The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-04-14
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF MINING INDUSTRY
NEAR OAKLEY
Gold Was Discovered in
This Section Early; A
Sketch Of til e Miner

(By Our Basin Correspondent
Gold was discovered in the vicin
ity of Oakley as early as 1873, whel
the Government engineers weri
making survey of Cassia county
Gold and silver were discovered Oh
the mountains east of Oakley anC
Basin, and so marked on the ole
field notes. Later, in the spring ol
1888, one of the party came back
and tried to follow up the float
For three years he tried in vain to
find the ledge, but after three years
of hard search and patience, he gave
up in despair. He then divulged
the secret to the people in the local
ity of where the ore was found. The
search was continued for about three
or four years longer, when there
was considerable high grade ore
found by one John Anderson and
Neph Birch of Oakley.
They mined the property for
about ten years but, being unable
to discover the ore vein, they also
gave it up.
Immediately afterwards a compa-
ny of Oakley people resumed the
search after running about 800 feet
of tunnel. They also failed to dis
cover thelost bonanza and gave up
in despair. Later, in 1919, the late
Joseph Fairchild and John H. Fair
child located the property and dis
covered the vein. 1t was of a very
high grade ore of gold, silver and
lead, assays ranging from five dol
lars in gold to as high as one hun
dred and twenty-eight. The vein is
about five feet thick. consisting of
gray blue quartz. 1t also assays
very good in silver and lead.
After running in on the ledge
some hundred and seventy feet and
finding the walls of contact regular
and of lime shales and quartzites
with an intrusive vein of quartz
porphryries, it was then that the
Oakley Mining and Milling Company
was formed for the purpose of de-
veloping the property, but on
count of the financial chash, the |
stock has moved very slowly thus
far. But in the spring the compa
ny intends doing some development /
work.
1t was on this property that the
big wire gold discovery was made
by the H. ]. Wells boys in about
IS93-that ran up so high into the
thousands of dollars in free gold.
The sample picked up by the boys
vas pure wire gold and in creamy
white iron stained crystal quartz.
The boys made the discovery while
riding for cattle. The old timers
will remember we'll the circumstan-
ces and if anyone doubts the state
ment, they may write Alma Wells,
of Paul, Idaho, or his father, H. j.
Wells of Burley, Idaho
The property has a great future
before it, and j. H. Fairchild, the
president of the company, invites
thepublic to come in and help devel-
op the property. 1t lies on the west
slope of Mt. Harrison and about
nine miles frcm the railroad; has
plenty of timber close and ample
water on the claims, with a good
DAD running in to Oakley or Trout. D
All that it takes, now that the n
oIe body is found, is few red
FLOODED American miners who are G
,ot afraid to take chance. Let the
sublic take chance if it wants to-
t is typical Americanism not to
want sure thing. Take away
rom the American the right to take
risk and you imperil the progress
+ the mining industry of our great
ountry.
OF all the men that l admire, is
he American miner. He takes his
hance; he stakes all. He digs his
Tealth from the ground and til
'orld is wealthier by his becoming
ch. In other words, he has robbel
o man of his wealth. On the 9TH
i hand, the man or corporation in
lie gigantic mercantile establish
tents may acquire wealth and not
e willing to take chances; the pub
c. in this case, becomes poorer by
leir becoming rich.
There is only one class OF people
lat compare with theAmerican mi
sr, and that is the farmer. He, ii