Cebtury-old state-of-the-art mine shaft still stands in Jerome, Arizona

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.

Showman Buffalo Bill Cody also a miner in Arizona

Library of Congress photo

Most people know William Frederick Cody as a Pony Express rider, Indian fighter, buffalo hunter and internationally as a showman. He was also a gold miner in southern Arizona. 

Born in Iowa in 1846, he moved with his family Canada and then to Kansas where his father operated a trading post at an Indian agency. Young Cody went to work to support his family after his father died in 1857. He became enamored of gold at age 14 and was on his way to California when, he became a Pony Express rider, outsmarting outlaws and Indians as he rode his 45-mile route. 

He scouted for the Union Army against the Indians during the Civil War and continued doing so after the war. He was given the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Plains War with the Indians. Cody received the nickname of “Buffalo Bill,” after killing more than 4,200 buffalo in 18 months to supply meat for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. 

He turned to acting when he was 26 years old. Reportedly he wasn’t very good at it, but the crowds loved him anyway. He founded his Wild West show in 1883, eventually touring throughout the United States and Europe. 

But the quest for precious metals that inspired a young   Cody to head for California never really left him. In 1903 he invested in mining ventures, primarily at Camp Bonita, in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains near Oracle, Arizona. Reportedly, he never visited the mine until 1910. Besides gold, the Camp Bonito mines also contained silver and tungsten. The light bulb invented by Thomas Edison used tungsten from Cody’s mines.  

Cody often camped at the mine or stayed in nearby Oracle if his wife was with him.  He eventually owned property in the foothills, with a home, La Casa del High Jinks, built there in 1933. This house today is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The High Jinks ranch is located up a winding dirt road. Itt offers respite for hikers on the Arizona Trail. Remains of some mining operations can be seen at the entrance to the compound.