By Frank Young

(Editor's note: This year's Annual Meeting revived the popular field trips that in past years have entertained HGI members and set the stage for the demise of numerous bumpers. This year the four-wheelers started up the Waldorf Road, turning south to the site of the old Dibbon's Mill.)

While enjoying the picnic lunch in the shadow of the old stone chimney that marks the location of the Dibbon's Mill, we discussed the early days of the East Argentine Mining District. The first major silver discoveries in the Georgetown area were made in the late 1860's on the high ridges that form the boundary of the Waldorf Basin. Those early prospectors established the East Argentine Mining District while camped at the junction of Huff Gulch and Leavenworth Creek, just upstream from our picnic site. Dibbon's Mill was built to assay and process silver ore from these early mines. Burros or wagons then hauled the processed ore down to Georgetown for shipment for further processing. The remains of the Georgetown and Snake River wagon road still exist as a four-wheel-drive route along Leavenworth Creek.

Visitors can still see evidence of several mining camp sites in the Waldorf Basin. These camps, reminders of the early mining activity, shifted periodically due to the various discoveries in the late 1800's. A stroll through the woods below timberline or across the alpine tundra higher up reveals the foundations of temporary buildings or tent sites of these camps, along with the rusting rubbish piles of now-
historic tin cans and other cast-aside items.

The well-known features in the basin, such as the Waldorf and the Sidney Mines, plus most of the present road system, are products of early 1900's mining in the district and thus came much later. The elusive traces of the very early East Argentine District lie moldering across the landscape, but they still can be enjoyed by the sharp-eyed visitor.