72 Years Ago
The February 4, 1954 Colorado Transcript celebrated Fred Schwartzwalder’s discovery of a significant uranium deposit a few miles north of Golden. There was a big uranium boom in the 1950s, driven largely by the cold war and the push to build nuclear weapons.
Mr. Schwartzwalder lived at 207 Boyd Street (map) and was employed as a janitor at Golden High School. He spent his weekends prospecting in the hills around Golden, bringing home rock samples and storing them in his backyard. After several years of this, he acquired a Geiger counter and learned that one of his backyard specimens was radioactive. He couldn’t remember where he had found that particular rock, and it took a few months to re-locate the source. The uranium deposit was located on the Paul White ranch, so Schwartzwalder leased the mineral rights.
Most of that ranch is now White Ranch Open Space, but the mine was not part of the land sale.
In researching this topic, I found references that gave different stories. Here are a few examples.
Origins of Fred Schwartzwalder’s Geiger counter:
Time Magazine:
“In 1950 Fred decided to buy a Geiger counter. For months he worked overtime at his job as janitor of the local high school in order to accumulate the necessary $100.”
Historically Jeffco – Summer, 1990:
“For Christmas, 1950, his four children pooled their gift money and bought Dad a Geiger counter.”
The agreement with Paul and Anna White (owners of the property):
Colorado Transcript 2/4/1954
“The strike was made on property owned by Paul White of Golden…. This mine site was leased from White.”
Paper by Erik Hunter
“In approximately1954, a man showed up at the workings and informed Fred that he was the rightful owner of the surface and mineral rights. Fred persevered and cut a deal with the owner, Paul White. They agreed to sell the property to the highest bidder.”
Historically Jeffco – Summer, 1990
“…he negotiated an agreement with the owners of the land, Paul and Anna White. He would pay them fifteen percent of the gross proceeds of any minerals obtained from their land.”
Proceeds from the sale of the mine:
Colorado Transcript 2/23/1956
“Purchase of the mine was not disclosed, but it is understood that Schwartzwalder had turned down the previous offers ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million.”
Historically Jeffco – Summer, 1990
“In 1957, Fred, whose health was deteriorating, sold the mine to Golden-Denver Uranium Company for $293,000.00. He and his wife bought dentures, a house and a new car and took a trip back to Germany to see the brother he had left 46 years before. The rest of the money melted away in a series of unwise investments and speculations. “
The Rest of the Story
The mine stayed in production until 2002. More recent articles about the Schwartzwalder Mine focus on the ongoing clean-up required to prevent uranium from entering local drinking water supplies.
