The New World Mining District

Prospectors discovered rich mineral deposits in the Beartooth Mountains near here in 1874. Christened the New World Mining District, the area included claims with colorful names like Miner’s Delight, Hidden Treasure, Southern Spy, and Silver King. The miners established a small camp called “Shoo Fly” in recognition of the district’s most productive mine. By 1880, however, they changed the name to Cooke City in honor of Jay Cooke, Jr., a major investor in the mines. The Shoo Fly Mine was located 9,300-feet up Miller Mountain and could only be worked when snow conditions permitted access to it. From about 1878 until the late 1880s, the mine produced gold, copper, and lead-silver ore, much of which was processed in smelters at Cooke City. Deep snow and lack of transportation facilities slowed the development of the district’s rich mines. By the early 1890s, miners had abandoned many of these mines and others worked only seasonally. The Shoo Fly Mine had closed by 1893 and never reopened. Today, waste rock dumps, collapsing adits, and decaying mining structures are testament to the New World Mining District’s vibrant past.