The Bagdad Mining Museum is located on North Lindahl in Bagdad. Occupying the former jail, the museum's collection concentrates on memorabilia from the Bagdad area. Most of the collection is inside the museum, but pieces of mining equipment are located on the grounds. True to the nature of the town itself, most of the museum's contents chronicle mining activities. Some of the items can be traced to the 1920s and 1930s, but most date from the late 1940s through the 1970s.
The museum has an especially good selection of artifacts that were used in the mining company's laboratories. It also has a good selection of machines once used in the company's offices. It is open weekly, on Sunday afternoons. This museum, like most of those located in Yavapai County, is staffed and maintained entirely by volunteers who value historical preservation.
History of Bagdad
The history of Bagdad is similar to that in other copper-rich areas of Arizona. Later prosperity derived from earlier disappointment. The first prospectors in the area were looking for gold, a romantic commodity that frequently could be mined by individuals or small parties who stood to profit handsomely from their labor. Instead of finding gold, however, two early prospectors found copper, staked claims in 1882, and named them Bagdad (probably misspelling another distant desert community-Baghdad). Then they disappeared.
Copper mining requires a considerable investment, so the so-called Bagdad and related claims were worked, but not with great success, until 1918 when the Arizona Bagdad Copper Company reorganized the Bagdad Copper Company. Operations were stepped up even more in 1927, when yet another reorganization created the Bagdad Copper Corporation. Increased capitalization allowed the operation to utilize the most up to date techniques to extract copper from the ore. At that point, the community was comprised of hard working miners, often hailing from Mexico, who were supervised by Anglo engineers and managers. The general feeling in Bagdad is that the two ethnic groups have always existed quite well side-by-side.
Towns located near copper mines are often referred to as camps, and for a long time Bagdad was truly a camp. Miners and even supervisory personnel, with or without their families, lived in tent houses, structures placed on stone stilts with four-foot high wooden walls topped with slanted canvas roofs. Early miners were forced to go to Prescott or Phoenix, not just for luxuries but even for staples. According to many old miners, early residents ate a lot of goat meat, which probably came from the Kirkland/Skull Valley area. Miners also hunted, both for simple recreation and to feed their families.
Eventually a company store was built. It had refrigeration, so it could store meat that was shipped in. However, hunting is still an annual affair for many Bagdad residents, who discuss everything connected with this activity with a great deal of warmth. In this community, hunting provides residents with adventure and camaraderie. Especially in decades past, hunting was an activity that supervisors and workers could share.
Despite the cohesive community in the isolated town, there has been a sense of impermanence to Bagdad. Not only have mining operations been sold periodically, but also, the town site has been moved a number of times over the years to make way for mining activities, mostly in the form of open pit procedures. Getting at the ore has been more important than providing people with a sense of place. Now, as in the beginning, Bagdad is a company town, owned completely by whatever entity operates the mine. Bagdad Copper Corporation merged with Cyprus Mines in 1973, Cyprus merged with Amoco minerals in 1979, and the present owner is Phelps Dodge, one of the largest copper producers in the world. They are also one of the larger property tax paying entities in Yavapai County.
It is not possible for area residents to own land, but they can rent houses at very reasonable rates from the company, and retired miners who chose to stay in town can move their own mobile homes to company-owned slabs, which they rent for next to nothing. The "company," which is now Phelps Dodge, frequently provides utilities to its workers at a reasonable rate. Although this has decreased somewhat over the years, the abiding sense of paternalism provides workers with benefits that laborers in other areas have gained only through labor union negotiations.
Conditions in Bagdad are tied to the price of copper, which is very volatile. When it is down, there are layoffs or even shutdowns. During those times, people might move temporarily or permanently to other mining areas, or they might simply quit mining altogether and take up what they might consider to be more permanent occupations. It is easier to maintain this type of mobility when one does not own property, but at the same time, one cannot pay for relocation with the nest egg one might produce from a sizeable property sale.
Despite the fluctuations in the copper market and some pervading sense of impermanence that dominates most mining communities, what strikes one most about Bagdad is the fact that many of those who stay in the area retain a real sense of community along with a love for the land and respect and warmth toward their neighbors. Perhaps this strong sense of community comes from the fact that Bagdad is a community set apart.
History of the Museum
Mr. Robert Delgado, a retired miner who conceived of the idea of the museum in 1983, is committed to its ongoing operation. Through his connections with the mining company and his knowledge of the town and its people, and the cooperation of other Bagdad residents, he has been able to gather a significant collection of archival materials and artifacts that deal directly with mining in the area.
Many others, local volunteers, have joined Mr. Delgado in preserving the history of Bagdad. Listed below are the contents of the museum. Most of them have direct Yavapai County attribution. We have not listed those items that Mr. Delgado purchased to make the display more interesting for visitors. In addition, we did not list many of the items that are stored because there is no place for them in the small museum.
ARTIFACTS
I. Structures:
Building
Jail building
Building Components
Door, from jail cell and justice court, Bagdad
Light switch found in older house in Bagdad
Pump, water, small hand pump
II. Building Furnishings
Chair (swivel, probably from office)
Chair, kitchen type
Heater, kerosene
Spittoon, purchased
Table
Table, kitchen
Wastebasket
III. Personal artifacts
Accessories
Key chains (5)
IV. Tools and Equipment for Materials
Food processing T&E
Cheese carton, (3)
Food Service T&E
Cans, coffee, one pound, (3)
Creamer, small restaurant creamers (2)
Crock dish (very small)
Grinder, local, old
Kettle, copper teakettle
Thermos, coffee, local
Tin, Log Cabin Syrup (shaped like log cabin) local
Utensils, kitchen (not local)
Mining & Mineral Harvesting T&E
Ashtrays, copper (2)
Bars out of drill steel
Bits, various drill bits, to drill dynamite holes for blasting
Block and tackle from 1950s, used in mine
Bottle that probably held mining-related solutions
Bottle with wooden handle for pouring hot liquids for water analysis
Bottle, lab (16)
Bucket, small metal
Bucket, ore, E. M. Davis Iron Works, Denver
Bucket, large square (unusual, use not known) probably from 1930s
Can, oil, used around shops for mine in Bagdad (5)
Can, probably for insecticide
Canister, lamp, found in local dump
Chemical bottles (approximately 15)
Container, distilling, not certain of date or exact use (lab use)
Copper briquettes (stopped making these in July 1974)
Copper items, decorative, various
Copper powder
Crucible, used for assaying (7)
Crucibles (several dozen) also from local lab
Dish, lab
Equipment, laboratory, various
Feeder, commemoration piece, reagent feeder
Funnel devices used in furnaces for assaying (3)
Glasses, cutting from 1920s
Glassware, laboratory, 12 pieces
Handcart from warehouse for mining company
Hand tools for miners: including saws, hammers, small scales, drill, pliers, wrench, carbide lamp (the kind miners carried and hung) hard hats
Hats, miners hats (2)
Hotplate, laboratory
Hydrometer, 100-year-old brass, donated by Don Jensen
Lamp, calcium carbide
Lamps, carbine, miners, from 1920s and 1930s (3)
Mantle, heating, for analyzing solutions
Mortar and pestle
Ring, metal, holds items away from fire
Rocks, various collected in Bagdad area (25)
Small mining equipment, various
Soldering irons (2)
Stand for bipeds (wooden, about 15" high)
Starter sheet, copper, about 3' x 3', donated by Ray Jones, 99.9 % pure copper
Starter sheet (copper) from 1929, about 18" x 24", framed
Tubing, glass, laboratory equipment
Underground candleholders (2)
Water analysis set
Wrenches, (2)
Woodworking T&E
Axe head found near Bagdad mine donated by Wade Dotson
Caliper
Chalk line
Folding wooden ruler, locally donated from carpenter shop
Screwdriver
V. Tools and Equipment for Science and Technology
Energy Production T&E
AMP meters (AMPERES) (2) substation or power plant, produced its own power: Burro Creek Pump Station from 1950s to early 1970s
Generator parts: various (reverse phase relay and other pieces)
Maintenance T&E
Machine, washing, 1920s Thor cylinder washing machine (from Bagdad)
Washboard
Medical and Psychological T&E
Crutches, child's (2)
Eyecups (4)
Signs from Bagdad hospital
Wheelchair, wicker, from Bagdad hospital 1950s
Merchandising T&E
Cash register, Dick Pinney's Service Station (probably used from late 1940s till it was no longer needed)
Heater to seal cellophane, used in grocery store
Prince Albert tobacco can found in Bagdad area
Regulative and Protective T&E
Fire extinguishers (2)
Hat, fireman's 1970s
Nozzle for fire hose
Surveying and Navigational T&E
Compass, magnetic
VI: Tools and Equipment for Communication
Data processing
Adding machines (3) no date
Adding machine: (Sunstrand?) very old
Calculator from refinery in Bagdad (1960s)
Marker, price, early 1950s, from company grocery store
Rule, slide
Weights and Measures T&E
Balance, Mettler electric laboratory balance, probably 1950s
Balance, Wilfrid Heusser Balance, for precise measuring, about 18" x 18", enclosed in glass
Electrolytic cabinet, analytical lab equipment
Ruler, triangular
Scale, 10-20 kilo, platform is about 10"
Scale, balance, large, delicate scale, Ainsworth Balance scale, probably from 1950s Braun
Scale, balance: dates uncertain (1950s? and one older) (2)
Scale, Large meat or produce scale from Copper Market in Bagdad
Musical T&E
Record, 45 RPM, Buddy Dabbs & His Bandits, "Buddy Long"
Telecommunication T&E
Radio, Motorola radio, used in 1970s, large, gray
Phone, Stromberg-Carlson: for sound powered telephones, 1940s-70s, used by BCC to communicate from old primary crusher and underground transfer point to the mill
Signaling test set-Mountain States Telephone, test unit from telephone company (pre-1980, probably 1960s)
Written Communication T&E
Numbering matching, pat. 1915 but this is not that old
Pencils, found in company desk (6)
Remington typewriter, probably 1930s
Royal typewriter (1930s)
Royal typewriter, could be 1950s or 1960s
Seals, corporate seals (2)
Seal, corporate Bagdad Copper Company (3)
Distribution and Transportation
Container
Bag, water, made of tightly woven canvas (2)
Basket, In-basket
Bottle, milk, probably local (3)
Bottle, old, found in Bagdad area (13)
Bottle, various bottles found in area, many are colored (19)
Box, pencil
Box, 7UP
Box, Coke
Crate, dairy delivery
Holder, ink and penholder, thick glass (not certain of date)
Trunk, local, large, metal with wood, probably from 1920s, belonged to early manager's mother
Land Transportation
Hubcap Chevrolet from 1930s
Gauge, pressure, probably from a truck, never used
Jack, automobile jack, probably 1930s
License plate, copper 1919 for automobile
License, Arizona, 1917
Wheel, mine car, from Tungstona (1950s)
Communication Artifacts
Advertising
Ashtrays from area, Goodyear (2)
Glasses marked BCC, given as gifts to employees (9)
Documentary artifact
Accounts ledger 1912 (unclear which company)
Account book, Bagdad Copper Corp. account book (small)
Account book, five month, Hillside Mining and Milling, 1955
Book, small Lone Ranger pocket book $.49
Book, rule: Bagdad Copper Corporation, Safety rules and instructions 1959
Book, rule, Bagdad Copper Corporation, Haulage truck rules and regulations
Books and trophies, various, stored in trunk
Calendar, Bagdad Lions club 1984 (community birthday calendar)
Case, Bagdad Copper Corporation, probably held steak knives, Christmas 1972
Check stubs, mining company
Claim, mining, 1966
Cups, Cyprus Bagdad cups (2)
Glasses, gifts Christmas, 1967 and 1969, lettering in real copper (8)
Glasses, gifts Christmas 1974 (3)
Glasses, gifts Christmas 1974 (3)
Glass, gift marked BCC (4)
Handbook, Chemical/Metallurgical, 1906 (belonged to E. S. Howell)
Manual, technical, Bagdad Copper Corporation, on refrigeration
Manual, technical, Bagdad Copper Corporation, ICS automobile handbook (1913)
Manual, technical, Bagdad Copper Corporation, Audel's Automobile guide with questions and answers (probably about 1915)
Pocketbook, Civil Engineer's, 1911
Record, hoist record wooden cover, Bagdad 1945, 1946, 1947
Exchange medium
Coins, copper from State of Arizona, various dates (5)
Funny money: Bagdad used its own money in late 1940s to 1966, when it was melted down; donated by Norman Bennett and Chuck Riley (2 pieces)
Silver dollar, fake
Personal symbol
Columns, 8' to the top, fraternal-type
Plaque: Gold Rush Days division plaque, 1976
Plate, commemorative plates (4)
Trophies, baseball, softball, safety award, 1963 state mining inspector's safety award, 1959 special award (8)
Trophies, Bagdad Lodge No. 54-5977
Ashtray, copper
Copper powder
Gift tokens or medallions (3)
Multiple use, Unclassifiable
Wetting device, very large wetting device for tape: about 2"
