Leadville: the Struggle to Revive an American Town.

LEADVILLE: The Struggle to Revive an American Town

GILLIAN KLUCAS

At the turn of the 20th century, Leadville, Colo., was a bustling mining town. Some of the United States' most prominent families made fortunes there mining and smelting silver, copper, lead, and zinc. Among them was Meyer Guggenheim, who launched his family's dynasty around 1881, when he found silver at Leadville and built a smelting plant. Others established companies in the vibrant community. David May's first clothing store opened in Leadville and evolved into the ubiquitous May Department Stores of today. Marshall Field also invested in Leadville. However, mining there came with an environmental price. Early on, wood and charcoal fueled smelting. Acres of Colorado forests were leveled to fuel furnaces that produced thick yellow smoke containing arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals. The sludge produced by smelters was directed into rivers and streams. By the 1950s, when Leadville mines were producing raw materials for the war effort in Korea, some 2.5 million gallons of contaminated groundwater were spilling into the Arkansas River each day. When the Environmental Protection Agency finally cracked down on the polluters there, the mining companies that had benefited handsomely for a century simply abandoned the town. In the 1980s, Leadville was included on the list of Superfund sites. Residents faced with losing the livelihoods that their families had pursued for generations were angry at what they considered Washington meddling. Klucas interviewed people trying to rebuild the town. Leadville has had to overcome the stigma of being a Superfund site, and the people have had to change their identity as miners. Klucas covers this tale of history and modern challenges from all angles: those of industry, the community, and the environment. He points out that Leadville-type stories have played out in numerous communities over the past 2 decades. Island Pr, 2004, 304 p., hardcover, $26.00.