The San Juan Gold Rush

The San Juan Gold Rush. . In the early 1890s, gold was reported as discovered along the San Juan River., "Men broke and ran like mad from all around, to stake a claim on the river before all the ground should be taken. From New England, the Eastern, Central and Western States they came, they came from Canada and Mexico, a member of the royal family arrived from Norway, and one fellow who heard the call, came all the way from New Zealand., The vicinity of Bluff, and the river bottoms above and below for many miles were alive with camps and outfits of all sizes and kinds, from the heavy six-horse coach, to the lone tramp who trudged eagerly onward, or bummed his passage from some good-natured teamster." Albert R. Lyman, San Juan History, 1879-1917., "Bright Gold Hundreds of Treasure Seekers to San Juan The excitement grows." The Arizona Republic, December 11, 1892., "Five Hundred Gold Seekers Start for the San Juan. The Sands Are Golden But the Canyons Are Inaccessible." Salt Lake Herald , December 13, 1892., "... thirty to fifty men per day were passing through Bluff on their way to the gold fields." Francis A. Hammond, Deseret News, January 21, 1893., The little gold that was found was in the form of flour gold, gold so fine that it was impractical to extract. After a short time, prospectors gave up their claims as they failed to find the riches they had hoped for., "There has been no gold taken out, and 3,000 disgusted men and 2 women are heading back for civilization. Provisions and goods of all kinds are scattered along the river for fifty miles, being practically abandoned, the owners desiring to get out of the country as fast as possible." New York Times, January 11, 1893., "They flocked in without any previous knowledge of the country, and without sufficient preparation and equipment to take care of themselves, and some of them left their dry bones on the goldless sands which had lured them to San Juan." Albert R. Lyman, San Juan History , 1879-1917., The gold rush ended nearly as fast as it started. However, the influx of men to the area included those with skills that were a benefit to the community. After having no luck finding gold, some stone cutters and carpenters were able to obtain employment in Bluff. Their craftsmanship is evident in the early stone homes of Bluff., Captions , (Photo #1) Special Collections Department, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah