Paint Mine

Nearly all so-called Lost Rhoads Mine maps show Moon Lake or Kidney Lake as points of reference. Both lakes are shown on several of the maps used by Caleb Rhoads, including his Pine Mine map. One of his maps also shows Lake Fork and the Yellowstone River. Some of the Spanish mines shown on those maps have been found. The 1856 Pine Mine was found some years ago in the ledge rock country north of Pigeon Water and west of Moon Lake. Apparently its gold vein had been almost mined out during Spanish days, for that vein now runs into an iron ore body. The Paint Mine is located just north of the Pine Mine on a rough side trail which follows Brown Duck Creek west from Moon Lake. Its ore vein has also run into iron. As related earlier, the Rhoads and Powell families were life-long friends. Once when Abraham Powell asked Caleb Rhoads why he no longer worked some of those mines, Rhoads replied: "The ore is running out and iron is coming through."--Faded Footprints, pg. 126

This mine is shown on current copies of USGS maps on top of Dry Ridge to the west of Moon Lake.