Trojan, South Dakota

Trojan, South Dakota
Portland
Town
Trojan

Location of Trojan in South Dakota.

Coordinates: 44°20′32″N 103°50′17″W / 44.3422063°N 103.8379795°W / 44.3422063; -103.8379795Coordinates: 44°20′32″N 103°50′17″W / 44.3422063°N 103.8379795°W / 44.3422063; -103.8379795[1]
Country United States
State South Dakota
County Lawrence County
Abandoned 1959
Founded by Trojan Mining Company
Elevation[1] 6,434 ft (1,961 m)
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)

Trojan, also known as Portland (?-1959), is a ghost town in the Black Hills of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was created by the Trojan Mining Company.

Naming

Trojan got its name from its founding company, the Trojan Mining Company.[2] Its earlier name, Portland, came from the nearby Portland Mine.[3]

History

Cyanide plant of Trojan Mining Company in Trojan, 1919

As early as 1877, gold was known to be inside Bald Mountain and Green Mountain, located in the Trojan area. By 1900, many claims had been sorted out into only a few, and by 1911, the Trojan Mining Company held the majority of them. In 1928, the Trojan Mining Company was bought out by the Bald Mountain Mining Company. However, by the 1950s, the ore in the Trojan mines was only being sold for $6 per ton, which did not provide enough of a profit to keep the mines in operation. Steel and powder, which were required to run the mines, increased in price, but gold remained $35 an ounce, which it had been since 1934. In 1959, all operations shut down and every mining building, including the miners' homes, closed. In 1960, the mine's rails were removed. For a time, the town tried to revive itself by providing for skiers at Terry Peak, but they were not successful. The Bald Mountain Company now owns 2,300 acres (930 ha) of land in the area and is a very prominent mining company in the Black Hills. The Trojan area is considered one of the richest in the Black Hills, and over $20 million worth of minerals, mainly gold and silver, has been extracted from the mines. Some of the cars are still there.[2] Some stores and houses are still there, as well as the buildings at the nearby Portland Mine.[3]

Geography

Trojan is located in the Black Hills of central Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "GNIS Detail - Trojan." USGS. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey., 13 Feb. 1980. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Web. 24 Aug. 2013.
  2. 1 2 Parker, Watson, and Hugh K. Lambert. Black Hills Ghost Towns. First ed. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL: The Swallow Press Incorporated, 1974. 192-193. 1 vols. Print.
  3. 1 2 Stelow, Bob. "Trojan - Ghost Town." Ghost Towns. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2013.
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