Familiar as most our young people
think they are with places of present and past interest within the town
limits, there is one spot about five miles from the Center which
possesses quite a bit of history and which was of far more than local
interest a half century ago, of which the present generation know little
if anything. This is the old silver mine in Scadden, about a half
mile south of Comfort R. Thompson's.
It was the privilege of the writer to
first visit this old historic spot about nineteen years ago in company
with the late Dr. Robbins. Though the "works" had then long since
fallen into disuse and decay the walk thither from the road was a very
easy matter compared with what it is today through the dense tangle of
swampy underbrush that so greatly impedes travel. About the
"works", things have not materially changed except that the trees have
grown taller and vegetation more uninviting, about which swarm myriads
of flies and bugs of every description known in old New England. A
search for the old mine the present week would probably have been a more
tiresome if not an unsuccessful task had it not been for the pilotage of
Mr. Thompson who stopped his plow in the field and volunteered his
kindly aid with the same evident pleasure he subsequently showed the
writer over his fine farm and model farm barn.
From what could be learned of this long
since defunct enterprise, public notice was first drawn to it in this
wise: About the year 1837 a large part of the real estate in that
section was owned by the late Kyland Tucker. During the progress
of a very heavy thunder shower Mr. Tucker was aroused by a report of
thunder of unusual severity, and the seeming proximity of its striking
the earth started him out a little later to investigate. He
traversed field and pasture for a time without finding any trace of a
thunderbolt until he thought he detected smoke arising from the
ground. A close investigation revealed neither a rent in the rock
whence came the smoke nor a sulphurous odor which he expected to
find. 
While examining the broken fragments of loose rock he
detected something bright. Out of curiosity he chipped off the
piece and was then more surprised to find other specimens. These
he easily procured and carried home, after which he gave them scarcely a
thought until some time afterward when a visitor with mineralogical
knowledge was attracted by them. His surprise was great on
learning that the "specimens" had been mined "right here on Scadden
hills" and eagerly accompanied Mr. Tucker out into the pasture on a tour
of inspection. There, sure enough, were plenty of good specimens
easily obtainable and Mr. Tucker was advised to "keep the thing still"
and send samples to New York to be assayed. He sent the samples,
but the visions of vast wealth which drove sleep away from his eyes at
night would not permit him to "keep the thing still". People at
first were amused at his gullibility, but after a visit to the "mine"
began to modify their incredulity as the report came back from the
assayer that there was "money in it". Mr. Tucker was now almost
wild with excitement, and how he avoided brain fever was a
mystery. Too late was his regret that he had not kept the thing
still, as great numbers came pouring into his domain from all
directions, managing to purloin a bit of rock for a souvenir which did
not fail to catch his eye, each bit seeming to impoverish him.
Among his early visitors were two or three
capitalists from New York who had been attracted by paragraphs that had found their way into the
newspapers. This was before the days of "mine planting" and an
examination of the ore and the assayer's report convinced them that
there was money to be made so they approached the owner with a
very modest offer for a tract of land, but stood aghast at the fabulous
price he asked. Failing to do anything in the way of a purchase
they leased the ground and made other agreements on the share plan with
him. They returned to New York and purchased and shipped expensive
machinery of the most improved pattern known in those days. A
practical miner, Wm. H. Hughes, was found and hired, together with a lot
of help, divided into night and day gangs, and work was begun close by
where the first specimens were obtained. A shaft was sunk to a
considerable depth and a vein found about the size of one's finger.
Out of this were obtained "chunks of solid silver as big as a man could
lift", was the report of Mr. Tucker in a neighboring village, and at
another time the ore was panning out "40 per cent of gold and 60 per
cent of silver," according to the same authority. Considerable
latitude was given these reports when the true condition of things at
the mine became known, for, contrary to expectations the most
indifferent success was being met with. The first shaft was soon
abandoned and a new one struck about fifty feet distant. This
promised better results and work commenced with renewed zeal.
About twenty feet down another vein was found, but not being thought
sufficiently productive was sunk lower until a depth of sixty feet was
reached. Meanwhile the water had kept pouring in in such
quantities that a pump had been rigged and was constantly worked.
The work proceeded slowly with blasting, and the broken fragments were
drawn to the surface in great buckets by horse power. One man lost
his life here through carelessness, going down the shaft a few minutes
after a light blast when all thought another must soon follow. It
did about the time he reached bottom, and his lifeless remains were
subsequently brought to the surface in terrible shape. At the
bottom 
of the sixty foot shaft several cross chambers were started
and one followed up a distance of eighty feet wide and high enough for a
man to stand upright and work to advantage. Visitors were
occasionally permitted to go down with the help, but badly as some lady
visitors wanted to go down none mustered up sufficient courage to do
so. The small pieces of crushed rock and ore were sorted out and a
few loads sent to the city. The following season the work was
resumed but shortly was abandoned, the yield of silver not being
sufficient to pay expenses. Five or six years later another
attempt was made to work with the mine, but after sinking what available
capital the company had they gave up the job in disgust. Mr.
Tucker , the owner, was long since gathered unto his fathers no richer
than before the great silver craze struck him. There are several
however, who still have a very distinct recollection of the great
undertaking and never tire of recalling incidents connected with
it. Upwards of seventy men were employed there first and last,
many of whom boarded at Caleb T. Richardson's whose hospitable table has
lost none of its hospitality since. Few if any visitors inquire
out the old mine today 
as there is little to attract one. On one side a
space less grown up to forest where once the horses kept up their
tiresome travel hauling up the stone filled bucket, beyond a hole filled
with water, the banks and wood curbing caved in so that it is scarce
eight feet square, beyond it another hole and between them a mound of
broken brier covered rocks, all there is to show for an expenditure of
thousands of dollars in a fruitless undertaking. Whatever became
of the ore shipped to the city no one knows, but all seem to agree that
for every dollar mined there from fifty to one hundred dollars was the
cost of doing it.
