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GeneralHillside Park Claims, El Paso County, Colorado

24th Nov 2017 18:20 UTCEric Swab

I am looking for anyone with knowledge of "Hillside Park Claims" aka "Duffields" aka "Hillside Park Groop Claims". "Groop" is not a misspelling, see sign below. I would like to communicate with someone who is willing to visit the site near Colorado Springs, CO to help me understand what I am looking at. The area has been mined since the late 1800s and is commonly referred to at the Cheyenne District, or the St Peters Dome District. There is archaeological evidence that the Hillside Park Claims date from the late 1940 to 1950s and the product was Uranium (?). I would also like to communicate with anyone who is familiar with Uranium mining in the area.

25th Nov 2017 02:57 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

"Groop" is not a misspelling" Groop may be what the sign says but that does not mean the person who made the sign spelled it correctly. It is very likely that "Groop" is a misspelling of the word "Group". On the other hand, it has clearing been produced with a stencile, maybe they did not have the letter "u" and substituted "o" ?

25th Nov 2017 04:31 UTCDean Allum Expert

Hey Eric,

I remember that somewhere near that home-made front-end-loader there is an old truck with a tree growing out of it's bed.

I think the Hillside park claims only corresponds to the single adit which is north of the cabin remnants which is near that sign. The adit is nearly caved in, and I have never been inside. I have inspected the dump, and could never figure out what they were digging for. There is little Uranium in the area, but there is significant Thorium there.

I believe this is the picture of the Hillside Park adit which I think Paul mis-identified as the cryolite mine (which no longer has an adit).

https://www.mindat.org/photo-759370.html

Good Luck with your search.

-Dean Allum

26th Nov 2017 13:24 UTCEric Swab

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "Groop" as "Ditch; Drain". This is consistent with the surface disturbance in the area.

26th Nov 2017 13:49 UTCEric Swab

Dean, thanks for the photo. There are a number of adits in the area, however, not having a clear understanding of the size and location of the Hillside Park Claims I don't know many might be included. I have not seen adit you photographed, but I have not searched north of the cabin. Do you have a way point for the adit? The Eureka mine, probably the most significant tunnel in the area, is believed by one local historian to have produced Cryolite for the production of glass bottles in the early 20th century. You mention the name Paul, is he a member of mindat.org?

I have not seen the truck, however, there is another front loader south of the one pictured in my original post that has a small tree growing from the counter balance at the rear. Photo attached. This machine is much simpler the one posted above. Its bucket is operated hydraulically.

27th Nov 2017 04:20 UTCDean Allum Expert

Eric,

That is the tree which I remember. At some point in the future the counterweight may over-count.

I am not familiar with the full history of the site, but I have never found cryolite within the Eureka Tunnel. There is a mine dump in the middle of the woods, not adjacent to any trails, which does contain cryolite.

Paul Broyles is the owner of the adit photo and is a Mindat member.

You may want to ask Philip Persson of the Colorado School of Mines about this area. I believe he just completed his dissertation on the geology of this region. He is also a member of Mindat.

-Dean

27th Nov 2017 05:34 UTCEric Swab

Dean,

That would be fun to come back in 50 years and see the bucket up in the air.

Thanks for the tips.

Eric

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