Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
1881 Wickes Letter/Letterhead—ALTA Mining Company |
Object Name |
Stationery |
Caption |
1881 letter from Alta Mining Company. |
People |
Brooke, Robert F. Brown, Robert Holter, A. M. Shaw, George W. Snow, Michael Starrett, Charles Wickes, W. W. Wickes, T. A. |
Scope & Content |
Folder 2: 1881 Wickes Letter/Letterhead—ALTA Mining Co.(Original) -8"x 10.5", cream paper -Sept 26, 1881; Signed by Chas. Starrett, Assistant Superintendent -To: AM Holter: Placing order -Letterhead Names: • W. W. Wickes, President, Managing Director • Michael Snow, VP; Robt. F. Brooke, Secretary/Treas. • Superintendent: Robert Brown; Assistant Superintendent: Chas. Starrett; Auditor: Geo. W. Shaw Summary: Alta Mine at Wickes was a massively rich mine in the county. Mine President, WW Wickes, is the namesake of the town of Wickes. His nephew, TA WIckes, was a presbyterian minister that was instrumental in building the town of WIckes, residing in Jefferson County for the remainder of his life. (Wickes Presbyterian Church Records) Source: The Helena IR - 12/05/04—Contributor Montana Historical Society The community of Wickes evolved from a mining camp into a boom town after silver was discovered in 1864. A discovery on Alta Mountain in 1869 led to the creation of the Alta Mine, one of the richest silver mines in the state. The mine created a reported 30 miles of tunnels inside the mountain, and tales of its production vary widely, from $5 million to up to $32 million. By the late 1880s, Wickes was home to between 900 to 1,500 people. Amenities included five dance halls, 22 saloons, one general store, a post office and a Presbyterian church. Wickes also was one of only six towns listed in the territory's first telephone directory in 1885. The town was named after William Wickes, who was an engineer with the Alta Mining Company. Fire has played an integral part in the town's history. A blaze in 1882 destroyed the mill, and the company sold out to one of its stockholders, Samuel Hauser. By 1884, Hauser's company had constructed a new smelter, with three large smokestacks. Hauser also convinced the Northern Pacific Railroad to construct a line between Helena and Wickes, giving the company a means to export its products. The beginning of the end of Wickes' boom-town days came in 1889, with the erection of the East Helena lead smelter. Ore that had been processed in Wickes instead was shipped to East Helena. The silver panic of 1893 and fires in 1900 and 1902, which basically leveled the town, added to Wickes' demise. |
Date |
1881 |
Collection |
Mining |
Search Terms |
1880s 1881 Business Letter Letterhead Mine Mining Purchase order Silver Stationery |
Catalog Number |
2019.233.2 |
Subjects |
Alta Mining Company Wickes, MT |