The Lafayette Fluorspar Company

Crittenden County, KY., once known for being the largest fluorspar producing area in the nation.

Our fluorspar history is quickly being forgotten, as the generations of families that remember these times are also quickly fading away.

From the archives of the Crittenden Press we can go back to the mid 1920's and learn of some of the things that were happening at that time.  Exciting things were beginning to happen in the Mexico and Frances community with the coming of the LaFayette Fluorspar Company.

June 1923 -The Press in behalf on the people of Marion and the mining interests of Crittenden County, welcome the advent of the LaFayette Fluorspar Company into this county. The company has taken over a considerable part of the property of the Kentucky Fluorspar Company, one of the first mining companies organized here in recent years, and has begun to set the wheels of the mining industry revolving at an increased velocity. All this has taken place in the last few weeks and at the expenditure of large sums of money. 

Crittenden County has embedded beneath her soil the finest quantity of fluorspar and other minerals, it is hoped that the new company, possessing all the improved mining methods and an abundance of capital, will add greatly to the mining interests of Crittenden an adjoining counties. We welcome it's advent.

Field work was done in the area before the actual purchase was made. Early in 1921 preliminary investigations were started by engineers from the Oliver Iron Mining Company, in Duluth Minnesota.

Later in October of 1921 arrangements were made to explore the veins by means of diamond drilling. Drill rigs and crews were dispatched to the area from the Iron-mining district of Minnesota. 

As a result of the drilling, investigations and mine examinations of the active operating mines, a group of properties was purchased from the Kentucky Fluorspar Company. 

The actual transfer took place June 9^th, 1923 when Judge A. A. Northern, President of the Kentucky Fluorspar Company accepted a check from Pres. W. J. Olcott of the newly organized Lafayette Fluorspar Company.

In July 1923 additional property was acquired from M. F. Pogue, S. H. Matthews and others. In August 1923 another group of local properties was purchased from the Blue Grass Fluorspar Company which was owned by George P. Roberts, Sam Gugenheim and associates. Also the Big Four group, located near Sheridan was purchased from Avery H. Reed and associates.

***

One of the few remaining landmarks of this era is Lafayette Heights. What a wonderful story this historical area holds of that long ago special time of the fluorspar boom in our county.

Lafayette Heights, located in the community of Frances, Kentucky, must have started to be constructed soon after the coming of the Lafayette Fluorspar Company. The company built modern houses surrounded by beautiful yards and gardens for five families of the office personnel. 

The company also maintained a community house where motion pictures were shown weekly and all other social activities were held there also. 

From an article in the Dec. 16, 1927 Crittenden Press it says the employees of the Lafayette Fluorspar Company at Mexico have just completed a new community building to be used for social activities of the company's employees.

The new community building being built in 1927.

On December 28, 1938 the Lafayette Fluorspar Company ceased to exist. This occurred through the transfer of the properties and the active management to the United States Coal and Coke Company, subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In January 1939, the Lafayette Fluorspar Co.'s name was changed and the large plant is now known as U. S. Coal & Coal Co.

Even after the U. S. Steel owned the mine and property they were responsible for the upkeep of the yards and landscaping of Lafayette Heights.

All the houses were connected by a system of sidewalks and the children could skate or ride their bicycles from one end of the property to the other. The area was well lit at night with lights along both the front and rear yards. 

Some of the families that lived here during this period of the history were: In the first house was Elmer and Banche Sorensen, he was chief clerk. In the second house lived Avery and Alma Reed. He was chief engineer. 

***