In 1874 a prospector/mountain man named D. Pickett discovered gold while panning in Little Moccasin Canyon and quickly submitted a claim for his find. But Mr. Pickett, being more concerned with whiskey and women than actual gold mining, soon sold the stake to M. Rigby. Mr. Rigby continued to prospect the area and soon discovered the source of the gold, a vein of high grade ore that surfaced near the top of the canyon. Mr. Rigby organized a company and soon began to mine the vein. The ore was taken from the canyon by mule team and shipped by train for processing. The mine flourished and soon the trail to the mine was filled with heavily burdened mule teams. In 1888 the mine suffered a particularly difficult loss when one of the mule team drivers lost control of his team and it plummeted off the trail in one of the steepest areas killing the driver and entire team. Hearing of the loss, a local entrepreneur, Wayne Robinson, approached the now wealthy Mr. Rigby with a proposition to build a railroad from the mine in Little Moccasin Canyon to the connecting railroad below. Mr. Rigby and Mr. Robinson entered into a contract to provide rail service to the mine and construction began. The area was extremely rugged with many challenges for a railroad but soon the line was completed and ore, equipment and manpower began moving via train to the mine. The mine continues operation today and is currently owned and managed by Mr. Rigby’s great-grandson.
