Located about two miles from Garnet, the Coloma area was still being mined, when I researched it in the early 2000’s. The Fessler family owned claims at Coloma and continued to hold their inheritance. “Names on the face of Montana” spells the name Coloma, other literature I have found spells the name Colomo and Colma. The mining camp had a post office open in 1895 with Anna Richards as postmaster. The last year the post office operated was 1908. In 2010 the University of Montana, Archeology Department in Missoula was involved in an exploratory dig on Myrna Fessler Leipheimer’s claims and had many historical artifacts in their possession. Professor Timmons was the archeologist involved in the dig.
Wolle, in “Montana Pay Dirt”, states she gleaned her information about Coloma from J.T. Pardee’s U.S. Geological Survey reports created in 1917 and 1918. The Granite County Map dated March 1987 shows Colomo, the Mammoth mine and Colomo cemetery in Powell county, but it is located within two miles of the Garnet ghost town, so was usually discussed in the newspapers of Granite county.
Wolle stated “Several mines were located in 1886 along the main divide on Elk Creek two miles southwest of Garnet, and these have been worked sporadically, producing in aggregate $40,000 to $50,000 in gold. The camp of Coloma was liveliest at the turn of the century, while the Mammoth and Comet mines were in operation, and an estimated $200,000 was taken from the Mammoth property. Since then, the camp has been virtually deserted.
Development of the Comet mine, …in 1905, by the Quantock Mining and Milling Company, resulted in small returns of gold. In 1916 a tunnel was bored to crosscut the Mammoth and other veins…. (and) in recent years most of the claims had been tied up in litigation (1951).The Pearl on the divide between Deep Creek and Bilk Gulch was reported to produce $20,000 in gold and copper.”
Fifer, in “Montana Mining Ghost Towns” states that in the Coloma district, placer discoveries created a major rush in 1865, on Bivins Gulch and Elk Creek which caused the creation of Coloma, Reynolds, Springtown and Yreka mining camps. This reference states no more than $100,000 of free gold was mined, even though they had a ten and twenty stamp mill at Coloma.
I found references referring to mines in Coloma on October 30, 1895, in the Philipsburg Mail copied from the Missoulian stating C.C. Eckert and E. Simpson had returned to Missoula last week from the Mammoth Mining Company property in Coloma. “They found the property all there and everything in good condition so far as the real and personal property is concerned. As yet Mr. Parker, who was to have been in Deer Lodge yesterday to adjust some claims against the company has not yet been heard from, but it is expected, that the claims will receive the proper attention and be disposed of in a few days.”
From 1930-1941, August Erickson was in the Garnet area and in his diary speaks frequently of working at Coloma, especially the Mammoth claims. I found earlier references to the Mammoth Mine on September 22, 1905 when the Drummond Call carried an article that identified the claim with a work force of about 20 men under the able management of Major R.L. Hornbrook. Development work was being done and the property was expected to put thirty men to work when the mill was opened. In that same issue was an article detailing that J.W. Moss the well known store keeper of Coloma was accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Eastey and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Askman of Garnet to Lake Placid, in the upper Blackfoot country, on a hunting and fishing trip.
The September 22, 1905 Call, stated the development work was being supervised by Mr. H. Salisbury. The group was comprised of 14 mining claims and owned by Philadelphia capitalists with Mr. H. Sieble Jr. the president. The development work consisted of an incline shaft bored to the 400 foot level. There were main levels at the 200 foot and 400 foot levels with development being carried at both of these levels. They were running a cross cut in the direction of the Mammoth mine (which belonged to the group) that would be 800 feet to reach the lead in the Miner’s Dream, believed to be one of the best claims. This would also assist exposing the lead in the Grouse, another promising claim of the group. There was a Huntington mill on the property that would handle between 15 and 20 tons of ore a day.
September 29, 1905, the Call announced “several good properties around Coloma: the Clemantha, Cato, Crystal Springs, Valley” and others discussed below.
The September 29, 1905, Call news paper stated that Mr. James Parker, of New York, the principal owner of the Mammoth Mine was “in camp briefly this week.” Ike Warner had a contract to furnish five hundred cords of wood for the Mammoth Mine, and had ten men cutting wood.
Above these articles was a full column detailing the Mammoth Mine: “The Mammoth Mine…is the most developed of the Coloma properties, and has quite a history. In a general way, it may be stated that it was first opened by an incline shaft, about 350 feet deep. From this there were large quantities of high grade ore extracted most of which was oxidized ore, of which there is still a goodly quantity left in the mine. Later, at a point of about 400 feet from the incline shaft, a new shaft was sunk vertically, a distance of 270 feet, in the contact between the lime and the granite. From these two levels were run one at a depth of 150 feet, and the other from the bottom of the shaft. From the 150 foot level there have been taken out large quantities of high grade sulphide ore, and there is now exposed in this same level several thousand cubic feet of ore of the same rich character…
The property now belongs to the New York-Montana Gold Mining Company, and is under the management of Col. L.C. Parker, of Deer Lodge. Under his efficient management the lower level has been advanced about 500 feet and an intermediate level has been run between the upper and lower levels. Most of the intermediate level which is about 200 feet in length, is in fine ore and the bodies are large. Altogether there is about 2,000 feet of levels, all of which are connected through upraises. There are thousands of tons of ore exposed, much of it of good shipping value, and if the ten stamp mill …was in commission, there is enough ore uncovered to keep it running for two years.
The mine is well equipped with machinery, having a commodious shaft house, a large gallows frame built of 14 X 18 timbers, a cage is used for all hoisting; there is a 60 and a 25 horse power boiler; a 35 horse power engine; an Ingersoll air compressor, by which the drills are operated, and which also furnishes the miners with fresh air. There are at present 13 men employed, but when the mill is placed in commission, ..this force will be more than doubled.”
The majority of the Call newspaper was dedicated to the mines and had lengthy articles about all the work being done. I do not know who the writer was, but he obviously had an interest in the mines as each article detailed in depth the mining processes being carried out. A new lease was being granted to Al Lawery (sic) and Nick Thienes for the Nancy Hanks in October 1905 and Messrs. C.D. and Dan McPherson and Dan McIntosh, who had a bond and lease on the Daisy group of claims, “lying between Garnet and Top O’ Deep, have opened up a strong lead ...and claim to have 18 inches of good shipping ore. The Daisy Group, which consists of the Goodwin, Goodenough and Daisy claims belong to the Spenceley brothers, and is one of the well known properties of the Garnet district. There were about forty tons of ore in the bins of the Daisy and this ore has been reduced to about twenty-five tons by screening, and will be shipped now….Only three men are working at the present time, but it is understood that this number will be increased in the near future, and if the lead just opened up holds out, the Daisy group will soon be ranked with the regular shippers of the district.”
Fred Askman and Dave Blackie had shipped a car of ore from their lease on the Crescent and netted a “goodly sum.” J.D. Sullivan and T. Kearns shipped sixty tons of ore from the Robert Emmet mine to Washoe sampling at Butte. The “ore was a very good grade.” Messrs. Dalberg, Nevlin and Harrington, lessees on the Red Cloud, were ready to ship sixty tons of ore to Butte and Charles Boggs (sic) had given up his lease on the San Jose. He was going to join McPherson “in working the Little Dandy during the winter.”
By 1907 a new mining company had been formed named the Butte-Coloma Gold Mining Company with capitalization of $1,000,000 and the par value of one dollar per share. William Bailey employed by W.A. Clarke is the Company President. With a new infusion of money the mining dreams continued.
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