La Paz County

Desert Queen Mine

In one of the quickest boom-to-bust stories in AZ, Winchester swelled to 2,000 in its heyday.

Winchester is a former boom town in western Arizona, located approximately 3 miles north of present-day Vicksburg in the Granite Wash Mountains. Known most notably for its relation to the Desert Queen Mine, this operation is probably one of the quickest boom-to-bust stories in Arizona history. The town swelled to 2,000 people and just two months later, was nearly abandoned entirely. 

The Desert Queen Mine, also known as the Desert Mine, was first prospected as early as 1890. This area of the Granite Wash Mountains proved to contain valuable pockets of gold, silver, and copper ore. Numerous claims were established in the surrounding area. A man by the name of Josiah Winchester was the original owner of the Desert Queen. It wasn’t until after 1900 when success at the mine would take off. With the creation of a post office in the nearby town of Vicksburg in 1906, a stage station was opened just a year later. This would help bring hopeful prospectors into the area. 

The remnants of what is thought to be Winchester’s Cabin. This sits just west of the main adits.

In 1909, Winchester met up with Dick ‘Wick’ Hall, a businessman and co-founder of the town of Salome. Hall took ore samples from the Desert Queen to Phoenix. On March 15, 1909, Hall arrived at the depot in Phoenix with the samples from the mine. He ordered them to be paraded through the streets to a realty office. He revealed to the public that the three samples had assayed at $117,000, $254,000, and $338,000 per ton. At the time, gold was valued at $32 an ounce, so this news excited those that listened to Hall. This would be the next big bonanza. 

Within hours, hundreds of people were boarding trains and following Hall to the mine. They got off at the stops in Salome and Vicksburg. Josiah Winchester, the owner of the mine, quickly capitalized on those who arrived. In just the first day, he managed to sell $2500 worth of lots based on the potentially exaggerated assay reports from Hall. Within the first month, the town boomed and was named after the mine owner. 2000 people called Winchester home. Stores, a saloon, two restaurants, a lodging house, and a lumber yard were built in the town. Winchester became the largest settlement on the newly built Arizona & California Railroad which passed nearby. The telephone line from Vicksburg was soon extended to Winchester and an auto stage was established. 

The ore bin juts out near the main tunnel. While it is leaning, it remains upright for now.

The main haulage tunnel of the Desert Queen Mine.

 

By the end of April, the gold vein that had produced $30,000 in ore quickly vanished. The bonanza promoted by Hall & Winchester proved to be nothing more than a small pocket of riches. Just as quickly as it had boomed, the town of Winchester quickly emptied out. A few prospective miners remained including Winchester, who lived in a small cabin near the Desert Queen. The mine continued with very limited success. The ownership changed hands multiple times and at times was owned by the Vicksburg Development Company, the Desert Mining Company, and others. 

In total, the Desert Queen consisted of three patented claims (Golden Mound, Gold Eagle, & Safe Deposit) as well as two unintended mines. The operation shut down in 1942 following the onset of World War II as all non-essential mines were closed by order of the federal government. In total, about 700 tons were produced from the Desert Queen averaging 0.3 oz. per ton of gold, 5 oz. per ton of silver, and some trace amounts of copper. In total, there was a 300 foot main adit with numerous other tunnels and prospects. 

Interestingly enough, waste rock from the mine was sampled by geology students from ASU. They found that of the 6,000 tons of waste rock, a lot more gold and silver could be recovered using cyanide leaching. Chemical leaching wasn’t used in the early 1900s during the heyday as the miners were more interested in actual hunks of gold rather than the tedious process of processing all the recovered rock. Back in October 2009, the mine property was listed for sale for just under $2 million. It is unclear if it is still for sale or who currently owns the property. 

Today, there are numerous ruins left surrounding the Desert Queen Mine and the former town of Winchester. Josiah Winchester’s original cabin sits in decent shape just west of the mine. Near the main adit, a large ore bin remains on the edge of the waste rock pile. Numerous adits, foundations, and a 500 gallon cement water tank also remain scattered around the mine. It is definitely an interesting place to explore. To access the mine, follow the Desert Queen Mine trail three miles north of Vicksburg.

 
 
 

Sources:

  1. “Desert Mine (Golden Mound Mine; Gold Eagle Mine; Winchester Mine), Ellsworth Mining District, Granite Wash Mountains, La Paz Co., Arizona, USAi.” Desert Mine (Golden Mound Mine; Gold Eagle Mine; Winchester Mine), Ellsworth Mining District, Granite Wash Mountains, La Paz Co., Arizona, USA, www.mindat.org/loc-33467.html 

  2. Helten, Bonnie, et al. “Winchester, Arizona and the Desert Queen Mine.” American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project, 1 Nov. 2009, www.apcrp.org/WINCHESTER_DESERT_QUEEN_MINE/WINCHESTER_Mast.htm 

  3. “Winchester.” Arizona Ghost Town, www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/winchester.html “Winchester.” Western Arizona Ghost Towns, by Stanley W. Paher, Nevada Publications, 1990, pp. 42–43.

  4. “Arizona and California Railroad.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_and_California_Railroad.