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Posted Feb 20, 2010, 07:41:01 pm |
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HI, I thought some of the clubs might be interested in this. First come First Serve ! > geo
for reservations or group leaders contact geodowser[at]dowsingworks.com
i will only check here or reply pm infrequently.
Re: Maybe Another MO Hunt?? / Entire Ghost Town Site Located
Reply To This Topic #84 Posted Today at 06:31:09 PM Quote Modify Remove
Hey Folks,
In case you forgot, I still have that place near STL 3600 + Ac available and
waiting for you guys !
Streams Artesian spring , Camping , RV s, 4 wheelers ok miles of trails / sites
Original 1700s -1800s Ghost Mining Town WHOLE ORIGINAL TOWN / VALLEY
Foundations Post Office Paymasters Shack Forge Cabins,
Many Homestead Mining Sites - Original Valle Home circa 1749 Lake Camping Sites / Fishing
Old Rail Road Tunnel and much more ... site is being sold now time is of essence....
I should be able to put something together for $25 per person per day , minumum expenses,
no frills, store nearby, motel if needed not too far, state park camping avail too on River.
This area was heavy with civil war and bushwacker wars ! What are we waiting for !!!!
see photos info below - this is going to be one last shot here now, and i am going to
limit to the first 50 that reply with sincere interest . We will go soon as everyone is ready asap.
We are having warmer weather now and as soon as it dries up abit were on !!!
If its a good turn out and since there is so much area to potentially cover we can do it again
if the property isnt sold by then... [ unlikely but you never know its a unique rec property ]
Ill try to get some pics up, but i dont want to make a big deal like some of the other threads,
this is ready to go when ever you all are ready, and mabe several times to accomodate people
and those that want to return for more.....
About the property and area :
The Missouri Lead Belt
Lead mining exploration in Missouri began with French explorations along the Meramec River and in the rugged St. Francois Mountains of southeastern Missouri in about 1700. In 1720, Philip Renault led an expedition that resulted in the opening of Mine La Motte in Madison County. The first mines were mostly surface diggings done by manual labor with pick and shovel. By 1725, Old Mines and Mine Renault were opened in Washington County. In subsequent years, lead mining was conducted on a small scale in St. Francois County (beginning about 1742) and Mine a' Burton (1763) at present day Potosi in Washington County. It was not until 1842 that the Valle Mines were opened in northern St. Francois County. The Civil War fueled an increased need for lead. St. Joe Lead Company was formed in 1864 to open and operate the Bonne Terre Mine and Flat River Mine in St. Francois County.
The Paymaster's Shack @ Valle Mines
Where early miners and prospectors came to stake their claim when they were starting out or to sell their ore later on if successful. Here the Paymaster graded, weighed and purchased ore for the Valle Mining Company and set credit policy for the General Store. The amounts bought, sold and owed remain to this day in ledgers which can be seen at the Lost History Museum across the street.
For security, the Company drove a thousand handcut nails into the face of the front door (see close up when you visit).
Jesse James - Bushwackers
The Legend - At the end of a pay period miners came here to be paid out by the Paymaster after settling their outstanding debts with the Company for their housing, staples, and equipment such as pick axes and later dynamite during the era when Valles Mines was called "Boom Town".
The Paymaster's office held a safe, a safe periodically robbed by highwaymen.
On one occasion, however, the safe was even blown open with dynamite. No doubt that was one reason Superintendent "Two Pistol Pete" Frazier carried those guns - to keep law and order down in the valley on Pay Day.
Legend has it that one of the robbers had been Jesse James, whose hideout in a cave in the area across the now Highway 67 is common knowledge. Now a State Park with camping and accessable.
Possibly the same cave hid Sam Hildebrand, whose band of Confederates shot it out with Federal troops at the first General Store, a log building from long before the Civil War.
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