Squeamish need not apply at Porto Rico Mine

Our featured picture this week is of the Porto Rico Mine tract, contributed by Barbara Buck.

The image is from one of the panoramic postcards that were popular during the early 20th century. Although they are not as clear as a photograph, postcards are sometimes the only images that remain of a certain place or event.

We know the Porto Rico Mine tract was operating in 1899, but the exact year it opened is unknown. It was located between Prosperity and Duenweg. The Joplin News Herald reported the zinc output for the Porto Rico tract was 117,870 pounds for the week ending March 23, 1901. This was comparable to many of the larger mines that were operating at the time.

Forty acres adjoining the Porto Rico tract were sold for $12,500 the same year. That sum would equal somewhere around $400,000 in today’s dollars. There was no mine operating on the 40 acres at the time but based on the output of the Porto Rico tract, the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Company decided to invest in the property.

There are many newspaper articles about the Porto Rico Mine, most of them documenting accidents that took place at the mine. But none of the articles we found told the story of the name. It is possible it was named for the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, or it could be named for the Portuguese city of Porto, the second largest city in Portugal.

In 1901 drilling in the original shaft was stopped at 195 feet, having passed through 35 feet of fine jack. Plans were made to start drilling a new shaft near the old one. A new mill was constructed on the mining tract in 1904. In 1907, the Whitsett Mine on the Porto Rico tract was sold to the Old Dominion Co. for $65,000. The Webb City Sentinel reported that this mill was one of the best in the field, being of 600-ton capacity double shift, with an 1,800 can hopper capacity and electrically equipped.

The Tenderfoot Mill in the Porto Rico camp was sold in 1909 due to the low price of ore and condition of the ground. It was purchased by the Lizzie D. Mining Co. and was moved to their property at Peacock, where there was said to be a rich deposit of ore.

Operations continued on the Porto Rico tract, and in 1915 it was reported that stockholders were receiving steady returns from the mines. Ore was being procured at depths of around 180 feet and pumps from the old Whitsett plant were keeping the water at bay. In 1916 the Porto Rico mine was sold for $157,000 but a suit was filed by one of the owners charging the other owners entered into a conspiracy to secretly lease the Porto Rico Mining Company’s assets, depriving the minority tockholders of their rights.

The exact date that the mines of the Porto Rico tract were closed is unknown.

The Jasper County coroner reported 17 deaths during the month of November 1917. Nine of the deaths were miners, with four of those deaths occurring at the Porto Rico Mine.