Ruby Shaft

Most of the ore that brought tremendous riches and fame to Granite came from the Ruby Shaft, operated by the Granite Mountain Mining Company, along with several nearby tunnels that also produced silver and some gold ore for processing into ingots. Work connected with the shaft began about 1880, when Mr. McIntyre agreed to sink a 50-foot shaft upon the ledge in return for a one-quarter interest in the mine, but the shaft he sank was one foot short, and he chose not to complete it and surrendered his share. That one-quarter interest later proved to be worth more than $3,000,000 in dividends. In 1885 a new shaft, the Ruby Shaft, was begun and eventually reached a depth of 1550 feet. Soon several hundred miners worked three eight-hour shifts each day, six days a week. The shaft's headframe stood inside a building, and the hoist was powered by steam engines burning wood and coal. In the early years, ore was crushed in Mills A and B next to the mine. In 1888 the Granite Mountain Mining Company began building a large mill, the Rumsey Mill or Mill C, in a valley to the east on Fred Burr Creek, and the mill was completed in 1889 and linked to the mining complex by an 8750-foot aerial tramway.

Montana · United States