Black Pine and Combination

Black Pine photo from the Tex Crowley collection. Notice the warchman Frank Sprague's car. picture prior to the 1935 fire.

After extensive research I have decided to write about Black Pine and Combination together. Many of the articles do not separate the two as Combination was located at the mill in the bottom of Willow Creek Canyon two miles from the ridge where the Black Pine settlement was built. Both were Company towns so when the “Company” left so did the residents. 

Black Pine was originally occupied from sometime in 1882 through 1897. After the original discovery, little work was done for the next few years due to the high cost of road building. In 1886 James A. Pack leased the property and formed the Black pine Mining Company according to papers at the Montana Historical Society. The Company was composed of Pack, Josiah M. Merrill, Jospeh H. Harper, Frederick W. Flint, Aeneas McAndrew, Ralph B. Wallace and William P. Shyrock. The Company built the 10-stamp mill down the hill to the west in the Willow Creek Valley, which became known as Combination.. Pictures from the Tex Crowley collection show Black Pine as a string of cabins lining the east and west side of the dirt road. Other articles describe cabins also being in the trees to the west down the slope to Willow creek. The school house was located in Middletown Canyon and was operated in the summer months when it was safe for the children to walk to the building. Winters were severe and snow deep. Water was scarce on the ridge and was hauled by a horse drawn cart to Black Pine from Willow Creek, where the residents paid $1.00 for a gallon. During the winter most people melted snow for their needs. Because Black Pine was a company town there was no liquor allowed. Some articles stated this was because the camp was for family men. Needless to say most miners were not a dry lot so a settlement called “Whiskey Flats or Hill”, sprang up just south of the mine property. Seven or eight saloons and brothels made up this settlement. There was no cemetery in the area “because the miners preferred to be “buried in the ‘burg.” When a miner died the Miner’s Union closed the mines for the day and everyone accompanied the body to Philipsburg for the funeral. 

The original Company underestimated the costs and could not pay off their debts with the October 8, 1889 Mail advertising a Sheriff sale of 36 different person’s and businesses suing Black Pine Mining Company. The lawsuit was asking for $22,000 and interest which made an aggregate total of about $25,000 that had been advanced to the defendant company. Quoting the article:…”The company’s property consisting of the mines, hoisting plants and mill at Combination, has been attached and Deputy United States Marshall Wall arrived from Helena last Saturday and took possession. The suit it seems was precipitated through a disagreement among stockholders… The matter continued in court for some time and the injunction was at last made permanent with the result that the money paid in by those who had consented to the assessment was returned and the debt remained unpaid. Several watchmen have constantly been employed in taking care of the property and it seems at least some of them had difficulty in disposing of their time checks, even at a considerable discount. Thus the matter dragged along, the debt increasing everyday, and as there seemed no way for the several factions among the stockholders to agree upon a satisfactory settlement, the St. Louis Bank evidently grew impatient and attached the works.” 

                 Combination Mill Illustration by Muriel Sibell Wolle in "Montana Pay Dirt" , 1983

For three years the property has been idle, not because of good ore, but that some stockholders had an idea that they were being wronged and became hostile managers. In December some of the Company stockholders reorganized under Combination Mining and Milling Company and bought the assets being sold at the sheriff auction. This Company headed by Harper with Anthony H. Barrett, Patrick Talent, George E. Maule, Elliott H. Wilson, Henry Williams and Charles Goodale was capitalized at $600,000. In the fall of 1890 the unsettled silver market caused the closing of the mine for the winter months. But they did re-open in the spring. 

By 1891, Charles D. McLure from the Bi-Mettalic and Granite Mountain Mining Companies had acquired the majority of stock and by 1893, the officers of Combination were almost identical to the Bi-Metallic. The mine and mill operated until 1897 but even though the output was over two million ounces of silver, the Company was never able to pay dividends and had to assess each share a total over 35 cents during the next 10 years of operation. At the turn of the century, Charles was the primary owner. 

       Combination Mining Office Illustration by Muriel Sibell Wolle in "Montana Pay Dirt" ,1983

Following are news articles during the early years:

 

Miss Sadie Downs taught the Black Pine School during the spring of 1893 and according to the Philipsburg Mail was awarded a first grade certificate from the county the week of August 10, 1893. She was then elected by the school trustees to fill a position at the Philipsburg schools for the term beginning in September. Sadie was the sister of Suzi (Downs, Berthoud) Hull, wife of W.T. on Rock Creek. 

The January 2, 1896 Philipsburg Mail unpaid county taxes for the year 1895 that were in arrears: Joseph Racine for a house in Combination owed $2.64; Roe and Drake for a cabin in Combination owed $1.58; Joseph Reil for a cabin in Combination owed $1.57;Weinstein Estate for a lodging house in Combination owed $1.08 

On September 18, 1896 the Philipsburg Mail stated that Louis B., the infant son of Mrs. B.L. Schultz died the week prior and the body was taken to Butte for internment. He was one year and twelve days old. Mrs. Schultz had only been a widow for a few weeks when the toddler died. Mr. Schultz had died a few weeks prior in Combination. So far research has not found his obituary. 

In that same issue of the Mail was a story about J.S. Thorp being robbed of $200 by highwaymen on the road from Combination. Thorp was a grocery man and was returning to Philipsburg when two masked men blocked his way about 9 pm and ordered him to stop. He put his team into a run. This caused the robbers to begin shooting. One shot injured his lead horse and then a second shot hit another one of the team causing the wagon to stop. The robbers blindfolded Mr. Thorp and threatened him with a knife to his throat before he gave up his money. The article stated Thorp was probably also going to lose his two horses from their wounds. Further research of the newspaper does not reveal the highway men identified or on trial. 

There were four main shafts developed at Black Pine: The Barrett, Harper, Harrison and Lewis. From these shafts it is estimated that 2,135,000 ounces of silver and 1,411 ounces of gold were mined between 1881 and 1897. The ore was hauled through Middletown canyon to the mill at Combination by eight to sixteen horse or mule teams There it was crushed and the concentrates were taken out by William Gillespie’s eighteen head string of pack mules. Gillespie hauled in the freight from Philipsburg and hauled out the concentrate on his return trip. Some estimate the population during the boom time to be near 1,200 with three shifts of miners working every day of the week. 

The Western Mining History states there ultimately were eight vertical shafts, 3 tunnels, drifts, inclines and crosscuts by 1906; by 1974 all surface openings were closed except the Lewis shaft and Combination Adit. 

The May 5, 1887 Mail stated: “W.H. Presley who is running the boarding house at the Black Pine mines went to town during the week. He states there are 30 carpenters at work at the mill and that the strike was made in the west instead of the east drift, as incorrectly reported [in an earlier issue].” 

The July 17, 1890 Mail stated that John H. Price of Black Pine and John Ainsley of Philipsburg left on the train for a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they were to remain for a week or two. 

Combination Notes, July 20, 1893 Philipsburg Mail stated: “Mr. Christie is again in possession of the hotel; Combination is without a physician; Dr. Orr has gone to his home in Ohio. The mill shut down entirely last Saturday evening. Mr. Sherman, the genial superintendent, took a party of ladies through early in the afternoon, explaining things as he went along in a way to make them wonder. The whistles have ceased to blow at the mine. The work for the supply of electric lights has been completed since the shutdown. 

W.J. Carpenter published a notice in the Citizen Call on October 30, 1895 that stated: “Owing to the large amount of business that I am doing at Combination, it will be impossible for me to open my photography gallery in Philipsburg until November 5th. Also, in the same issue of the Call was the rumor that Wm. H. Robinson foreman at the Sunrise would be replacing J.T. Carroll as foreman at Combination. 

In 1897 low silver prices closed the mine; It re-opened from 1937-1974 then although individuals worked claims it did not open again until 1985 with final closure by Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company in 1988. The mine has 57 patented claims. in Sections 7,8,9,16,17, and 18. T.8 N, R.14W.