FURNACE CREEK COPPER Stock 1906 Furnace-Greenwater, Inyo, CA. Patsy Clark's Mine

Description

Furnace Creek Copper Company. Stock issued October 9, 1906 at Spokane, Washington. Incorporated in 1905 in the State of Washington
. Embossed company seal lower left. Certificate
No. 5612
was issued to George W. Johnson for 100 shares of capital stock ( per share). Company capital was
,250,000
. Hand signed by company vice president and assistant secretary. Certificate is about 8” x 10.5.” Black print with pale-green underprint. Lady Liberty vignette.
The Furnace Creek Copper Company was formed in 1905 by Patrick “Patsy” Clark, well known copper mining operator from Spokane, Washington. Patsy Clark developed the Furnace Creek Mine on 21 claims two miles west of Greenwater, in Inyo County, California. The Furnace Creek Mine was one of the “pioneer” mines of the Greenwater District, at the former mining camp of Furnace (initially known as Clark’s Camp, after Patsy Clark), near the mouth of Copper Canyon about six miles north-northwest of Funeral Peak in the Funeral Mountains (the district in now within Death Valley National Park).
The Greenwater Mining District was located along the eastern slope of the Black Mountains about nine miles south-east of Furnace Creek Ranch, California (Inyo County). There were three settlements: Furnace, near the mouth of Copper Canyon; Kunze, in the canyon roughly two miles east of Furnace; and Greenwater, the center of commerce, located farther to the south-east out on the flat. Part of the Greenwater District mining boom, one of the most spectacular in the history of Death Valley mining, several towns got their start in the district, including Furnace, Kunze, and Ramsey, which were later consolidated as Greenwater.
As the great rush to the Bullfrog Hills soon filled up the ground in that vicinity, and late-arriving prospectors were forced to move farther afield.
Two such men, Fred Birney and Phil Creasor, ambled south down the east side of the Black Mountain Range, and in February, 1905, while looking for gold, instead uncovered rich surface outcroppings of an immense copper belt in Greenwater Valley
.
Birney and Creasor sent samples of their find to Patsy Clark, who was sufficiently impressed to buy the claims from the two men.
Clark soon formed the Furnace Creek Copper Company
and by June 1905, he had an operating mine with eight men working a 35 foot deep shaft, the first major operator in the district.
Although the copper lode had not been found by March, 1906,
Clark decided that the mine warranted permanent and extensive exploration and development, incorporated his mine, and sold stock. Formed with capital stock of ,250,000,
shares were put on the market at 50¢ each, one half of their par value.
Clark offered 125,000 of these shares to the general public and within three hours every share had been sold
. As the mine expanded operations, the Furnace camp that formed around the mine grew.
In July, 1906, the Greenwater Mining District was officially formed and a post office was established in Clark's Camp
, as well as at nearby Greenwater. Never intended to be more than a convenient camp for the miners working at
Clark's Furnace Creek Copper Company mines
, as the other settlements sprang up in the immediate area,
Clark also entered the townsite business, almost as an afterthought, due more to public pressure than desire.
Since supplies and accommodations throughout the district were in such shortage at the peak of the boom, miners and prospectors naturally flocked towards Clark's Camp, where stores had been established to cater to the needs of the miners he employed.
Clark soon realized that the only way to control his camp, in the face of the unwanted crowds, was to organize a town site, whether he wanted one or not. He officially entered the townsite battle in October and by December, advertisements were printed in the Rhyolite Newspapers, advertising lots for sale from between 0 and 0 apiece.
The ads also proclaimed that the new town of Furnace would be the metropolis of the Greenwater District.
In February, the Death Valley Chuck-Walla put the population of the Greenwater District at 2,000,
including 500 in the town of Furnace, which was beginning to emerge as a real rival to the new Greenwater town site
.
Condition:  Very Fine
, vertical folds, minor creasing, no tears, minor signs of wear/handling/toning (see photos),
uncancelled.
Printer:
Goes.
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