Colorado Mining District (New Mexico Territory)

The Colorado District had been organized by at least June 1, 1862. At a District meeting organized on January 8, 1863, officers were elected including a Mr. Lewis to fill an unexpired term as recorder that had begun on June 1, 1862. ^[1] There were 611 locations recorded at the end of 1863.^[2]: 400

El Dorado City was the site of the El Dorado Mills or Colorado Mills, first stamp mill in the canyon, at the mouth of January Wash at its confluence with El Dorado Canyon, about a mile down the canyon from Huse Spring. ^[3] Its site was located nearby to the south southeast of the Techatticup Mine the primary source of the ore its mill processed. In late 1863, the mill made with parts of abandoned or closed mills brought in from California was completed. Col. James Russell Vineyard at the time a State Senator from Los Angeles began the mill, to process the ore of the district mines cut out the cost of shipping the ore down the Colorado River by steamboat, and by sea to San Francisco for processing, thus cutting costs in half for those mine owners.^{[4] : 33, 35}