Charles Barnes and the Indianola ochre mine

The ochre mine, ca. 1900.

In 1890 the citizens of Indianola were in a high state of excitement. Ochre had been discovered on land owned by John J. Lamborn, of the 1st National Bank of Indianola. The ochre was said to be of the finest quality of any mine in the U.S. Mr. Lamborn, himself, bankrolled the early work in establishing the mine.

Charles Barnes, the owner and editor of the "McCook Times-Democrat" visited this mine, located on the outskirts of town and described his experience in an article entitled, "The Ochre Mine, a Full-Fledged Mine with Tram, Furnace, Candles and Miners."

(Note: Ochre, a soft form of iron oxide, has been in production for thousands of years, in mines all over the world, but not so much in the United States. The mineral, in many colors, ranging from red and purple to yellow and brown, is a key ingredient in the making of paint colors. Aboriginal cave paintings in France were made with ochre mixed with blood, and paints to the present day use forms of ochre to provide color to a variety of products.)

Charles Barnes

Eighteen-year-old Charles Barnes was one of Red Willow County's early settlers, arriving in 1878 with his father, James, to take out a homestead on land north of Indianola. Later that year, they were joined by Charles' mother, Julia Ann, and his brother, Albert and sister, Tillie. But the farmer's life was not Charles' choice, and he soon returned to his native Pennsylvania, where he completed his education and for some years worked, in turn, as an accountant, an instructor in a private academy, and finally learning the news business in a large newspaper.

In 1887 Charles came west to Indianola for what was supposed to be a brief visit with his parents and brother and sister. This time he found Red Willow County more to his liking and when he learned that the Red Willow Times, in Indianola, was for sale, he bought the paper and decided to put down his roots in Nebraska. The next year he purchased the McCook Democrat, merged the two papers as the "Times-Democrat" (later the "McCook Republican") and moved to McCook, where he stayed for the rest of his life.

In McCook Charles married a local girl, Rose Lily Lee. They were the parents of four children, Ted, Albert, Julia, and Maryette Lee. Son,Ted continued the operation of the Republican after his father's death.

In his youth, in Pennsylvania, Charles had been an outstanding baseball player and was a catcher (without the benefit of a catcher's mitt) on "The Pittsburg Nine," one of the teams that became an original member of the National Baseball League. In McCook he played lead cornet (later bass drum) with Col. Sutton's band, as well as with the Knights of Pythias Orchestra. He loved music and very much enjoyed his association with the musicians in these organizations.

In McCook, Barnes was very active in the lodge and community affairs, and was a longtime member of the McCook School Board. Although he was a Republican by political persuasion, he was a firm believer in the two-party system, and used his position as the editor of his newspaper to see that every elected office was contested by a representative from each party.

But above all, Barnes was a newspaper man, through and through. He was very successful and influential locally, and throughout the state. He was serving as President of the Southwestern Nebraska Editorial Association at the time of his death in 1933.

In 1892 Barnes' Times-Democrat put out a special edition for the 400th Anniversary of Columbus' journey to the new world, which was being commemorated in Chicago with a gigantic World's Fair. This publication told a great deal about McCook and Southwest Nebraska, but its intent was what was especially interesting. Thousands of these papers were distributed in Chicago, to lure potential homesteaders and settlers to our area. At the same time special trains, with paid recruiters were put into service, bringing fair-goers (prospective settlers) to McCook at bargain rates to look over the country and meet with representatives of The Land Office.

Some of the claims Barnes made about McCook and Southwest Nebraska in the brochure were flattering (to say the least), and perhaps bordered on the ridiculous. In his reports on McCook's weather, for instance, he claimed that our climate was invigorating and a cure for everything from rheumatism and consumption to hemorrhoids. But the stories surely did what Mr. Barnes intended -- they promoted McCook and Southwest Nebraska as a desired place to settle.

Barnes wrote, in the Times-Democrat, that the ochre mine had only been in operation for 18 days at the time of his visit, but already a hundred tons of the paint mineral, white, red, and yellow, had been taken from the mine. There was plenty of ochre in the mine, "enough to supply all demands." Production would increase when an engine for hoisting product and other improvements were added.

For his visit into the mine, Barnes was outfitted with borrowed miner's clothes, of coveralls, jacket and heavy boots. He stepped into the ochre bucket and was rapidly lowered into the depths of the mine.

He was too busy to note much on the descent, but was told that the shaft was 6' in diameter and 46' deep. Two 40' shafts were dug into the ground and tunnels from these shafts were burrowed into the bank, from which the ochre was extracted, then pulled out of the mine by "horse power," 200 pounds at a time, seven tons per day. The ochre was then transported to one of two drying sheds. Both drying sheds and a processing mill were attached to the Indianola School House.

On reaching the bottom of the mine, he was told to sit in the bucket, atop a tram, which operated on a track that protruded into the bank. The darkness was broken by candles stuck in niches in the wall. The mine was purified by means of a furnace. He was relieved to see that the mine tunnel was braced with heavy timbers every four feet, and "everything appeared safe."

He was less reassured when told that the vein that supplied Indianola with its water was over their heads. They had plugged up an old well with a round post; "should the post be removed the mine would be flooded in a short time."

Barnes concludes, "After remaining underground for about half an hour we were hoisted out and allowed to peaceably depart, and give to the world our version of the Indianola Ochre Mine."

It seems that the Ochre Co. had troubles from the beginning. The owners were called into court proceedings on numerous occasions, and the company changed hands several times. In 1891, the school house/ochre processing plant was sold to The Garner, Brown and Friend Paint Co. for $100, with the understanding that a paint company would be built on the premises. The factory was built and became The Indianola Paint and Ochre Manufacturing Co.

In 1895 a noted scientist was brought to Indianola from the East, by the owners to take charge of mining and manufacturing operations, with the hope of making the mine profitable.

From 1900 until 1907 Reiter and Schmidt (the last owners?) manufactured paint and furniture polish, with a work force of about 10 men.

Today, nothing remains of the Indianola Ochre Mine or Paint factory. We are indebted to the good folks at the "Indianola Historical Review" for bringing to light the above references to the Indianola Ochre Mine. These memories, sketchy though they may be, remain as a testament to an important chapter in the history of Indianola and Southwest Nebraska.

Source: "Trails West" by Rutledge and Ray, and "The Indianola Historical Review", June 2009, Pres. Bill Baumbach, Vice Pres. Pat Schaffert, Tresurer Don Behnke, Editor Jim Sughroue.