Jewels from Old Silver King

The Silver King was one of the world's greatest silver mines. Located beneath the buttresses of the Pinal range in the northern part of Pinal county, it undoubtedly was the most notable mine of its class in Arizona. In its heyday, great chunks of virgin silver were dug from the ledges of this mine, and from 1875 to 1928, more than $16,000,000 worth of ore was taken from the site. In the days of its activity it disbursed about $1,500,000 in dividends, and was one of the few Arizona stocks regularly quoted on the San Francisco Stock Exchange.

The fame of the Silver King spread rapidly, and, along with the good people came the riff-raff, usually found at all of the mining camps. The theft of silver ore here was a common thing, and several "fences" were prosecuted and sent to jail. Men on the big ore teams would throw off chunks of rich ore, which were picked up by confederates. It was estimated that the dust of the stretch between the mine and the mill would average at least $5 a ton in silver.

The story of the discovery of the Silver King is one of romantic proportions, and ironically, the original discoverer of the famed site failed to realize financial gain from the rich bonanza. In 1872, according to McClintock's History of Arizona, a soldier named Sullivan, employed in the construction of a road up the face of a mountain in the Pinal range, returning from work one evening, sat down on a projecting rock near camp and began picking up fragments among which were some small heavy black metalliclooking lumps. These, instead of breaking up when pounded against the stones, simply flattened out, similar to lead. A short time later, his term of service having expired, Sullivan left the construction camp and made his way to the Mason ranch on the Gila, not far from the present site of Phoenix. He displayed the nuggets to Mason, although he wouldn't tell where he had found them. Then Sullivan disappeared from the district to parts unknown.

Mason, realizing the value of the nuggets Sullivan had shown him, made several attempts to locate the place where they had been picked up. One location was made just a mile and a half from the site which was later to become the famous Silver King. This mine was named the Silver Queen. Later, the Globe-Miami district was established, which today, continues to be a copper producer.

In 1875, Mason formed a party of five, and, taking a train of pack animals, they made their way to the Silver Queen to bring back some ore. On their return trip, they were attacked by a band of marauding Apaches, and as a result, one of their party was killed. Mason and his men buried the victim at Camp Supply, at the summit of the new road Sullivan, the soldier, had helped construct. When the survivors reached the foot of the grade on their way back from the summit, they found water and the old construction camp. One of the party was sent to fetch a pack animal which had strayed. He found the mule a short distance away, standing on a ledge of croppings. He broke off a few pieces, and after examining the black rock, rushed back to his party with a hand full of what proved to be silver.The four survivors formed an equal partnership and the mine was named the Silver King. A short time later, two of the owners sold their interests to their two partners for $80,000, feeling that the vein of rich ore was too good to last. It is said that more than this amount was realized out of the net profits during the first six months of operation. Then Mason weakened and sold his interest to James M. Barney, of Yuma, for $250,000. At this time the first class ore assayed $8,000 to $20,000 per ton, and was shipped to San Francisco by way of Yuma. Finally, Reagan, the last of the original four, began to suspect that the mine had a bottom to it and also sold out to Barney, for $300,000.

In 1882, when the Silver King was in full operation, a broken, poverty-stricken old man came into the settlement, and gazed with interest at the busy scene. He went to the office of the company and announced himself as Sullivan, the original discoverer of the vein, and asked for work. He said he had been working as a farm hand in California, trying to obtain sufficient means to return to Arizona, and the site. He was positively identified as the original discoverer of the place and was taken into the company's employ, where he worked for the rest of his days.

Of special significance and of great historic value, as a memento of Arizona's old Silver King mine, are the beautiful set of officers' jewels owned by Prescott Grand Lodge No. 1, Independent Order Of Odd Fellows. The jewels were constructed from a bar of silver bullion, donated for the purpose by Benjamin A. Barney, then president of the Silver King. The bar of bullion weighed forty-nine ounces.

Huge ore wagons, drawn by eight to ten teams of horses and mules, hauled rich ore from the Silver King Mine to the mill, several miles away. Tombstone in 1886, the members were agreeably surprised to find that their efforts to procure a complete set of silver officer jewels had at last been successful. They had been informed that President Barney of the Silver King Mining Company, an Odd Fellow himself for over forty years, had instructed the company superintendent to present with his compliments to the grand lodge, a bar of silver bullion of sufficient size for the manufacture of the officer jewels. Each of the jewels carries the Territorial Seal. They are some six inches in length and weigh approximately five ounces apiece. They are in the custody of Henry J. Suder, Grand Lodge Historian, Prescott.

The Silver King was one of the world's greatest silver mines. In its heyday, great chunks of virgin silver were dug from the ledges of this mine.