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General George McClellan signed Grand Belt Copper Co. - Autographed Mining Stock Certificate

Inv# AG1405   Autograph
State(s): New York
Years: 1885

Stock signed by Geo. McClellan.  Printed by American Bank Note Company, New York.

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and later left the Army to serve as an executive and engineer on railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and disciplined army, which would become the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater; he served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as Commanding General of the United States Army of the Union Army. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_B._McClellan

After the Civil War, George B. McClellan, former commander of the Army of the Potomac, became involved in a numberof mining operations around the nation. He first noticed copper deposits in northwest Texas in 1852 while accompanying Captain Randolph Marcy on an expedition to locate the source of the Red River. In 1877, with a geologic report and eyewitness accounts confirming that copper deposits were common in the area, McClellan organized the Grand Belt Copper Company in Philadelphia.

The company purchased 200,000 acres in Hardeman County for 25 cents per acre. Later that year, McClellan set out from Fort Worth accompanied by a large expedition of engineers, miners, carpenters and laborers. McClellan traveled in style. His entourage required more than 200 horses to haul the wagons full of supplies, equipment and McClellan’s personal belongings, which included a full-size metal bathtub, carpets and fine furniture.

Mining operations were suspended when McClellan received the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey and won a three-year term. But he returned in 1883 with heavy machinery and employees. They setup a primary mine site where Canal Creek and the Pease River meet and began mining in 1884. The ore was mainly found near the surface and was collected from a broad area, including a number of sites within the park.

Up to 100 employees worked the steam-powered machinery and rock-crushing equipment, and a nearby shantytown of saloons, brothels and other frontier businesses soon opened. Major problems and obstacles included transportation, shortages of fuel for the smelters and limited water supply for the ore washers. McClellan died in 1885, but the company continued limited operations until 1887 with little economic success. The venture was abandoned by 1888. Three later attempts at mining the copper ore were made, but none was successful. (From https://tpwd.texas.gov)

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Condition: Excellent
Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.
Price: $2,365.00