Old Argo Mill building
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Gold was discovered in a region known as Pike’s Peak. Consequently, the discovery of gold in Pike’s Peak led to a major gold rush in the Kansas and Nebraska regions, which included the soon to be founded state of Colorado. In particular, the first mining boom was located around Clear Creek Canyon, which ultimately attracted a large population of miners in hopes of becoming rich. As a result, Clear Creek grew rapidly, and the establishment of mining sites also increased (Western Mining History 2020). Following the initial discovery of gold, Clear Creek quickly established itself as one of the leading mining centers in Colorado, and remained so for the next twenty years. Moreover, even after the exhaust of gold in the area, Clear Creek led the mining of silver until its crash near the end of the century, which ultimately caused the rate of mining to slow down. Clear Creek, however, continued to mine until the mid-twentieth century while many other mines across the state continued to shut down (Environmental Protection Agency 2021).
Interior of Argo tunnel prior to installation of flow control mechanism
As mining continued to slow down in the Clear Creek area, the site became a focus of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), officially becoming a registered superfund site in 1983. Furthermore, due to the site’s history in mining, the EPA was especially concerned about the cleanliness of Clear Creek as well as the exposure of many heavy metals such as zinc, arsenic and lead that residents may experience (Environmental Protection Agency 2015). In particular, the EPA designated 400 square-miles of land, including Clear Creek, Idaho Springs, and more specifically the Argo Mining site as the areas with particularly high levels of contamination, which resulted from the site’s mining history. In the 1990’s casinos and other property developers found interest in the abandoned mine site, which further fueled cleanup efforts (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 2021). The cleanup efforts are still ongoing, but the Argo Mine site has become a tourist attraction for residents, and is open for visitors, despite still being on the superfund site list.