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AZentertain: Arizona Gold Rush
The Legend of the Iron Door Mine
Is there a lost mine in the Santa Catalinas?Deep in the mountains north of Tucson, Arizona may lie the legendary Iron Door Mine, also called Mine With The Iron Door.
In Spanish, the Iron Door Mine is called "minas de
la ferro con puerto en la Canada del Oro" translated as "Mine of the
Iron Door in the Cañada del Oro." This lost mine is said to be one of "the most extensively hunted lost mines in North America.
The origins of the Iron Door Mine legend have been
attributed to Spanish Jesuit priests who lived in the area until 1767 when they
were ordered to return to Spain by the pope. The legend claims that
the priests hid gold that they mined in the Santa Catalina Mountains, near Oracle, by building an iron
door over the entrance before they left. They never returned and the
gold may still be there, hidden by hundreds of years of dirt and growth.
When early American prospectors migrated from the
California Gold Rush to other opportunities, they heard about this
legendary mine north of Tucson, Arizona. The mountains became home to
hundreds of prospectors, cowboys, and miners as they dug up the
mountains from all sides in search for natural gold, silver, and the
legendary lost mine.
Extensive research by local Tucson author Robert Zucker and numerous mining claims staked by prospector Flint Carter in the early
2000s uncovered substantial documentation of valuable
minerals in the Santa Catalinas Mountain range and insights into the actual story about the Iron Door Mine.
 Some
of the most complete evidence about the existence of the Iron Door
Mine, both legend and historical documentation, has been published in
Zucker's 2014 edition of "Treasures of the Santa Catalinas." Read chapters and download a free sample edition
of the book and order the complete version on Amazon.com
A new book about
the Iron Door Mine is in preparation for publication. Contact Robert Zucker to pre-order "The Iron Door Mine."
Recent Videos About the Iron Door Mine
Presented by KGUN-TV Tucson, Arizona. Pat
Parris interviews Robert Zucker about the Mine with the Iron Door legend
on "Absolutely Arizona" hosted by Pat Parris. June 2, 2025.
https://youtu.be/jsklGMlHj8s?si=dXOEknKToGkqr79e
The Mine with the Iron Door: A Romance (1936)
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Printed Edition of The Mine with the Iron Door.
(The Collected Works of Harold Bell Wright - 18 Volumes) (Library
Binding) Library Binding: 338 pages. Publisher: Classic Publishers,
Language: English. ISBN: 158201891X.
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Digital CD Edition of Mine with the Iron Door: A Romance, The (CD-ROM Edition) . The CD-ROM contains 338 pages. Publisher: Classic Books; 1923 edition (December 15, 2007).
Iron Door Mine Movies: MacKenna's Gold
"MacKenna's Gold"(1969). Starring Gregory Peck and Omar Sherif. Attempting to do for Westerns
what his Guns of Navarone had done for World War II action epics,
director J. Lee Thompson crafted Mackenna's Gold as a lavish, absurdly
ambitious variation on Erich Von Stroheim's Greed, resulting in a
last-gasp Western so eager to encompass the genre's traditions that it
turns into a big, silly, wildly entertaining mess. Gregory Peck surely
had more serious intentions when he signed on, and he brings prestigious
gravitas to his glum role as Marshall Mackenna, who gets shanghaied
into searching for the gold-filled canyon of an elusive Apache legend.
The rest of the 1969 film labors to undermine Peck's respectable
demeanor; how else to explain Omar Sharif as a Mexican villain, Julie
Newmar as a hot-blooded Apache temptress (with underwater nude scenes
that were celebrated in Playboy magazine), and a jaw-dropping finale
that's so ridiculous it's impressive in spite of itself? Watch video on-demand from Amazon.com of MacKenna's Gold.
- DVD edition of MacKenna's Gold
 . Studio: Sony Pictures. DVD format. Release Date: July 11, 2000. Run Time: 128 minutes.
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Printed book edition of Mackenna's Gold
A Five-time Spur Award-winning Author. Somewhere in 100,000 square
miles of wilderness was the fabled Lost Canyon of Gold. With his dying
breath, an ancient Apache warrior entrusted Glen Mackenna with the
location of the lode that would make any man - or woman - rich beyond
their wildest dreams. Halfbreed renegade and captive girl, mercenary
soldier and thieving scout - brave or beaten, innocent or evil, they'd
sell their very souls to possess Mackenna's gold. --This text refers to
the Hardcover edition. Avon Books (Mm) (June 1988).
Historian & Prospector Flint Carter
William Thomas Carter, "Flint" to
his friends, was an artist and author born in 1947 in Danville, Illinois. He served in Panama during the
Vietnam conflict at the Latin American Headquarters Post and received
the National Defense and Good Conduct medals. Returning home, Flint
attended Danville Junior College and later Southern Illinois University.
Special interest in the design department, headed by Buckminster
Fuller, inspired the building of Arizona's first solar heated and cooled
museum. Flint spent decades prospecting and
filed hundreds of mining claims in the Santa Catalina Mountains before
he passed away in December 2018. Flint's stories about the Santa
Catalina's legends, including the Iron Door Mine, was the inspiration
for Robert Zucker's publication of "Treasures of the Santa Catalinas." Learn more about Flint Carter and his quest of the Mine with the Iron Door and other treasures.
More About the Iron Door Mine
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