Written by one who knows Oct 1894

[KY Hiker]

Do you have any contracts or know anyone that owns the land where Mrs. Timmons lived and owned? Is it still owned by the family? It sounds to me like she was an honest woman and she knew what she was talking about how come no one has opened any mines in this area to find out? Thanks for the articles.

Well according to one of the articles she found 2 shafts on Swift Camp Creek. The lower one being filled up and near the creek. The other being above the lower and on top of the cliff. She thought the two connected. I have been told the lower one can be found, although I have been through this area hiking (and not searching) multiple times and have not seen it. It would be easy to miss, the trail stays on the West side of the creek while the mine is supposed to be on the East side. It sounds easy enough but the trail is usually elevated above the creek as much as 60ft so getting across would be difficult unless you just walked the creek. The location is within the Clifty Wilderness section of the Red River Gorge and as such is protected and on public land. The old school house location is shown on some older topo maps due east of the mine location and near Calaboose Creek. Some sources say she lived near the school other sources say she lived in a hut on a ledge of a cliff. My guess is she lived near the school and as she got older moved closer to the mine location. The time spent on site by her and her husband was over 20 years. She had ore samples with small amounts of silver and gold, but no vein found. If there were any family left they would most likely be in Louisville since that is where they came from. I don't know if they had children, but brothers and sisters most likely.
Interestingly, this mine location is within 5 miles or so of two other 'possible' locations. Lower Devil's creek is almost due South and Spaas creek is NorthEast.

 

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[KY Hiker]

Its too bad Ki is not on here. He lives in the area and could probably walk you right to her workings. Here is another link to a story about Mrs. Rebecca Timmins. The writer for some reason calls her Perkins. He claims the cliffs to be 1000ft , sorry no they can be no more than about 450ft. But this piece gives you a feel for the area she was working in, as well as some color to the story.

Daily evening bulletin. (Maysville [Ky.]) 1883-1887, July 21, 1883, Image 1 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[franklin]

Its too bad Ki is not on here. He lives in the area and could probably walk you right to her workings. Here is another link to a story about Mrs. Rebecca Timmins. The writer for some reason calls her Perkins. He claims the cliffs to be 1000ft , sorry no they can be no more than about 450ft. But this piece gives you a feel for the area she was working in, as well as some color to the story.

Daily evening bulletin. (Maysville [Ky.]) 1883-1887, July 21, 1883, Image 1 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

I wonder if any companies ever did any core drilling in those areas. I know over on Blane Creek and others they have drilled for natural gas about everywhere. You would think if there is a silver vein or gold they would find it?

 

[KY Hiker]

I wonder if any companies ever did any core drilling in those areas. I know over on Blane Creek and others they have drilled for natural gas about everywhere. You would think if there is a silver vein or gold they would find it?

About 6-8 miles North of there I remember seeing oil pumps back in the 1980s. Mostly around Indian Creek and on up towards Cave Run Lake, but they are scattered all about that area of the state, both oil and gas.

 

[1320]

1320 read this and you may see why she wrote the articles. This is 1885.

The Hazel Green herald. (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, April 01, 1885, Image 3 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

Thanks for the link, that was a great article. I like a sentence in the opening... "so much has been said but so little really known....Kentucky Silver Mines"

 

[Brushy Bandit]

Sounds like to me she was trying to generate interest in her search for the mines, so she could find a financial backer. She pretty much says she has spent every dime she's had, and if she puts anything else into the search she was gonna lose her home.
Great information and newspaper finds Thank ya Hiker, Franklin.

 

[1320]

Bump

 

[Curtis]

There were also two different guys who counterfeited silver in the Grayson Kentucky area near Carter Caves. Two different times in history and in the same place..some people think they found swifts mine or cache.

Elliot county has 6 silver mines within 4 miles of each other which maybe the french mines..they don't fit Swifts descriptions very well..but there are the remains of a rock house - meaning a house built from rocks in the bottom of the little Sandy river in that area as well as two monument rocks and a place where the light comes thru a cliff.

 

[1320]

Old news.....

 

[KY Hiker]

Some folks never delve into the depths of the threads here. There is a lot of information, maps and quotes to view and review. Its good when someone posts a source already covered, especially for those who won't go back and read all the threads.

 

[Ken S.]

Seems to me that I have read/heard in video somewhere that Henson's dad or granddad work for the Div. of Forestry and named a lot of the places in RRG Has anyone else read or heard anything like this

 

[KY Hiker]

Seems to me that I have read/heard in video somewhere that Henson's dad or granddad work for the Div. of Forestry and named a lot of the places in RRG Has anyone else read or heard anything like this

Ed Henson has/had a blog promoting his fictional book called 'Swift'. He posted many pictures of the RRG back in the late 1950s and 1960s along with some information about M.P. Henson's father who worked for the U.S. Forest Service at that time. He would show people who had interest in the legend various places of interest that fit the journal descriptions in the RRGorge. There are two places in the gorge that are named after him but spelled wrong, Hanson's Point and a small formation near natural bridge S.P. called both Hanson's falls and Hanson's arch...its more of a vertical cave than anything. Whether he actually had any influence in naming sites, I don't know. Maybe the U.S.F.S. district office in Winchester has information on that? U.S.F.S. is very odd about even talking about the Swift Legend. It is a hush hush thing anymore. Someone posted a link to an old (very old) topo map of the greater gorge area and the only named site I saw on it was Haystack along the Red river near where Haystack rock is today. I think the map was from the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Here is a video of the area Mrs Timmins worked on Swift Camp Creek, it provides a good idea of the extreme topography the creek cut its own gorge to the Red River.



Someone else's footage of Swift Camp Creek then into the Red River Gorge via Rough Trail

 

[KY Hiker]

Seems to me that I have read/heard in video somewhere that Henson's dad or granddad work for the Div. of Forestry and named a lot of the places in RRG Has anyone else read or heard anything like this

Here is a link to Ed Henson's Blog on Swift Book. Lots of related info if you go to the margin under archives.

Swift: September 2010

 

[Ken S.]

Here is a link to Ed Henson's Blog on Swift Book. Lots of related info if you go to the margin under archives.

Swift: September 2010

Thanks for the link !! That is where I read it , right there on the front page. It was Ed,s dad not M P 's dad.

 

[KY Hiker]

Yes and there is this too,

Swift: Michael Paul

 

[Ken S.]

He signed his name at the end of the article on the second part as R.P. Timmons. Don't know who that is but it seems he talked to some people in the know.

Figure it was a pen name that Mrs. Timmons used when writing articles for paper. Many people use a variation of their name or another name when writing articles or books . The first two initials would be the same as Rebecca P. timmins

 

[KY Hiker]

Figure it was a pen name that Mrs. Timmons used when writing articles for paper. Many people use a variation of their name or another name when writing articles or books . The first two initials would be the same as Rebecca P. timmins

It may be that her maiden name was Perkins, as she was referred to as Mrs. Perkins in one article I found. Rebecca Perkins Timmins would be her full name if that is correct. She may have gone by that sometime after her husband had died?

 

[Ken S.]

So very true.