Oro Fino
Denmark
Deldosso
Silver Queen
Enderman
The June Bug Mine is located on the west side of Bitter Creek about a quarter mile south of the Memphis and four miles north of Red River. The mine itself was not very productive and its operation was short lived. However, the owners early on turned from active mining and decided to invest their time and efforts in a custom mill, this to be available for use by any and all of the mines in the area. Thus the June Bug "Mill" became much more widely known than the June Bug "Mine".
The mine was opened in the late 1800s with Ed Hatton as superintendent. It was backed by a Waco, Texas investment group led by Dr. H. W. Brown and his son K. Brown. A fifty foot shaft was driven and a single vein was found, but it extended only a short distance and then gave out. At this point it seemed that the June Bug would not turn out to be much of a success.
It was about this time, 1899, that Ed Hatton conceived of building a mill to serve the various mines of the Red River Mining District. The investment group agreed and the June Bug Milling and Mining Company was formed with A. K. Thompson as superintendent. A site was selected near the western end of the Red River valley and just beyond the Orrin Malette property (in the vicinity of today's June Bug Campground). A twenty-five ton mill was ordered and building preparations were begun.
News of this mill created great enthusiasm and breathed new life into Red River City and throughout the District. There was an influx of new prospectors and miners as well as a mood of general prosperity in the town. Claims were staked, new mines opened, and the existing mines began to stockpile ore. By early 1901 the mill had been completed and ore from the Memphis Mine was the first to be treated. The initial runs proved to be quite satisfactory, but then gradually the yields began to decrease. The same proved true of ores from different mines so that over the next two years the decline continued. This was a common occurrence in the gold rush area and was partially due to the fact that few people in the District were knowledgeable about operating a mill effectively. There were virtually no metallurgists or mining engineers in the area and the ordinary miners simply assumed that anyone could order a mill and then operate it properly. Again and again this proved to be false.
Finally a fire broke out in the June Bug Mill forcing the owners to close it. In 1903 the mill was purchased by the Jayhawk Mining Company and put back in operation. It functioned sporadically until the resurgence of interest in the Red River mines around 1910. At that time the Trinidad Mining and Milling Company was organized to purchase the June Bug Mill. It immediately went into operation and accepted ore from the Caribel, Memphis, Golden Treasure, Blue Rock, and Inferno. The mill proved to be successful and continued to operate until the time of World War I which marked an end to many of the area mines.
June Bug Mill
