Lemuel Coover Shattuck (1866 - 1938)

Miner, Rancher, Merchant, Banker

2020 Inductee from Mining's Past

Lemuel Shattuck left his home near Erie, Pennsylvania at age 17 to work at a family owned cattle ranch in Arizona. After 4 years of being a cowboy, he sought employment in mining, which paid three times more than cowboy’s pay. The mine where he worked closed, which prompted Shattuck to head to other mining camps in the west.

During the next two years, he worked at mines and placer fields in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Montana. After working through the winter of 1887-88 at Butte, Montana, he decided Arizona was the place to be. He arrived back in Bisbee flat broke by the end of 1888.

The day after his return to Bisbee, he started work as a trammer at the Copper Queen at $3 for an 8-hour day. In his spare time, he located a nearby clay deposit and made adobe bricks. This lead to a profitable sideline. He expanded the business and hired local help, thus starting his business ventures.

By 1892, Shattuck was able to quit his job at the mine and devote full time to his business ventures. These included a lumber yard, a beer franchise, a bar, mines around Bisbee as well as a Mexican venture, and a bank. The Bisbee mines were high grade and successful. Ultimately, the Shattuck mine merged in 1925 with the Denn mine, in which Shattuck also had an interest, to form the Shattuck Denn Mining Co. Phelps Dodge Corporation purchased the Shattuck Mine in 1947. Between 1906 and 1947 the Shattuck Mine produced more than 3 million tons of copper and lead-zinc ore along with some manganese oxide.

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