Audrey headframe shaft |
Remnants
of Jerome, Arizona’s great mining past can be found throughout the town but few
are as impressive as the Audrey Headframe Shaft located at the Little Daisy
Mine.
The exhibit
of old mining equipment sits on a hill overlooking Jerome. One hundred years
old, the Audrey shaft is the largest wooden shaft standing in Arizona
today. The 1.900-foot shaft is lined
with concrete. It was used to haul ore up from the mine. It was considered state-of-the-art when it
was built-in 1918. Visitors who don’t get dizzy looking down can stand on a
glass floor and look into the depths of the shaft.
The Little
Daisy mine was a rich one. During 23 years, starting in 1915, almost 4 million
tons of ore was taken from beneath the earth. Copper dominated the list with 397,000
tons, followed by 221 tons of silver and 5-1.2 tons of gold. The ore was transported to the railhead in
the valley below by burros and train.
The fenced
in mining equipment is a public park today maintained by Jerome Historical
Society.