RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY AND GEOLOGY OF THE PEARSON CREEK MINE DISTRICT GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI

When compared to other mining districts around the state with well documented geological and historical records, The Pearson Creek District is virtually unknown. A handful of incomplete maps, scattered tailings piles and historical records are all that’s left of a once bustling industry.

Inspired by rumors of a lead mine on the James River near Pearson Creek, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and Levi Pettibone arrived at the mine site January 1^st, 1819. Schoolcraft’s journal was published in 1821 but this generated little commercial interest since the area was still within Osage hunting grounds. Some commercial mining reportedly occurred in 1844 when former Governor McClurg hired workers to mine and haul ore overland to St. Louis. Increasing lead prices along with construction of the Springfield to Memphis rail line in 1882 spurred further interest in commercial mining. Mining companies from New York, Michigan and even London invested in mineral leases in the area. The success of these companies caused others to search for lead and zinc on properties across the County. Hundreds of mineral leases were filed in the County Recorder’s Office between 1870 and 1919. By then, lead mining in Greene County was essentially over. Companies moved westward to Aurora and Joplin where ore was abundant and more easily accessible.

Because of this sudden move and subsequent abandonment of the area, it wasn’t long before the area was completely forgotten. Today this absence of information is creating a new issue. As development is encroaching on the region, the properties that are underlain with a network of mine drifts and shafts are being slowly developed. Since little documentation exists it has now become a high priority for the Environmental Division of the Greene County Resource Management Department to use both geophysics and historical information to reestablish not only the locations of the mines but to determine their condition.