Tucked in the
Chinati Mountains on
Cibolo Creek, 18 miles north of
Presidio, Shafter was once a bustling mining town with a population as high as 4000, in 1940. In 1880 or 1881, John Spencer found silver deposits near this location. Capt. (later Gen.)
William R. Shafter, stationed at Fort Davis, and Spencer collaborated to establish the mining operation. This operation consisted of the Cibolo Creek Mill and Mining Company and the Presidio Mining Company, both of which were consolidated as the Presidio Mining Company. The Mina Grande
orebody was producing by 1883. The ore, 30 ounces of silver per ton, was treated in a 50-ton
pan amalgamation mill. Annual production from 1898 to 1913 was 20,000 tons. In 1913, a 200-ton
cyanide mill was added. Annual production from 1913 to 1926 was 84,000 tons, with 10 ounces of silver per ton. When an assay commissioned by Colonel Shafter confirmed profitable amounts of silver were in Spencer's ore samples, he brought in two of his military associates, Lt. John L. Bullis and Lt. Louis Wilhelmi, to join the venture. Each would contribute, first, by acquiring acreage around Spencer's discovery. In all, four sections of land, or 2560 acres, were acquired. Spencer and they agreed they would all share equally in profits from the venture.{{Cite web | author = Smith, Julia Cauble, Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association.| title = Shafter, TX | quote =| url =http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns37 The American Metal Co. of Texas acquired the property in 1926. Operations ceased from July 1930 until 1934 due to low silver prices. By 1940, the quality of the ore was 10.7 ounces of silver per ton. The recorded production of the Presidio Mine between 1883 and 1940 was 30,972,286.15 ounces of silver. Production from 1927 to 1940 alone was 11,809,163.8 ounces of silver, 5,406 ounces of gold, and 7,678,049.8 ounces of lead. United States Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia died at nearby
Cibolo Creek Ranch on February 13, 2016. ==Geology==