The waymark coordinates are for come ruins of the American Mining Company buildings at Shafter.
Shafter's silver mining potential was discovered in the 1880s, but was never hugely profitable.
Still, the history of this interesting place was worthy of a passage in the WPA's Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State:
"Three active silver mines make SHAFTER, 294 m. (3,900 alt., 300 pop.), a mining supply and shipping center. It is a far cry from urban luxuries to this village of adobe houses tucked away in the mountain wilderness. Hidden trails to the south are still frequented by smugglers, and raids by Mexican bandit gangs sometimes occur. Life is often lonely for officials of the mines. Free barbecues are a favorite pastime, but, owing to the difficulty at times of freighting in sufficient liquid refreshment for the guests, invitations to such festivities have at times borne the initials B.Y.O.B. (bring your own beer)."
From the Handbook of Texas online: (
visit link)
"SHAFTER, TEXAS. Shafter is on Cibolo Creek and U.S. Highway 67, at the east end of the Chinati Mountains eighteen miles north of Presidio in southern Presidio County. Its history is closely tied to silver mining.
There is evidence that the Spaniards prospected for valuable ores in the area during the early 1600s, but Shafter became a mining town only after September 1880, when John W. Spencer, a freighter turned prospector, found silver ore there. Spencer showed an ore sample to Col. William R. Shafter, commander of the First Infantry Regiment at Fort Davis, who had it assayed. When small amounts of profitable silver were found, Colonel Shafter interested two army friends, Lt. John L. Bullis of the Twenty-fourth Infantry and Lt. Louis Wilhelmi of the First Infantry, in a land deal on the acreage surrounding Spencer's strike.
. . .
The town of Shafter, located near the Presidio Mine and named for William R. Shafter, developed with the increased milling operations. A post office was opened in Shafter in 1885. Though the Bullises sued to retain their interest in the land and a lower court ruled in their favor, the Presidio Mining Company won a decision in 1887 before the Texas Supreme Court. Freed from litigation, the company stepped up its operations as Noyes hired nearly 300 men to work the mine. Workers in the Presidio Mine at Shafter came from several ethnic groups and geographical areas.
Mexican citizens and black Americans found better-paying jobs there, and miners from California worked at Shafter until they left to prospect for Alaskan gold in 1897. Shafter miners lived in company houses, shopped at the company store, and received medical care from the company doctor. Just after 1900, Shafter had a population of 110 and two saloons, a dance hall, and a school.
During the 1920s and 1930s the Shafter mine closed and reopened several times. In 1928 the Presidio Mining Company sold the mine to the American Metal Company, but there was little change to the mining operation. In 1942, with increased production costs and a shortage of miners, the mine closed again, but by 1943 Shafter had a population of 1,500; at that time it also had twelve businesses that served the military population that was stationed at two bases in the county. After Marfa Army Air Field and Fort D. A. Russell closed, the population of Shafter declined, reaching twenty by 1949. Though from the 1950s through the 1980s several attempts were made to reopen the Presidio Mine at Shafter, the town and the mines remained deserted. The population was twenty-six in 2000.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Paul H. Carlson, "The Discovery of Silver in West Texas," West Texas Historical Association Year Book 54 (1978). Cecilia Thompson, History of Marfa and Presidio County, 1535–1946 (2 vols., Austin: Nortex, 1985).
by Julia Cauble Smith"