WAYNE DARLINGTON MINING VISIONARY
It could be said that Wayne Darlington was the visionary
who saw the potential for the mining of copper in the Alder Creek Mining
District.
“Mr. Wayne Darlington, one of the most successful and
experienced mining engineers in America, was for five years in charge of John
William Mackay’s mining properties.” (Harper’s Weekly – 1907)
Wayne MacVeagh Darlington was born on March 3, 1862 in
Pennsylvania. The early 1880s found him
in Idaho.
Idaho State mine records show that Darlington had a theory that
smelting rock containing the copper ore would be an effective way of recovering
the copper. Darlington persuaded some
New York investors to help finance his operation. Upon securing financing, a 50 ton per day
through put smelter was built and operated from late 1890 to February 1891. Darlington
would have been about 28 years old at that time. The smelter produced about
200,000 pounds of base copper bullion by direct smelting.
Wayne married Elizabeth Nicholson in 1896. The 1900 census lists Wayne and his wife
“Lizzie” living in Houston along with their three children: Steven P., Albert
N., and Catherine.
Proving his smelting theory to be profitable, Darlington sought
and obtained control of the Empire Mine properties. Once he was in
control of the Empire Mines, Darlington needed money to build a larger 500 ton
per day through put smelter. Again, he sought investors, this time becoming
associated with among others San Francisco millionaire John W. Mackay. The
Empire Mining Company was reorganized as White Knob Copper Company on April 24,
1900, under the laws of New Jersey with John W. Mackay as President, and
engineer Wayne Darlington as General
Manager of the new company. In 1901 E.J.
Mathews succeeded Mackay as president and in 1902 he was succeeded by Henry J.
Luce. Wayne Darlington and his staff resigned in the spring of 1902 after a
dispute with Luce.
In 1899-1901,
Wayne had his mining engineers lay out a town site at the end of the newly built
Oregon Shortline Railroad. The town is a plated town, meaning that the city owns
all the streets and alleys. The layout
included two large parks and a lot for a school. Darlington sold lots and donated several lots
for the building of churches including the Catholic Church. The town was incorporated under the laws of
the State of Idaho, Custer County in 1901 and named Mackay in honor of
Darlington’s benefactor. Darlington was
appointed Chairman of the Village Board (becoming the first Mayor of Mackay). He served as Chairman from 1901 to 1902. I
was not able to determine if Wayne and his family ever lived in Mackay.
Darlington was appointed by Governor William McConnell as the
State Engineer and served in this position 1903 to 1904. The Office of State Engineer
was the forerunner of today’s Idaho Department of Water Resources. The State Engineer was responsible for regulating the use of
ground water in the State of Idaho at that time.
According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Darlington was living with
his family in Houston, Idaho. However,
the 1920 census states that his youngest son Benjamin who was listed as age 0
in the 1910 census is listed as being born in Darlington in the 1920 census.
From this evidence, I conclude Wayne and his family were living in his large
log home in Darlington in 1910. He and
his wife Elizabeth had five sons: Steven
P., Albert N., Joseph, Wayne Darlington Jr., and Benjamin; and three daughters:
Catherine, Sophia, and Mary. The former
Darlington home is now the residence of the Antelope Creek Assisted Living
Center in Darlington.
Darlington continued owning and operating mines on the “Mine
Hill” until the 1920’s Wayne died
October 16, 1942 in Pinellas, Florida at the age of 80.
