Mesa Verde Administrative History

A. Coal resources

In the fall of 1906 M. K. Shaler of the Geological Survey, at the request of the Department, prepared a special report on the coal resources of Mesa Verde. According to his report the rocks that contained the coal beds outcropped along the escarpment of the mesas and in the walls of the canyons. In the westward-facing escarpment the coal beds occurred at intervals throughout 400 feet of strata. Along the northern boundary of the coal land area there were two workable coal beds separated by an interval of about 200 feet. Although his report was based on work of a purely reconnaissance nature, Shaler concluded that the wide distribution of the observed outcrops of coal seemed to indicate clearly that all the park area, with the exception of the northern extension about Point Lookout, was underlain by one or more beds of coal ranging in thickness from two feet, three inches, to four feet, nine inches. If the coal were of poor quality, he observed, the minimum thickness mentioned above would not be considered workable, "but the appearance of the coal is good and without doubt it can be profitably mined, where conditions are favorable, down to a thickness of at least 2 feet 3 inches." There were also workable coal mines underlying the portion of the five-mile strip coinciding with the Southern Ute Indian Reservation upon which were located the principal ruins. [1]

On February 17, 1908, Superintendent Randolph informed the secretary that coal was being mined on park lands by certain parties and sold to residents of the town of Cortéz, and requested instructions about the matter. He was informed by the secretary's office that the titles of the various coal land locations in the park were under investigation by the General Land Office; that as soon as a report was received by the Land Office, instructions would be issued by the department. [2]

George S. Todd, of Cortéz, had made a coal location in the park after the lands were reserved from entry. After the creation of the park he made application for patent, but his claim was rejected by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. With the aid of Senator Teller of Colorado, former Secretary of the Interior, Todd endeavored to secure legislation which would permit him to enter the park under the coal-land laws of the United States. [3] It was understood that the department did not favor the passage of such legislation. In the absence of authority in the park act of 1906 for the granting of privileges and leases, the department denied Todd his application for permission to work the coal lands claimed. [4]

After the passage of the act of June 25, 1910, under which the secretary was authorized to grant leases and permits for the development of the park natural resources, Andrew Kennedy, a mining engineer of Seattle, Washington, was requested to advise the department about the possibilities of mining operations in the park. Upon his recommendation, the first two mining leases were prepared for John Jordan and George S. Todd, of Cortéz, covering certain tracts in the western portion of the park. [5]

B. Jordan-Jackson Mine

On October 28, 1910, William John Jordan made application for a mining lease. It was the purpose of Jordan to supply coal to the inhabitants of Cortéz and in the Montezuma Valley. It was understood that the coal to be mined was of a grade superior to that located nearer to Cortéz and that the mining operations would be a service that while relatively small would be a profitable venture. After some negotiations a lease was granted effective January 21, 1911, embracing an area of approximately 60 acres for a term of six years. The compensation to the government was fixed on the basis of a royalty of 10 cents per ton with a proviso that the total sum accruing to the government during the first year should be not less than $50 and for subsequent years not less than $100, which sums were to be payable in advance. No part of the claim contained ruins. [6]

Jordan, on December 28, 1911, assigned his interest in the lease to W. A. Jackson because the former had found it impossible to make a success of the operation. A new lease for five years, the unexpired term of the original lease, was granted Jackson on May 9, 1912. Jackson's lease was known as the Jordan coal mine. The coal was bituminous, as was all the coal found in the park, but very hard and clean and fine for fuel. [7]

J. C. Roberts, a mining engineer of the United States Bureau of Mines, made an inspection of the mines in the park on February 13 and 14, 1913, and recommended the following:

That the sum to be paid as advance royalty be reduced from $100.00 to $60.00. The total consumption of coal in the town and valley is 1200 tons per annum and should he divide the market with Mr. Todd, his sales would then amount to 600 tons per annum. There seems very little prospect of any increase in consumption of coal in the near future. [8]

By the act of June 30, 1913, the boundaries of the park were changed and all the land included in the Jackson lease was found to be outside of park jurisdiction. Jackson's mine was situated approximately 1,500 feet above the valley and some 3-1/4 miles from the new west park boundary. A very small quantity of coal was mined under this lease. At no time was the amount of 10 cents per ton royalty sufficient to equal the advance payments of $50 in 1911, $100 in 1912, and $100 in 1913, a total of $250. While complete financial statements are not available about the operations, it is clear from some general reports that the operations were very small and the production of coal very limited. For example, in a report of December 26, 1912, Jackson certified that $4,950 had been spent in road construction and mining operations and that 75 tons of coal had been mined under the lease. It is certain that at least up to 1913 these operations were conducted at a loss. [9]

C. Todd Mine

Records do not show when the Todd Mines were opened, but it seems that they were operating in a very small way when the park was established in 1906; at least 100 tons of coal had been taken out. Since Todd's first application for a mining lease had been rejected in 1908, he again made an application which was granted on January 23, 1911, under substantially the same terms as specified in the Jordan-Jackson leases. However, after several years of operation the minimum amount payable was reduced, beginning with 1913, to $25 a year. [10]

The operations under the Todd lease were but a little more extensive than those under the Jordan-Jackson leases. Royalties in excess of the minimum prescribed by the lease were paid as follows:

The maximum production in any year was in 1912 when 1,064 tons were mined. In the latter years of the lease the production was around 250 tons a year. The total revenue derived by the government from these operations over a period of six years amounted to only $352.71.

The lease granted Todd in 1911 covered 80 acres of land in the park, 40 acres of which were, by the act of June 30, 1913, transferred to the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. His lease to mine within the park expired on January 23, 1917 and no further extension was granted. Apparently he did not open the mine on the park side because it required a tramway to get the coal to his wagon road, so that all his mine operations were evidently conducted on the Indian Reservation. It seems that the costs of production were too high to justify maintaining operations within the park area. [11]

D. McEwen-Walker Mine

On August 3, 1921, a five year lease was granted to George McEwen to operate a mine within the park on the same basis as the previous leases, except that the minimum yearly payment was to be $50. The original area assigned to McEwen was in Section 20 but he very shortly found that this area could not be operated with success and then applied for and was assigned another area in Section 30. Later McEwen effected a partnership with Stephen A. Walker and on July 12, 1922, a new lease was granted the partnership to operate mines in Section 30; this lease was also for a period of five years from July 12, 1922. The operations of the partnership were unsuccessful and the government had considerable difficulty in securing reports with reference to the work being done under the lease, as well as making collection of the sums due. The total amount of the fees collected for the years 1921-1923 was $151. [12]

Superintendent Nusbaum advised that the operators had been "unable after considerable expense to find coal in sufficient quantities to make it practicable to mine same profitably" and the lease was accordingly canceled as of July 1924. [13]

None of the mines operated in the park could be considered to any degree profitable ventures because of the lack of coal in convenient locations or in quantities sufficient to make mining satisfactory.

In 1931 Senate bill 196 provided for uniform administration of national parks and repealed clauses in original organic acts authorizing the use of parks inconsistent with one hundred percent conservation policy; section one prohibited mining in Mesa Verde National Park. [14]