Morenci High School - Copper Cat Yearbook (Morenci, AZ)

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With New Town, Second Open Pit BARREN HILLSIDE adorns New Town METCALF, formally founded in 1901, grew to a city of 5,000 inhabitants by 1910. location, built east of Morenci, above. this, people began to arrive daily. Robert and James Metcalf located the richest claims on Shannon Mountain, near today’s Metcalf open pit. Other claims included Arizona Central, Yankie, Long- fellow, and the Montezuma mines. Up to this time, the mines of Captain Joy’s Camp were private enterprises, each man out to win his fortune. However, in 1874, this changed. On behalf of the Detroit Copper Company, William Church bought many of the indivi- dual claims and therefore unified the mines and the town. A year later, the company, under the dir- ection of Captain E. B. Ward, con- structed the first smelter, located on the San Francisco River. This was soon moved to a spot closer to the mines, due to a transpor- tation problem. In 1877, another smelter joined the Detroit Com- pany’s, introducing competition in the area’s mining. Charles and Henry Lesinsky, newcomers to Morenci, with the Metcalfs help, built an adobe smelter, with the capacity of one ton a day. Their power was furnished by charcoal fuel and blacksmith bellows. How- ever, the partnership soon dis- solved, with the Metcalf brothers selling the property for $5,000. In the 1870’s, burros had been the most common means of ore transportation. Due to the limited capacity of the animals, produc- tion was slow and the mines made little or no profit. Therefore, in 1877, the Lesinsky brothers auth- orized a railroad line from their Chase Creek Smelter to the mines. Due to the limited transportation outside the area, the engine was brought in piece by piece and was assembled in Clifton by its invent- or. Called “Little Emma”, the engine was scaled to baby-gauge rails, the total rail span across being only twenty inches. Hauling approximately forty tons of ore, Little Emma traveled from the smelter to the Humbolt and Mon- tezuma mines, later expanding to the Coronado and Metcalf mines. DECLINE IN HIGH GRADE ore in un- derground mines led to the establish- ment of top-side mining in 1937. Now the open pit is the world's third largest. 3

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Morenci and Mines Celebrate Hundredth Anniversary “The true past departs not; no truth or goodness realized by man ever dies or can die; but all is still here, and, recognized or not, lives and works through endless changes. ” Carlyle. THIS IS MORENCl’S STORY: its past, present, future. Though only ruins remain of its physical past, memories and experiences of its inhabitants live on, passed down from generation to gen- eration, until we hear them today. Morenci’s history began in the early 1870’s, when, in the midst of ferocious animals and maraud- ing Indians, a lone group of white men journeyed into the mountains of the continental Southwest. Led by Captain Chase, they explored the vast frontier regions, struggling against nature and other unknown dangers for their lives. But their efforts were rewarded; they soon found vast quantities of gold and copper ore, undisturbed by man’s hands. Eager to make their fortunes, they pitched their tents and began to extract the rich ores from their natural surroundings. Thus began Captain Joy’s Camp, later renamed Morenci in 1875. In 1872, the first copper claims were formally recorded, and with

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METCALF INCLINES. Ore transpor- tation proved a problem, as mountains disputed level ground, right. Above, MORENCI of 1942 shows town growth. 4 Despite their immediate success in the Morenci mines, the Lesinsky brothers left the area in 1883, selling their holdings for $2,000,000 to the Arizona Copper Company. The new owners soon moved the smelter to the Morenci proper and began more modern mining and processing methods. Two years later, the local railroad lines were connected to the mainline in Lordsburg, enabling travel to Morenci by means other than horseback or stage. Up to this time, the extracted copper ore was hauled 1200 miles to Kansas City by bull teams and the return trip brought back the com- munities needed supplies. With the railroad expansion, the trips were faster and much less dangerous, as before, Indians, wild animals, and unpredictable weather had presented unseen problems to the merchants and their supply teams. In 1880, the mines were closed down, resulting in a decrease in Morenci’s census. Realizing the potential of the recently abandon- ed mines, Phelps Dodge and Com- pany bought a controlling interest in the Detroit Company in 1897. During this same year, a devastat- ing fire swept through Morenci so- cial section. Called “Old Town”, it consisted mainly of gambling and dance halls, and saloons and was by reputation, one of the west’s roughest towns. However, before the ashes had cooled, townsmen began to rebuild a “New Town” on the site of early 1900 Morenci. With the arrival of the twentieth century, Morenci began to show the maturity of age. Several new