Swansea Ghost Town
page
Welcome to Michael's Swansea
Ghost Town page
Swansea Ghost
Town is
located about 30 miles East of Parker,
Arizona U.S.A. Below is a little about
the history of
Swansea and some pictures I took on
January 2nd 1999. I have been to Swansea
Ghost town four times in the last 10
years. Scroll down to see the
pictures I
took.
Mining in the area began in 1862 with
the discovery of copper rich ore
northeast of Swansea. Prospecting slowed
in the area until 1886 when 3 miners
struck silver-lead ore on the Ruby
Silver claim, later called the Signal
Group. The silver ran out leaving a then
worthless copper mine. The key to
developing copper was the Arizona &
California Railroad which began breaking
ground near Wickenburg for a line west
to Parker in 1904. Evans a Carrigan, 2
of the 3 miners, began looking for
investors. Carrigan talked to Swansea
born Welshman George Mitchell, into
visiting their prospects. In 1908 the 3
men got off the railroad in Bouse and
began a 21 mile buckboard ride through
the desert. Mitchell was impressed and
incorporated the Clara Consolidated in
1908 and began selling shares to foreign
investors. By the end of that year a
350 ton capacity furnace, hoists for 5
shafts and a 3.5 mile pipeline to carry
water from the Bill Williams River to
the townsite were under construction. By
1909 a group of wood-frame buildings,
postoffice Mitchell's two-story
residence, a general store, saloons and
even a moving picture house were built.
Townspeople included an unoffical mayor,
insurance salesman, and a "lady editor",
who ran the mining-camp newspaper,
called the Swansea Times, which reported
that Swansea housed 500 residents,
mostly men. On February 23 1910 the
first train arrived on the Arizona &
Swansea railroad from Bouse. The last of
the machinery arrived by rail and in May
1910 the furnaces began producing the
first copper at a rate of 50 tons every
24 hours. Mitchell was already in
financial trouble, with to much money
invested in ore reduction and not enough
on opening mines. By 1911 the treasury
was empty, the miners who had gone
without wages filed a lien and
bankruptcy was declared. A rise in
copper prices caused a short revival of
the mines in 1912. It was worked again
by new owners from 1914 to 1929. In 1929
the American Smelting and Refining
Company rebuilt much of the town.
However, due to the Great Depression the
mine was closed for good in
1937.
12
bourding houses ruins: built
1917, one
story adobe cottages 13' X
13'.
Smelter dust chamber:
20' X 90' X 12' brick and concrete
structure, part of it is still standing
today. Built in 1909
Flotation
mill site: 1919, cement
foundations.
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