Argo Gold Mine and Mill

This print shows the iconic Argo Gold Mine and Mill which is visible from I-70 when driving from Denver up into the mountains. The foreground of the mill shows mine tailings going down to Clear Creek. The story:There's gold in them thar 'ills! There was, and there still is today, but it was worth the effort of mining it in the late 1800s, especially where the gold lay near the surface. As the miners dug deeper, flooding became a greater problem. In 1910, the Argo Tunnel was built both to draw water away from the mines and also make it easier to get the gold ore out. The tunnel exit was a good place for a gold mine and mill to handle the ore that came out the tunnel. At a time when dollars were worth much more than today, the Argo Mill recovered over $100,000,000 of gold! But as the costs of mining gold rose compared to the value of gold, by 1943 when an accident with water in the tunnel happened, it was not worth it to reopen the mine. The mill building is currently a museum and landma