, and disappointment. But new dreamers always seem to appear on the scene, and the old mine may yet see new life.
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