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History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 4 of 35 washing of minerals; then, in early Autumn, a raid by the Confederate General Price's Army, breaking up the company's operations and preventing the return of workmen for nearly two months; then an unusually severe winter, and lastly, the heavy floods of the Spring which destroyed roads and prevented transportation for several weeks." Successive years did not lessen the problems - only changed them. Again Mr. Jones reported, "it will be readily seen that the labor involved in blasting, moving, breaking, crushing, jigging and smelting ores was quite out of proportion to the value of say 2,300 pounds of lead per day at five cents a pound, and that we derived little encouragement in the way of profits." "Some of the greater difficulties then encountered in working the mines profitably are not apparent from the above account of dressing and smelting of ores. All the ore was taken from open cuts or surface shallow shafts. In wet weather, the miners could not work in them because the cuts were full of water. In winter the sleet and ice interfered with work. In dry weather, as we depend upon rains for the necessary water for dressing the ores, we could not "jig" or crush that for want of water. Hence, with all our earnestness and energy, we could not do more than about six months' work in a year, far too little to cover expenses." Equipment was crude and inefficient. Furnaces were old-fashioned stone ovens, which sloped to the front with a large firebox for wood beneath. Separation of the rock from the lead was done by a process called "jigging." The jigging machine, used at that time, is described as a long heavy pole lying across a large log or wooden horse with a water-washed sieve filled with crushed ore. Constant short, sharp motions by a man on the end of this pole would move the material in the sieve up and down in the water. The heavy particles of lead would sink to the bottom while the lighter particles of stone would remain at the top. In 1865, two blast furnaces were erected for smelting of lead but were not satisfactory and were abandoned. In early 1866 a reverberatory furnace the output of pig lead could be increased as far as it was practicable to hire and accommodate men. From a copy of the report to the stockholders for 1866 we find that a new Resident Superintendent, J. C. Winslow, was employed for the Southeast Missouri operations and a number of Cornish miners, so called "Cousin Jacks," were brought in. Incidentally, many of these Cornishmen have left descendants who are an important part of our present population. Two hundred fifty tons of pig lead was sold in 1866, which was more than double the sales of the previous year. President Jones was exhausted and thoroughly worn out with the many trials and tribulations he had encountered as head of the mining venture in the wilderness of Missouri. Soon after the annual meeting of October, 1866 he and his family left for Northampton, Massachusetts for a vacation and rest. It was here that Mr. Jones met Dr. Charles Bunyan Parsons a man who was to play an important role in the development of the lead mining area in southeast Missouri. His work and ingenuity were instrumental in developing processes of ore extraction. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 6 of 35 Dr. Parsons was offered the position of Resident Manager but hesitated to accept until he had discussed it with his wife. He had married a very charming lady in 1862 and he felt that it was beyond all decency to drag her so far from things that she had been used to and set her down in a wilderness where there was little else than mud and a few log cabins. He asked for more time before giving his answer to which the Board readily agreed. Dr. Parsons was inclined to accept this challenge of his skill and ability but he cautiously outlined the proposal to his wife Jane with the full expectancy that she would refuse to go to the wilderness of Missouri. She might have refused had she been acquainted with a chigger or had she ever seen a tick. Much to his surprise she agreed and told him she felt this was the thing which could be beneficial to his health. On the first of May in 1867, Dr. Parsons associated himself with the company and he and Mrs. Parsons started on the long trip to Missouri where they were to spend the remainder of their days. Late in May, Dr. Parsons arrived and assumed his duties as Resident Manager of the Southeast Missouri operations. The "Works" consisted of one small crushing mill, one set of Cornish rolls, three reverbertory furnaces and a few hand-operated jigs. Ore was gathered from so-called "Openings" which were no more than shallow pits and a few inclined drifts extending to the bed rock. Dr. Parsons' first efforts were to increase production. More pumps were purchased to keep the inclined pits dry so work could continue daily. Several more furnaces were installed and the "Parsons Mechanical Jig" was installed which was an improvement over the one-manjob. There is no doubt but that the enthusiasm and wisdom which Dr. Parsons brought to Missouri were the reasons that the company survived those early days. Dr. Parsons' great interest in his company combined with his unequalled skill in handling men and inspiring in them the same enthusiasm he possessed, did much to establish the integrity and reputation of the little mining camp. Perhaps it could be expected that Dr. Parsons' increased expenditures would be questioned by some of the stock-holders. They had already expended more than they feltjustified in doing and hesitated to throw more money into the business. This created quite a hassle, but Dr. Parsons ultimately proved himself right by processing enough lead to pay a small dividend. This small dividend persuaded the Board of Directors to issue one hundred thousand dollars worth of bonds, which were sold to the stockholders. In January of 1868 the company was free of debt with the exception of that owed the stockholders. As mining activities continued, it was found that by sloping underground a better grade of ore was encountered and much better protection for the men was provided from the inclement weather. Another economic advantage resulted in that the overburden of dirt was not removed. Men were able to work successfully the entire year. One of the locations known as "1095" or the Bonne Terre supply shaft, produced good ore as far down as thirty-five feet in the clay and seemed to get better toward the bottom of the drift, with lead ore imbedded in it, convinced Dr. Parsons that good values lay in the rock further down. With sledge hammers and drills they continued downward using black powder to blast the lead contained rock. This is perhaps the first record of "hard rock mining" in this district. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 7 of 35 Dr. Parsons immediately wrote President Jones regarding the experiment in hard rock mining and asked permission to continue the experiment. Dr. Parsons had read an article in a magazine regarding a new invention called a diamond drill. This device would cut deep into the rock and bring up samples of the rock through which it had drilled. Mr. Jones felt this device seemed to have application to the lead mines. He owned a plot of land near Peekskill-on-the-Hudson under which was reported to be a valuable body of find marble. He contacted the inventors, Severance and Holt, and contracted them to drill his property. The fact that the diamond drill proved the marble was of no particular value convinced Mr. Jones that his device had great possibilities for the lead mines. He presented his report regarding the diamond drill to the stock-holders hoping that they would approve the necessary money to move the drill and an experienced driller to Missouri. He was met with an unexpected refusal. Their objection was that more ore had been discovered than could be processed in several years. Mr. Jones had one enthusiastic backer in Mr. Hugh N. Camp, Sr., Treasurer of the company, who agreed that although much ore was in sight there was nothing to prevent the company's expansion. Increasing the output of the mines would thus earn additional money. Mr. Jones and Mr. Camp advanced the necessary funds to move the drill to Missouri. On March 5, 1869, the drill arrived at the mine along with Mr. Albert Shepherd who had operated it at Peekskill. Mr. Shepherd lost no time in setting his rig in operating order. The first drilling was http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 8 of 35 started close to the Hathaway incline (1095) and reached the depth of ninety feet but disclosed only a few specks of ore. Moving southeast about fifty feet and drilling to a depth of seventy-five provided no better results. It was discovered later that had this hole been drilled some thirty feet deeper a fine body of ore would have been discovered. The use of the diamond drill was the first step toward progressive modernization. In the years to follow large areas of good ore were discovered as the diamond drills continued to reveal the character of the rock and minerals imbedded therein. The discovery of new ore bodies and increased production necessitated drastic changes in the smelting process. Several types of furnaces had been tried and none proved too satisfactory. Mr. Gustave Setz, a highly skilled metallurgist from Germany, was employed on February 1, 1879 to take charge of the smelting operations. By April 10th he succeeded in adapting the McKenzie furnace to operate fairly efficiently. Fourteen calcine furnaces were installed to drive off the sulfur. This roasted ore was sent to two stacks of cupola furnaces where, when mixed with charcoal or coke, a heavy blast of air quickly reduced the ore to its metallic state. Mr. Setz's technical skill proved invaluable to the company in those early days. He remained as smelter superintendent for many years, became a stock-holder, and in 1900 was made a member of the Board of Directors. When the smelter was later moved to Herculaneum, Missouri, Mr. Setz was placed in charge. His contributions did much to make the refinery a success. With the increase in production and sales, it soon became apparent that the construction of a railway was an absolute necessity. Numerous attempts had been made to find a satisfactory route to replace the crude wagon transportation used by St. Joe. The wagon roads, if they could be called roads, were mere tracks through the woods. After some use, these roads became continuous mud trenches. When the teams pulled heavy-laden wagons through these trenches, the wheels often sank up to the axles. Hauling was slowed to such an extent that it became impossible to secure enough teams to handle the job. The much-needed railroad, some 13 xh miles, was completed in January 1880 to the Summit station of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 9 of 35 The annual reports to the stockholders for 1880, 1881 and 1882 each reported material gains in metallic lead produced and sold. The 1882 report states that production reached a high of 15,214 pigs of lead weighing 81.5 pounds each. Net profits for the year were $200,000. At this point in history of the company when many of the problems seemed to have subsided and profits were on the increase, a major disaster occurred. It was a cold Sunday morning, February 26, 1883, shortly after the shift had gone home when flames broke out in a portion of the mill. Because of insufficient fire fighting equipment and strong north winds, it was only minutes until the entire mill was engulfed in flames. The St. Louis newspapers called it a quarter million dollar blaze and predicted the end of the St. Joseph Lead Company. They were wrong for they did not know the temper of these men who had suffered other serious setbacks and still had carried on. The embers of the fire had hardly cooled until reconstruction of a new mill was underway. A new 900-ton capacity mill was completed in four months at a cost of $222,000. The smelting of lead required many cords of wood daily making it necessary that the company own large acreages of timberland. One such acreage was a 344-acre tract called Penn Diggins, which later proved to contain a very rich deposit of lead. In 1886 the Penn Diggins shaft was sunk and the lead produced from this tract not only made it possible to pay for the new mill, http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 10 of 35 but also financed the building of a new railroad connecting the Lead Belt and the Mississippi River and thereby effecting a drastic reduction in shipping costs. Other acquisitions of land in the vicinity of the present town of Leadwood such as the McKee Diggins, T. W. Hunt tract, Hoffman tract, Jake Day tract all proved to contain rich deposits of lead. Shortly after the purchase of the Hunt tract a shaft was started and operations were underway in a fairly good orebody by the end of 1900. Houses were built for the employees, and in a short time the town of Huntington was in existence. On August 4, 1900, the Hoffman tract was purchased and a shaft sunk during 1901. Again carpenters were brought in and houses were built for the employees along with a company store. On October 12, 1901, a Post Office was established using the name of Owl Creek after a stream nearby. The citizens disliking the name Owl Creek, petitioned the Post Office Department to rename the town to that of Leadwood and such was approved in 1902. Since the Hunt and Hoffman tracts were producing large amounts of ore, it was decided to build a processing mill. By the spring of 1904, a new 1200-ton capacity electrically operated mill was in operation. A branch of the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railroad, named the Hoffman branch, was built to handle materials from Bonne Terre to the bluffs on the north side of Big River. An aerial tram was erected in 1901 spanning Big River from the bluffs and terminating near Hunts shaft. A switchback was in use north of Big River in 1902 so that trains could be brought down to the lower level on the south side. A trestle built across the river now made possible train transportation in and out of the town of Leadwood. The St. Joe venture in St. Francois County was attracting considerable attention through the area. Just north of St. Joe property in Bonne Terre was a tract of land originally granted to Jean Bte. Pratte, designated as U. S. Survey No. 3099. It was this tract of land that attracted the interest of the Desloge family. As a merchant in Potosi, Firman Desloge had handled lead ore. A charter was requested and granted to the Missouri Lead and Smelting Company on June 5, 1874. The corporate name was changed to "The Desloge Lead Company" on February 21, 1876. Three shafts were sunk during 1876 and 1877 and a new mill was built. A fire in March of 1886 destroyed the mill and did great damage to the entire surface plant of the Desloge Lead Company. Rather than rebuild, the Desloge Lead Company was sold to St. Joe. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 11 of 35 In the same year Mr. Jones, with other Trustees, formed the Doe Run Lead Company, which was subsequently absorbed by St. Joe. In 1890, St. Joe began construction of the large smelter at Herculaneum, Missouri, to process concentrates from its Missouri properties. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 12 of 35 During the early 1890's many new mining companies were formed in St. Francois County which merged with the larger companies and later became a part of the St. Joe operations. Some of the newly formed companies in St. Francois County were the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company, Flat River Lead Company, National Lead Company, Doe Run Lead Company, Central Lead Company, Federal Lead Company and Theodore Lead Company. Mr. Wyman Jones died on October 27, 1904 at the age of 72. During his 39 years as President, St. Joe had grown from an uncertain operation producing a little more than $17,000 worth of salable goods in a year to a company which had distributed $1,774,000 in dividends, invested another $1,750,000 in permanent improvements, and was responsible for creating a thriving community of 5,000 persons at the center of its operations in Missouri. Dwight A. Jones, who had been with the company nine years as Secretary and Trustee, succeeded his father as President. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 15 of 35 Mr. Clinton Hoadley Crane was elected President of the Company on December 12, 1913. He had served as a Trustee following the death of his father, Jonathan Crane in 1911. As a Trustee, he made an important contribution by his comprehensive knowledge of engineering, which he had acquired as a naval architect. He fully understood the principles of mechanical power and he saw how to apply it to St. Joe's needs in an era of increasing mechanization. He also had the same gifts as his predecessors - the capacity to grasp important issues and the ability to select capable men to weld together an efficient organization. Mr. Crane was insistent on studying the problems himself so he made frequent trips to the Lead Belt, making detailed examinations of St. Joe's procedures as well as those of its competitors. During the latter part of 1914, Mr. Crane brought to the Lead Belt, Mr. Charles J. Adami, of Butte, Montana, who assumed the position of General Manager of the Southeast, Missouri operations. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 16 of 35 On March 1, 1915, Mr. Adami brought to the Lead Belt another man from Butte, Montana, who was destined to play an important role in the modernization and mechanization of the St. Joe properties in Southeast Missouri. This gentleman was Louis T. Sicka, who later became General Manager. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 19 of 35 Today, the Aguilar mine not only is a most important mining operation in Argentina, but is one of the world's outstanding lead-zinc-silver mines as well. Included in St. Joe's foreign operations today is another lead-zinc-silver mine called Santander, which is located in the Peruvian Andes Mountains some 14,500 feet in elevation. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008 History of St. Joe Lead Company Page 35 of 35 Special thanks is given to Mr. Henry C. Thompson, St. Joe Pensioner and member ofthe Missouri Historical Society, for his very helpful hand in compiling this history ofSt. Joe. Many thanks to Jeannie Hunt Nassaneyfor transcribing the above articlefor us!! MINE HISTORY INDEX HOME PAGE http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_history.htm 2/6/2008