Cinnabar Mining in Southwest Arkansas
In April 1930, while hunting, Crown Cox, an eighteenyear-old farm boy, noticed an unusual rock with dark red coloration near the Little Missouri River in western Pike County, Arkansas. Around a month later and roughly fifteen miles to the east, D. F. Short, a section foreman for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, was blasting rock for riprap, near Antoine Creek at the far eastern end of Pike County. He noticed and picked up a similar specimen. The rocks were unusual, so both men kept them. Neither Cox nor Short, however, could identify what he had picked up. Unknowingly, they had found cinnabar---the primary ore from which mercury, called quicksilver in mining circles, is extracted.
And thus began the story of “Arkansas’s Tri-county Mining District, 1930-1945,” as told by historian Dr. Terry Reynolds in the Clark County Historical Association’s new publication, “Cinnabar Mining in Southwest Arkansas.” Cinnabar had not been previously known to exist in Arkansas, and it was the first major mercury discovery in the nation in decades. At the time, the United States did not produce as much mercury as it consumed and had to import from a third to a half of its needs, giving the find an even greater significance.
In the early twentieth century, people used mercury for many purposes. In fact, a good number of pharmaceuticals contained it. Among the well-known items was the once-popular Mercurochrome, designed to kill bacteria on the skin. Mercury was also used in fungicides and insecticides. Thermometers and barometers utilized it. In industry, mercury was a component of fluorescent and vapor lamps, and served as a catalyst in production of critical chemicals such as chlorine and caustic soda. Militaries around the world considered it a necessary strategic material.
Cinnabar’s discovery in southwest Arkansas came during the Great Depression. Many locals as well as speculators and prospectors hoped to find work and even dreamed of becoming wealthy by seizing opportunities offered by mining the ore found in Howard, Pike, and Clark counties. As events unfolded and men poured into the area, a 1932 Time magazine story even called it a “quicksilver rush.” Between 1931 and 1935, more than twenty companies incorporated to mine quicksilver in the area, in addition to many individuals and other entities.
Interestingly, in 1931, the economic downturn of the Depression combined with a dwindling supply of timber to result in closure of the timber mill at the Clark County town of Graysonia. However, after the discovery of cinnabar, the mill’s closure proved to be a blessing in disguise. The Arkansas Quicksilver Company of Prescott brought its smelting operation to Graysonia and began operations there. The first shipment of mercury left Graysonia in April of 1932.
A Clark County man, 97-year-old Jack Daniel, is believed to be the “Last Miner.” Daniel, who lived in Hot Spring County during his childhood, began work in the cinnabar mines as a teenager. His experiences as an entry-level worker and then as a more skilled dynamiter are described in the CCHA’S new publication. Daniel tells of several dangerous incidents during his time in the mines as well as of the exhausting work done by the men. The fascinating story reveals not only the hazardous conditions he faced in the mines, but also his daily earnings of $2.82 and every-friday payday!
Pieces of cinnabar ore and related mining artifacts will be on display when both Jack Daniel and Dr. Terry Reynolds give brief remarks about their stories at a reception and book signing hosted by the Clark County Historical Association, 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, at the historic Hollywood Methodist Church. The new softcover booklet is titled “Cinnabar Mining in Southwest Arkansas” and contains Reynolds’ “Arkansas’s Tri-county Mercury Mining District, 1930-1945: A Historical Overview,” Laverne Todd’s “Clark County’s Last Miner --- The Musings of Jack T. Daniel,” and a brief story of “Graysonia: Milling to Mining.” The booklet will be available at the free event, and both Reynolds and Daniel will be autographing them. The public is invited.