P a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Photo Courtesy of glendalemontana.com The concentrator ran off water power supplied by a water flume from Trapper Creek about one half mile with a vertical drop of two hundred feet processing low grade ore. A tramway was built to move ore between Hecla and Greenwood which measured about four miles in length. There were three cars, each with a brakeman which constituted a train and the empties were pulled back to the ore house at the base of Lion Mountain by mules/horses. The grade was steep and when the heavily loaded cars were in motion, they occasionally jumped the track causing injury and sometimes killing the brakemen. One such death occurred in April 1883 when two men, Joe Baker and Sherman Vance lost control of the cars and Joe Baker was killed from the impact of his body hitting trees after being ejected from the ore cars. It is not clear if the only survivor, Sherman Vance filed a lawsuit as the newspapers alluded that he might. In a newspaper article dated (September 1,1882),“The Management of Greenwood, the Hecla Company’s new town, will prevent the erection of any saloon buildings within the sacred precincts of that village. The principal office of the company is to be erected in Greenwood.” On November 2nd, 1882, his daughter, Miss Mamie opened the water wheel and set the machinery in motion. Henry Knippenberg to the "Mining Record" New York City: November 8, 1882 Hecla Consolidated Mining Co. Glendale, M.T. On the 2nd of November the "Big Concentrator" at Greenwood was set in motion, the power being turned on by Genl. Manager Knippenberg's little 10 year old daughter, Miss Mamie Norwood Knippenberg amid the glad shouts of workmen & visitors. By her side stood the happy father and mother and Supt. Parfet and Prof. Fred De Stivolinska of Fort Scott, Kansas, the designer of the plant. The works will be run empty. In 1883, Knippenberg would name one of the mines on Lion Mountain, "Mamie" after his daughter and Superintendent John Parfet would name another mine "Dollie" after his daughter. The Greenwood Concentrator was put into operation on November 15th, 1882 at a cost of more than 50,000. It ran day and night and during the first few days in operation, was fed ore from the Cleve and Franklin mines. Supt. John Parfet claims that the ores from the Cleve and Franklin are among some of the hardest ores to concentrate. The Fort Scott Machine and Foundry Company furnished the machinery for the concentrator which was designed by Prof. Fred Stivolinska who oversaw the installation of equipment.
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