Historic Note

Located in the Pearce Mining District, Cochise County, Arizona, the Commonwealth Mine was discovered by John Pearce in 1895. Later that year he formed a partnership with John Brockman, R.A.F. Penrose, and D.M. Barringer and organized Commonwealth Mining and Milling Company. Stock was issued and sold in America and Europe. A 60 stamp mill was built in 1898; it burned down in June 1900 and was replaced by a 80 stamp mill by January 1901. By 1905, the high-grade ore had played out and the shaft collapsed. The company leased the tailings to D.T. Swatling (-1910) and A.Y. Smith (-1931). They constructed a cyanide leaching plant and worked the tailings for several years.

The mine was purchased by Montana Tonopah Mines Company in 1910. The new officers of the Commonwealth were Charles E. Know, A.Y. Smith, and Frank L. Bryant. A new mill was constructed in 1913 and operated until 1917 when the ore was again too poor to support a profitable operation. A.Y. Smith then leased the mine under the name of Commonwealth Development Company which had been operating earlier as the Worlds Fair Mine Development Company with properties in Patagonia, Arizona.

The later records seem to indicate that the mine was controlled by the Commonwealth Owners, Fred and Thomas F. Cole (-1939), during the 1930s and early 1940s. The Pearce Mining Company leased the operations from them during those years.

During its forty year existence, the mine produced $8 million worth of silver and $2.5 million in gold at a time when silver was priced around 50 cents an ounce, and gold was $20 an ounce. The state statistics relating to the production of the mine were often included with those for the Turquoise Mining District.

The managers correspondence highlights the business acumen of Charles Knox, A.Y. Smith, Frank Bryant and others. The interplay between Knox, as an executive of the parent Montana Tonopah organization, and the executives of the Commonwealth is rich with decisive memos and directives aimed at continuing operations. Knox was in constant contact with Smith and Bryant. Topics of ongoing concern were discovery of new veins, richness of ore beds, development of the physical plant, payment of bond interest, equipment problems and purchases, discussions of monthly reports, market conditions, labor problems and the reorganization of the Montana Tonopah Company in 1929. Legal and tax matters between Commonwealth and Montana Tonopah are discussed in the correspondence with Montana Tonopah's lawyer, Hugh Brown. Other correspondence reflects business communications with smelters and refining companies in Douglas, Arizona; bankers, lawyers, state and county officials, and nearby mining company officials. Later correspondence between T.B. Smith, mine operator, and Fred Cole, mine owner, pertains to the operations, leasing, and financial condition of the mine.

The directors of the Commonwealth Mine ventured into several other businesses in Pearce and the nearby communities. Fragments of records pertaining to the B.S.B. Egg Farm, Coronado Cattle Company, Glenn Land and Cattle Company, Midwest Sugar Company, and Worlds Fair Mine are present. Most of the records for each company occupy one folder and consist of correspondence, financial, and legal records. Although the Commonwealth provided water for the town of Pearce, there are little evidence of that activity in the records.

A.Y. Smith was active on the Cochise County Highway Commission in 1919. The files contain minutes, reports, and correspondence of the Commission relating to a $1 million bond issue to construct and repair various roads in Cochise County.

Additional files document the activities of the Sulfur Springs branch of the American National Red Cross, 1923-1927, and a Pearce social and recreational association, the Town and Country Club, 1914 to 1922.