Baldy Mining District
The Baldy Mining District (also sometimes known as the Elizabethtown Mining District), located at and around Baldy Mountain (Colfax County, New Mexico), is one of the largest primarily gold producing districts in New Mexico. Most of the land is now owned by the Boy Scouts of America as a part of Philmont Scout Ranch. The Baldy Mining District is approximately 18,247 Acres. History. Gold was originally found on Baldy Mountain in October 1866. Early in the year of 1886, Native Americans (either from the Ute or Jicarilla Apache tribes) found a large deposit of copper float. They  traded this float with soldiers at Fort Union. With the Civil war over, the soldiers decided that they could mine this copper to make money. One of the Native Americans showed a soldier where they had found the copper, on Baldy Mountain, and the soldier staked a claim. Known as the "Mystic Lode" or just the "Copper Mine", this was the first mine in the Baldy Mining District. In October of that same year, three soldiers from Fort Union, Larry Bronson, Pete Kinsinger, and a soldier called Kelley were sent to the mine to continue work. When the men arrived  at the mine, Bronson and Kinsinger cooked a meal while Kelley decided to pan for gold. Kelley found gold in the gravel, showed the others, and they all began searching for more. They spent a few days scouring the slopes for gold. They determined that although this gold was worth pursuing, winter was approaching and mining operations could not continue. They left the mountain with plans to keep the gold a secret and return in the spring. The secret spread within weeks and the gold rush on Baldy had started. Towns. Elizabethtown. Elizabethtown (also sometimes known as E-Town) was  the first mining town established in the Baldy Mining District. Located at , it was established in 1866 along with the opening of local mines. Elizabethtown was the first incorporated town in New Mexico and once held the Colfax County seat. Along with the boom and bust of the Baldy Mining District, the town died out by 1917. Baldy Town. Baldy town was a small mining town located on the side of Baldy Mountain. Mines. The mines in the Baldy Mining District produce mainly gold, silver, and copper.