16.02.2023 (22:19:56)
Portland Mine + Mill Victor Colo.
William H. Lehr [aka Bill Lehr]
A view at the cramped hillside below the Independence Mine, and the Portland Mines, as the space been used for making quite a large mill, with what appears to be a slime dam in the foreground. Seems like this has obliviated the roadbed of both the Golden Circle and the Short Line/High Line railroad beds, but maybe not fully, hard to tell for sure.
Sadly though, the Portland No. 2 Mine, seen against the sky in upper right top, this mine is out of focus and not much useful to much more than for location purposes as the shape of it can be seen between the blurred view in that area of this postcard view.
The Independence Mine has lost its Shaft House and has an open Head-Frame, so that might help date this image, same as with the large mill in the foreground, by time of this image being photographed this mill has been bought by the Portland Company, even though it originally was part of the Independence Operations, making this view after 1915 and before July 1924 as this card is stamped that month.
My Collection; Postcards.

• My Website; Postcards Overview: ⊞ Portland Mine + Mill Victor Colo.

P-04710
Photograph/Image [#530]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#53016.02.2023 (14:27:40)
Portland Mine + Mill Cripple Creek Dist
William H. Lehr [aka Bill Lehr]
A view at the cramped hillside below the Independence Mine, and the Portland Mines, as the space been used for making quite a large mill, with what appears to be a slime dam in the foreground. Seems like this has obliviated the roadbed of both the Golden Circle and the Short Line/High Line railroad beds, but maybe not fully, hard to tell for sure.
Sadly though, the Portland No. 2 Mine, up in upper right top is way out of focus and not useful at all except for location purposes as the shape of it can be seen between the very blurred view in that area of this postcard view. The Independence Mine has lost its Shaft House and has an open Head-Frame, so that might help date this image, same as with the large mill in the foreground, by time of this image being photographed this mill has been bought by the Portland Company, even though it originally was part of the Independence Operations.
My Collection; Postcards.

• My Website; Postcards Overview: ⊞ Portland Mine + Mill Cripple Creek Dist
• My Website: ⊞ Portland Mine + Mill Cripple Creek Dist [enhanced]

P-03661
Photograph/Image [#318]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#31826.12.2021 (13:18:42)
Independence Mine and Mill, Cripple Creek District.
Unknown
This image shows the immense large Independence Mill, which later was sold to the Portland Company and known then as the Portland Mill. But here it is the Independence Mill with the grades of the High Line/Short Line as the middle grade in front of the mill, in front of that grade is a road and in back - closest to the mill - is the grade of the Golden Circle track, a narrow gauge 3-foot railroad connected to the F. & C.C.
My Collection; View is number 4 in a Postcard Folder called Souvenir Folding Card of the Cripple Creek District.

• no. 4; Souvenir Postcard Folder titled Souvenir Folding Card of the Cripple Creek District; undated - Published in ????.

• My Website; Album Page View: ⊞ Album Page View #4 (Souvenir Folding Card of the Cripple Creek District)

A-00437
Photograph/Image [#378]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#37815.05.2021 (12:50:17)
Breaker Plant During Construction at Stratton's Independence Mill
Unknown
Quality on this printed image is so and so, but it is rare view around the mill of the Stratton's Independence, making it a welcome addition to my collection.
The source text talks about the breaker-plant, but what in this view is that Breaker-Plant I am not sure about. I was thinking it might be part of the foreground stuff, but maybe it is related to the structures about middle top-bottom of this image? I really do not know. What I know is that the source text gave partly this info;
The breaker-plant is operated with the power-shovel and inclined plane about 6 hours per day. The ore is broken in the 7½ Gates machine to about 4 in. cube, the fine removed by grizzly, the coarse conveyed on a picking-belt to a No. 5 Gates breaker, in which it is reduced to about 1½ in. cube, and conveyed direct to the 300-ton storage-bin, together with the fine removed by the grizzly.
The ore cannot be enriched much by sorting, the waste picked out seldom reaching 3%. Of more importance is the steel and wood removed at this point, for these would otherwise seriously interfere with subsequent milling operations.
My Collection; From page 369 in a Nov. 1911 issue of a monthly mining journal named The Mining Magazine.

• Page 369; The Mining Magazine, London, England; November 1911 - Published in 1911.

I-01638
Photograph/Image [#377]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#37715.05.2021 (12:50:13)
Power-Shovel Loading 4-Ton Car at Stratton's Independence Mill
Unknown
Quality on this printed image is so and so, but it is rare view of operations at the mill of the Stratton's Independence, making it a welcome addition to my collection.
This Power-Shovel is working the dump, which is situated on a hillside traversed by deep depressions, giving an irregular and uncertain bottom; the ore is usually frozen near the bottom all the year round and in winter requires considerable blasting to prepare it for the shovel.
The ore is loaded into 4-ton cars by a power-shovel with dipper of 1 cu. yd. capacity, the machine being operated by one 40 hp. variable speed electric motor, from which the digging, crowding, swinging, and advancing motion are all derived by clutch-gearing controlled by levers operated by one man. The ore-cars are hoisted up an incline plane and automatically dumped into a No. 7½ Gates breaker.
My Collection; From page 369 in a Nov. 1911 issue of a monthly mining journal named The Mining Magazine.

• Page 369; The Mining Magazine, London, England; November 1911 - Published in 1911.

I-01637
Photograph/Image [#376]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#37615.05.2021 (12:50:09)
The Stratton's Independence Mill.
Unknown
Quality on this printed image is so and so, but it is a not very common angle towards the mill and mine of the Stratton's Independence, making it a welcome addition to my collection.
In the foreground it appears there is a dam of some sort, then we have the houses I have seen reported other places once used to house Stratton himself, with the High Line Trolley line coming via Goldfield on a fill just beyond the fenced in houses. We see part of the trestle that brings the Trolley across the F. & C.C. track near middle top-bottom at the right-hand side of this view. Further up, same side, we see the Golden Circle bridge which crosses the M.T. mainline across Battle Mountain.
Portland No. 2 Shaft is seen at top of the hill, against the sky, and the No. 1 Portland is sort of hiding further down the hill at left, behind smoke and dumps, with the Shaft-house of the Independence Mine in front of those dumps and taking us sort of full circle around this image.
My Collection; From page 369 in a Nov. 1911 issue of a monthly mining journal named The Mining Magazine.

• Page 361; The Mining Magazine, London, England; November 1911 - Published in 1911.

I-01636
Photograph/Image [#375]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#37515.05.2021 (09:06:29)
Independence Mine and Mill
Julia Skolas
I've seen the base negative photo of this view by time of writing this [12.05.2018] used seven times where 5 is as postcard edition with three of them in type colored/painted while the other two been as B&W postcards, like this one here. I've also seen the view used twice as B&W prints in Postcard Folders, and going from experience, there is at least yet another photo type of this postcard with a better paper quality as this card here is not the best one, dark is just dark, and there is sort of dots in the paper reducing sharpness and ability to enhance the view to bring out details. Also, this is the first card I've seen signed by Skolas where she has put the J through the S in her name, quite cool actually! Dating the view is not easy, but as I've seen a postcard stamped August 1, 1912 the negative must be at least 1 day earlier due to the time it takes to develop and make a postcard out of it.
For the View itself, this is on lower Battle Mountain where J. Skolas has photographed the huge in area Independence Surface type of Operation with the massive Mill Structures on the left and sideways center part, with the No. 1 Shaft of the Independence Mine itself seen towards the right-hand edge. In front of those structures there are still houses seen, belonging to Workers and so on I assume.
The railroad lines of the Short Line/High Line and the Golden Circle mainline is seen in the 1/3 bottom part where the Short Line is the lower one, with roads further down should you wonder. Up around the mine itself, about 1/2 up from bottom and about 1/4 in from right-hand side, this is where the Midland Terminal has its tracks and where passenger trains on the Short Line shared tracks in order to reach the M.T. Victor passenger terminal after they started to cooperate using the from then on known as the Union Depot, after 1905, when a connection between the Short Line and the Midland Terminal was made east of Victor, and the M.T. was running on Short Line tracks from a place called Vindicator Junction, but as that is entirely on the High Line route, there must been a connection from someplace at Victor Pass area from the M.T. tracks over unto the Short Line tracks.
My Collection; Postcards.

• Postcard [B&W]; Published by H.H.T. Co.; titled 3054. Independence Mine, Cripple Creek District, Colo. - Published in ????.
• Postcard [Painted]; Unknown Publisher; titled 4158. Independence Mine, Victor, Colorado. [Different crop edition from the others] - Published in ????.
• Postcard [Painted]; Unknown Publisher; titled 4158. Independence Mine, Victor, Colorado. [Different crop edition from the others] - Published in ????.

• My Website; Postcards Overview: ⊞ Independence Mine and Mill
• My Website; Cropped Postcard View: ⊞ Independence Mine and Mill [enhanced]
• My Website; Postcards Overview: ⊞ #4158; Independence Mine, Victor, Colorado.
• My Website; Album Page View: ⊞ Pic.8; Victor and Cripple Creek District Souvenir Folder "Greatest Gold Camp on Earth"
• My Website; Album Page View: ⊞ Pic.9; Unknown Title [No front - about the Cripple Creek District]

P-03625
Photograph/Image [#300]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#30028.06.2018 (09:08:24)
Portland Mine - Mill Victor Colo [Independence Mine, Mill]
William H. Lehr [aka Bill Lehr]
Yet another photograph I suspect is a copy of another source, the sides are rather blurred out and there are lots of dust and shit on the photo itself from a badly cleaned original at time of the copy making.
The scene is a view towards Battle Mountain, and the Independence Mill and Mine, here named as the Portland Mill indicating this view is from after the Portland Company bought the Independence Mill sometimes before September 1915 – I have not the year that buy happen as it still is in the pile of research materials to go through.
What I like with this view is that the Independence Shaft House is still here, fully enclosed while the Portland Shafts houses have been opened up to expose the Head-Frame more, also, I find it cool to see the Short Line/High Line Trestle (Bridge No. C, later B) across the old F. & C.C. is still there despite the fact that the tailings pond/dam in the foreground indicates that possible the railroad grade of the old narrow-gauge might be gone by now as it is clearly much higher up then the old grade was.
In the background the Portland Shafts can be seen with the No. 1 Shaft mostly hiding behind a dump, seen about middle top/down and about 2/5 in from left-hand side; while the old Scranton Shaft-house can be found about half the distance to the right towards the No. 2 Shaft who is looming at top of the hill against the sky about 1/4 in from right-hand side.
The Scranton is seen with a whole lot of other structures located at about same level as the No. 1 Portland Shaft, and is easy picked out due to the shape of the Roof-line of the Shaft House, having a long slope on the right and a shorter on the left which changes angle further down the roof-slope.
My Collection; Photographs.

• My Website; Photolink: ⊞ Portland Mine - Mill Victor Colo
• My Website; Photolink: ⊞ Portland Mine - Mill Victor Colo [Enhanced/Cropped]

P-03686
Photograph/Image [#321]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#32122.05.2018 (09:03:58)
A View at the Slime Dam East of the Independence Mill, with Bull Hill/Bull Cliffs in the Distance
Unknown
Sadly, not the best quality view, blurred, possible due to the copy nature of this view? The view itself is from the Slime Dam below/east of the Independence Mill, possible by time this view was made, also known as the Portland-Independence Mill – can't tell for sure as I have no date on this view. It is looking up the valley where Wilson Creek ran, Bull Hill/Cliffs in distant background.
* The covered Head-Frame of the Vindicator No. 1 Mine appears to be visible about center sideways and about 2/5 down from the top.
* Smokestack of the La Bella Powerplant Structure is also seen, just left and below of the before mentioned Vindicator.
* The Black Sampler, or Cripple Creek Sampler upon Victor Pass is seen about 2/5 down from the top and about 3/7 in from the right-hand side.
* The Eagle Sampler is seen also about 2/5 down from the top and about 1/4 in from left-hand side, seen as a whitish structure against the background hill.
My Collection; Postcards.

• My Website; Postcards Overview: ⊞ A View at the Slime Dam East of the Independence Mill, with Bull Hill/Bull Cliffs in the Distance
• My Website; Cropped Postcard View: ⊞ A View at the Slime Dam East of the Independence Mill, with Bull Hill/Cliffs in the Back [enhanced]

P-03640
Photograph/Image [#307]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#30712.05.2018 (09:06:49)
Independence Mill [aka Portland Independence Mill]
Unknown
Dating this image of the Independence/Portland Independence Mill is not the easiest part, according to my husband the automobile seen is one from the 1920's due to its shape he said, and Sanborn 1919 map fits the railroad track quite well, so I would assume this is in middle to late 1920's. The track in the foreground still has trolley poles and hangers along the line, but the Golden Circle tracks is gone and only the roadbed is seen, with a switch from the High Line/Short Line roadbed up to a piece of the old Golden Circle roadbed, and then it will turn away to serve some part of the mill outside the view at left, according to the Sanborn map on Sheet 9 of the Victor 1919 set.
The Trolley system in the District suffered a major fire in the Cripple Creek barn in 1919 and closed its operation that year, but that do not mean all poles, wires etc., was removed at once, hence not that useful to date with. But, I also see that the High Line was abandon in 1923, making this possible to be around that time frame. Info I have do indicate that a switchback spur existed from the location known as Taylor to the Portland Independence Mill till 1930, possible this might be part of that; hence, I can't tell for sure at this moment in time [27.05.2017]. I am not even sure where Taylor is, if it is the location near M.T. Bull Hill yards at Victor Pass, or the old location below the Portland No. 1 mine, info is a little scarce for me, but I think it is the one on Victor Pass.
My Collection; Postcards.

• Postcard; Unknown Publisher; titled Mine Scene In Cripple Creek - Victor District - Published in ????.

• My Website: ⊞ Postcards Overview; Independence Mill

P-03197
Photograph/Image [#190]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#19025.02.2017 (11:52:56)
Portland Mill, Victor, Colorado 1916
Unknown
This image here is a sad chapter in my collection. I was so happy when I bought it through eBay in April 2010, listing said it was a "gorgeous glass photograph", titled " Portland Mill, Victor, Colorado.", and made in 1916 for Kansas City Public Schools Department Visual Instruction. Listing went on to state " This piece is in excellent condition and has NO cracks, breaks or damage I can detect. This is awesome and perfect for any photo collection."
And then the seller put it into a normal envelope, and shipped to Norway without any bubble wrapping or anything, and result is seen here, a broken piece of history, not that useful. Can be used to say this is the view as it was by 1916, but no details really, a real, real sad story!
My Collection; Magic Lanterns. Cropped 600dpi view without the frame as it came broken in the mail...
G-00012
Photograph/Image [#138]
www.cripplecreekrailroads.com/01main/all_known_entities/pics_list-evry1_sort-newtop.php#138

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