AZ-Oro+Blanco+Mine


 * =Birding in Arizona=

Santa Cruz County
=Oro Blanco Mine= California Gulch Road Nogales, Arizona 85621 Oro Blanco Mine webpage

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Oro Blanco Mine
Coordinates: 31.422409, -111.245972 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Oro Blanco Mine
Oro Blanco's post office was established October 2, 1879, and discontinued April 30, 1915. Actually two towns by the same name, the first was located about 10 miles from the second and each town was about five years apart. The first town had two steam mills and many arrastras working day and night. The population was about 225 and they even had a dentist. The richest man in Arizona was reported to have lived here, James A. Robinson. He was worth between $1.2 and $1.8 million yet lived on only $500/ year with his family. He had made his fortune in land, mines, and cattle. - GT

A short distance from the Arizona/Mexico border and just south of Arivaca is sleepy little Oro Blanco. The original was a small camp that grew from the nearby Oro Blanco mine and blossomed in 1873 when the mine was re-opened by a handful of miners. It survived about 20 years while the workers extracted silver ore from the ground. Silver was taken from the natural ores by use of the seven "arrastra" in the area. (Pic soon...I hope) Ores were placed in the bottom of the arrastra and a heavy stone was placed on top. the stone was dragged around and around in the basin until the ore was ground. Water was then run through it, washing out the lighter particles and leaving the heavier to settle to the bottom. At its height, Oro Blanco had about 225 residents. Education was a high priority but a schoolhouse was not. The children studied in a three sided, bush roofed shack! Unlike many ghost towns, Oro Blanco is being preserved by the Noon family, descendants of the original settler. From Oro Blanco Mine webpage



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