FMI Safford Lone Star Camp Data Recovery Project

WestLand was retained by FMI Safford to assist in the CWA permitting of a mine expansion project through the Corps. As part of the project, WestLand performed archaeological data recovery at five historical copper-mining sites in the Lone Star district near Safford in east-central Arizona. The most noteworthy project site was the Lone Star mine and associated mining camp, while the other sites were related prospects and smaller mines. The data recovery project focused on the excavation of the mining camp features, although every mine, prospect, and ancillary mining feature was also recorded in detail. WestLand performed all archival research for the project and interviewed an elder who visited the mine in the 1940s. Together, the archaeological evidence, archival information, and oral-history interviews provided a unique view into life in one of Arizona’s copper camps.