As one of the great mining regions of Colorado and the United States, the San Juan Mountains provide insight into the development of both the industry and the state.

First published in 1982, Song of the Hammer and Drill, with the help of more than 100 historical photographs, traces the mining and urban history of the San Juans from 1860 to 1914 through the lives of the people who opened, settled, and developed the beautiful but rugged mineral-rich peaks of southwestern Colorado.