Paddy Martinez
{{Short description|American prospector (1881–1969)}}
File:Mary_and_Paddy_Martinez_in_1952.jpg
Patricio "Paddy" Martinez (1881– August 26, 1969)"Deaths elsewhere— Man who sparked rush for uranium", Miami News, August 26, 1969, p2 was an American prospector and sheepherder who discovered uranium at Haystack Mesa in the San Juan Basin near Grants, New Mexico, in 1950.{{cite book |last1=Voyles |first1=Tracy Brynne |title=Wastelanding Legacies of Uranium Mining in Navajo Country |date=2015 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=9781452944494 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VzB0DwAAQBAJ |access-date=31 March 2021}} This was the first discovery in the Grants Uranium District, and led to a uranium boom that lasted almost 30 years. The San Juan Basin contained 60% of the known uranium resources in the United States, valued at over $25 billion.
Discovery of uranium in New Mexico
Martinez's discovery, in 1950 on Santa Fe Railroad land, was developed into the Haystack mine. He was hired by the railroad and Anaconda Mining Company as a uranium scout for $400 per month, a good salary then. Following the discovery, the town of Grants became a yellowcake boomtown; its population grew from 2,200 to 50,000 within a few months. The mining boom lasted for decades, until the 1980s when it collapsed.{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.cityofgrants.net/about-grants-nm |publisher=City of Grants |access-date=31 March 2021}} The Santa Fe Railroad continued to pay Martinez $250 per month until the day he died.{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Sherry |title=El Malpais, Mt. Taylor and the Zuni Mountains |date=1994 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-1527-4 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QWu9LvMONgC&dq=Paddy+Martinez&pg=PA33 |access-date=31 March 2021}}
After his first discovery, in 1950 of carnotite, a low-grade uranium-bearing ore, he staked a claim on {{convert|160|acre}}. After that he explored Haystack Mountain where he made the discovery of high-grade ore. He became nationally known for his discovery.
Personal life
Martinez was born in the village of Haystack, New Mexico.{{cite web |last1=Bryan |first1=Howard |title=Off the Beaten Path: Paddy Martinez |url=https://www.albuqhistsoc.org/paddy-martinez/ |publisher=Albuquerque Historical Society |access-date=31 March 2021}} He and his wife Flora{{cite web |title=The beginning of the uranium boom! Mary & Paddy Martinez brought in the first uranium sample. |url=https://nmdigital.unm.edu/digital/collection/Rapaport/id/86/ |publisher=New Mexico Digital Collections |access-date=31 March 2021}} had 14 children.
Martinez, a Navajo of Mexican descent, and a native New Mexican, became famous for his discovery. He was the subject of feature articles in Time, Life, True West and Reader's Digest magazines. Martinez was fluent in the Navajo, Laguna (Keresan), Spanish and English languages. He was a medicine man and a leader in his community.
Martinez also worked as a law officer on the Navajo reservation, ran a mountain sheep camp and worked as a labor recruiter for carrot farms.{{cite journal |title=NEW MEXICO: How to Find Uranium |journal=Time Magazine |date=25 December 1950 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,859070,00.html |access-date=31 March 2021}}
His tombstone at Grants Memorial Cemetery simply reads, "Paddy Martinez 1881 - 1969 Uranium Pioneer." His grave is near Paddy Martinez Park, where children play.
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| image1 =[https://images.google.com/hosted/life/4b78646eb4ee024a.html Paddy Martinez in 1956, on the discovery outcrop. Life magazine photo.]
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Legacy
Martinez was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame in 1992.{{cite web |title=Paddy Martinez (1881-1969) |url=https://www.mininghalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/paddy-martinez |publisher=National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum |access-date=31 March 2021}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402102340/http://www.mininghalloffame.org/inductee.asp?i=80&b=inductees.asp&t=n&p=M&s= |date=2012-04-02 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120425142459/http://cibola.nmgenweb.us/paddy.html Abe Peña's memories of Paddy Martinez]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110131091705/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,859070,00.html 1950 article on Martinez], Time magazine
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Category:Uranium mining in the United States
Category:People from Grants, New Mexico