Ever since the Santa Fe railway brought the first train to the Grand Canyon on September 17, 1901, there has been a question brought before the powers that be concerning just what should be on the rim of Grand Canyon. Before that time anybody could pitch his tent or build his cabin on the unclaimed land at the edge of the gorge, and no one objected or for that matter cared. John Hance, Buckey O'Neill, J. W. Thurber, W.W. Bass and Ralph Cameron all with visions of getting rich either in mining ore or making a fortune from visitors, took advantage of the free land and built cabins or hotels to attract and accommodate the travelers. The power and money of the Railway changed that almost at once. The Railway figured with their investment of thousands of dollars they had the right to control everything, and began a campaign to remove the old timers. Their moneyed power influenced the government officials who backed them and appointed personnel who could be swayed to do their bidding.

One by one the old timers were forced to leave-their cabins and hotels were absorbed into the holdings of the Railway or destroyed. The Hance Cabin, Grandview and Buggeln Hotels were demolished. The Kolb Studio was considered an eyesore and scheduled to be torn down; Congress saved it by passing a law prohibiting the removal of any structure in a National Park over fifty-years-old. The Studio far exceeded the age limit, but the Grand Canyon Inn did not fare so well.

The idea of removing edifices from the rim of Grand Canyon still is foremost in the plans of the National Park Service- the target now is the old headframe of the Orphan mine located between Maricopa and Powell points. Money (or the lack of it) is the only thing that has so far saved the structure.

In 1893 Daniel Hogan staked a claim where he discovered a vein of copper on the wall of the canyon 1100 feet below the rim. It was a slow process to develop the claim because it was necessary to climb down a combination of trails, ladders and ropes to reach the site. Remnants of the trail and parts of his ladders still remain. Hogan was unaware that his most important find was not copper but uranium, and at the time of little value.

Many years later when tourist travel in the area began to grow the Grand Canyon Inn was constructed on the old claim. The owners could make more money from tourists than from mining. Then in 1953 the uranium ore Hogan cast aside as worthless became quite valuable and the Golden Crown Mining Company acquired mining rights on the claim and began extracting the high grade ore. The company constructed a tramway from the rim to the mine location on the vertical wall to facilitate lifting the buckets of ore from the area. The headframe still standing on the rim was an important part in the operation.

Once again the old problem arose when the site with its inn and mine became the subject of controversy. The government insisted it destroyed the scenic beauty and legislation introduced in Congress would remove the eyesore. President Kennedy signed the bill in 1963 authorizing government acquisition from Western Equities Inc., the owners of the claim. The company would transfer title to the government on condition that it could continue mining for 25 years and operate the Grand Canyon Inn until the end of 1966, after which the structures would be demolished.

In 1988 the twenty-five years came to an end and the Park officials immediately wanted to rid the location of any trace of the operation and return it to its natural state. The cost of this ran far beyond the budget, instead, due to mildly radioactive material, the site was closed to public access.

Granted, the old metal frame adds nothing to the scenic beauty of Grand Canyon, but it is part of history. The earliest white settlers of the Canyon were prospectors and miners; the headframe of the Orphan mine is the sole remaining landmark of this early phase of Grand Canyon history. It should be preserved as a monument to this early human endeavor.

Used by permission of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society.

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