Hard Places: Reading the Landscape of America's Historic Mining Districts

by Richard V. Francaviglia

Book by Francaviglia, Richard V.

Genres: History

237 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

As one who has spent a considerable amount of time in the study of mining camps, especially the role religion played within the camps, I was surprised I had not come across this book by Richard Francaviglia. Years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed a later book of his, "Believing in Place: A Spiritual Geography of the Great Basin," (2003). "Hard Places" was published 12 years earlier. While I didn't find it as exciting as "Believing in Place," I enjoyed reading this book. It's divided into three sections that explores how we read, interpret and perceive the mining landscape.

There were a few areas that I felt overlooked. Most of his work focused on the camp itself, but when you had large groups of people confined in tight spaces, the camp affected a much larger area. The Comstock Lode in Nevada had to bring water and lumber from the Sierras (pretty much deforesting the area around Lake Tahoe). The same is true for Bodie, in which large Jeffrey Pine forest south of the town were cut to provide lumber and fuel for the camp. All underground mining required a large amount of timber for support structures, which affected the landscape.

Another area that I would have liked to have seen more focus is the churches. While he discusses fire, which if occurs during the boom era, often resulted in even nicer buildings, in places like Virginia City where all but two of the churches burned, today you can easily tell which church is the oldest (Presbyterian, 1867, which survived the fire) and those which were rebuilt at the height of the Comstock era and after railroads made importing supplies cheaper (St. Mary's of the Mountain and the Episcopal Churches).

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the social history of mining. Francaviglia reminds us that what we see in mining districts doesn't always reflect what has happened at the site and offers us clues for interpreting the landscape. He doesn't limit himself to Western hard-rock mining, but also discusses coal mining in Appalachia and Iron mining in mid-America.

[Brie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about reading historic landscapes. Francaviglia argues that mining districts tend to be ignored by historic preservationists and the public in general because they intrinsically are ugly, hard, and environmentally unfriendly places. Unlike a large Queen Anne (or "Victorian") home, for example, that is picturesque, mining town buildings and landscapes are more often than not swept to the side because of their aesthetically unpleasing appearance. What Francaviglia argues, however, is that though these landscapes may be ugly, they are just as, if not more important to the scope of American history than most of the landscapes that are preserved. Mining had a huge role in the building of America, and mining towns need to be appreciated for their role in that history. Although they may not be aesthetically pleasing vistas, mining helped build not only the American economy, but also American culture. Learning how to read a landscape in a historical context blends an understanding of the mistakes (environmentally) of the mining industry and the highly significant role that mining played in creating America.