It was a brisk winter morning in the Empire Mountains. John Harvey and John “Jerry” Dillon rode out on horseback to officially document what they hoped would be the next Tombstone. “Jerry, what are you going to call your latest claim?” asked John Harvey, who was filling out location notices. “I don’t know,” the Empire Ranch cowboy replied. “It’s a big ledge, and the whole damned hill is a total wreck with big quartz boulders of ore scattered all over the hillside.”
“That’s a good name,” replied Harvey. Harvey put pen to paper and scribbled out Total Wreck.
It wasn’t long before Dillon sold his one-third interest to Walter Vail. This made Walter and John Harvey equal partners and Dillon the locator. To take full advantage of the Total Wreck’s potential, it was going to take substantial financial investment, taking a chance on a new mining process, and access to water. For the Vail’s, business was a family affair, and it was tended to meticulously. Edward Vail was tapped by his successful Uncle and Total Wreck investor, Nathan Vail, to be trained as an assayer in Tombstone. With so much money about to flood in, someone absolutely trustworthy was needed in this position. But the Vail’s wouldn’t see a penny unless they could solve their water problem.
Water was obligatory for operating the stamp mill. The only water nearby was on land owned by a mining company based in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Edward was dispatched to Oil City to negotiate. Edward traveled for weeks on bumpy wagon roads and soot-filled train cars but no sooner had he arrived then he received a telegram to return. The telegram’s good news blunted the sting of a wasted journey. Walter had purchased Don Sanford’s Meadow Valley Ranch and its cattle. Incidentally, the ranch included access to the waters of Cienega Creek. With access to water secured, a powerful pump was hauled near the creek and a hand-riveted iron pipe was forged to bring the water across 14,000 feet of desert with a rise of 250 feet. Water was pumped into two 50,000 gallon redwood tanks that supplied the soon-to-be-built town and the stamp mill.
Water problems solved, Nathan Vail looked to new innovations to boost yield efficiency and reduce costs. He took a calculated risk and converted half of the mill operations to the “Boss continuous process.” To test the process the mill operated at full capacity for forty-four days. The new process required less manpower and increased assay yield from 84.12% to 86.35% and resulted in more stable production costs. Total Wreck might have been a silver deposit, but to the Vail’s it was a gold mine.
The Total Wreck’s first ore shipment to New York on March 19, 1883 included seven 150-pound silver bars. They were 90⁰ fine and valued at $20,000 ($586,477.23 in 2022). Newspapers at the time speculated that production would reach $3,000,000 (nearly $90,000,000 in 2022). Professional mining journals regularly covered operations at Total Wreck. Between 1879 and 1887, Walter and his Uncle Nathan Vail netted over half a million dollars in profit from the Total Wreck Mine. Their success was in no small part a result of their willingness to try new technologies and methods. This allowed them to quickly scale up the operation, which in turn attracted funds from eastern investors. The Vail’s strategically utilized those funds to maximize efficiency and profits while delivering handsome dividends to investors.
A boom town sprang up and was given a meaningful and thought out name: Total Wreck. “E.L. Vail is the active proprietor of the town, the major portion of which is on a mining claim owned by him. The surface ground is proving a bonanza whether ore is ever found below or not.” Tucson Daily Citizen, May 21, 1882. Edward platted out the town himself and managed a brisk market for lots—there are lots of ways to make money on a “boom.” A road was needed to transport ore to Pantano for shipment out on the railroad. The Vail’s, ever with a penchant for names, built and monetized the Total Wreck Toll Road. Everyone, including the Vail’s, paid the $.50 per-person toll ($14.66 today).
At the height of the mine’s operations, the town of Total Wreck boasted fifty houses, three stores, four saloons, three hotels, a lumber yard, butcher shop, school, ten Chinese laundries, and its own post office which operated from August 12, 1881 to November 1, 1890. Nathan Vail was the first Post Master.
The town was considered tame by most standards. Even so, local newspapers reported that, “Once in that wide-open camp, Edward Vail nearly met death. A yellow dog attacked another one in the street. Mr. Vail tried to club the big dog off, but its owner jumped on him with a six shooter.”
“You men are my friends,” yelled a bystander, “Don’t kill each other over a yellow dog.”
Someone on the sidelines laughed. So did the two men and Mr. Vail called out, “Come with me to George’s Saloon. I’ll pay for the drinks.” And the trouble ended, but it was a close shave.
Total Wreck’s celebrated success was short lived. The huge horn silver deposits played out. By 1890 the post office closed and the town deserted. Mining operations continued on a much smaller scale on and off until 1940.
The end of Total Wreck was not the end of Edward Vail. He operated the Vail Ranch, served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors and held many other civic positions. He passed away on October 14, 1936 at 87. Towards the end of his life he wrote for the Arizona Daily Star recounting colorful tales of life in the Arizona Territory including the boom and bust that was anything but a Total Wreck.
Community Connections with Vail Preservation Society
Drumroll please! Announcing this year’s Prickly Pear JAMboree Parade winning entries! Best Vehicle: Cub Scout Pack 776; Best Little Red Wagon: Friends of the Esmond Station Library; Best Team: Vail Valley Baptist Church; Best Float: Life is Sweet. Nearly 2,500 celebrated our community at the Prickly Pear JAMboree! We appreciate the sponsors who make the event possible and the VPS volunteers who invest their time and talents to plan the JAMboree!
Dia de Los Muertos celebration will honor Vail’s Mexican American roots at our November 5th First Saturday Between the Tracks at Old Vail Village between 9:00 and 1:00. Bring an offering to add to the Community Ofrenda. Your offering could be a photograph of a departed loved one, perhaps a ‘mini-ofrenda’ you have created, something that your departed loved one enjoyed – maybe a baseball, or a bottle of orange soda pop. This traditional celebration will include Folklorico dancers, Kids Make & Take Craft, the opportunity to embellish your Ofrenda offering as well as a Vendor Fair and Food Truck. Save the date – we’ll see you Between the Tracks! Email vailpreservationsociety@gmail.com or call 520-419-4428 for more information.
J.J. Lamb, Vail Preservation Society 2022
