Photos Courtesy of Cave Creek Museum
Cave Creek Museum will open the Arizona Gold Mining Experience to the public on Dec. 10. The massive working exhibit will come to life from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Only five more demonstrations are available through the season, so it’s time to bring friends and family to see the amazing experience in person.
The outdoor experience begins in the museum’s lobby with a lively retelling of the Cave Creek mining district’s history. Guests then move outside for numerous demonstrations that showcase the hard rock ore extraction process for which Cave Creek is renowned.
The excitement builds with the operation of the amazing Golden Reef Stamp Mill and Tramway, Arizona’s only fully operational 10-stamp ore crushing mill. The stamps slam down in synchronized motion to pound ore removed from the mine into fine gravel. The stamp mill was brought from its former location at the Golden Reef Mine on Continental Mountain to Cave Creek Museum, which has the only fully operational mining stamp mill in its original mining district in Arizona. It is located just five miles from its former site on the mountain. The giant stamp mill also is connected to a working tramway and ore carts that carry the ore to be pulverized to the stamp mill.
The experience continues as guests peer into a mineshaft to show the blasting techniques used by hard rock miners. Next, onto the new blacksmith shop for a demonstration of the many skills used when parts and tools had to be fabricated onsite.
Guests then are encouraged to try their luck at the gold panning station, where museum volunteers show visitors how to pan for ore and minerals just like the prospectors did.
Other exhibits showcasing Arizona’s mining history include historical and archaeology; articles from Cave Creek’s mining and agricultural past; the historic first Cave Creek church; and the tuberculosis cabin, which is on the National Register of Historic Places as the only known existing tubercular cabin from that era. Admission is $15 for adults and children under 12 are free. Reservations are required.
Meanwhile, on Dec. 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Cave Creek Museum will host Kiwanis Family Fun Days “A Homesteader Christmas.” Christmas for Arizona’s homesteaders was very much a “do-it-yourself” event. People made their own ornaments, their own cards, their own wrappings and the gifts they gave to one another. Visitors will be encouraged to make their own special ornaments and their own fun. The event is free thanks to the support of Kiwanis Club of Carefree. However, please make reservations.
The Cave Creek Museum is located at 6140 E. Skyline Dr. Reserve tickets online at cavecreekmuseum.org to secure your desired date, as there is a limit. Visitors should plan on coming early. Culture passes are not accepted for this event. Groups and home school groups are requested to contact the museum office to schedule for special arrangements on another date.
