rock drill development denver

In 1848, Dr. William A. Tutt, a Denver dentist, endeavored to develop a more efficient device for use in mining. To that end, he created a rock drill he baptized “The Denver drill”. This tool had been improved from the traditional rock drill, possessing a unique ‘T-shaped’ handle which provided extra leverage when in use and making for easier utilization. His work with the Rocky Mountain Gold Mining Company presented the perfect opportunity to try out his invention.

In 1849, Tutt had the grand ambition of applying for a patent on his groundbreaking drill. His dreams were realized in the following year when his patent was officially established and granted. This proved to be the necessary push he needed to establish his own enterprise, the Rocky Mountain Drilling Company. To Tutt’s joy, his innovative drill quickly gained traction within Denver’s mining community, thus making for a profitable venture for him and his company.

Eighteen fifty-eight saw the transformation of Tutt’s company, when a set of investors spearheaded by Horace Tabor purchased it and dubbed it the Rocky Mountain Drill Company. Under his leadership, the scope of the company was extended to include items like picks and shovels, necessary for the success of any mining venture. And soon enough, Rocky Mountain Drill Company rose up to a first-place rank among suppliers of essential mining apparatus in the West.

In the early 1860s, August Rische, collaborator of Tabor, had some resourceful ideas in mind when he started on a trial run of a different kind of rock-drilling method. His revolutionary drill, titled the Rische drill, was a lot more effective than the traditional Denver drill. Consequently, it became the go-to drill for mining companies in no time.

Rische’s innovative drill design was officially recognized with a patent in 1866, and the Rische Drill Company was established within the same year. In no time at all, Rische’s tool became the go-to apparatus for excavation operations, firmly cementing the new firm as one of the leading providers of mining equipment in the West.

By the late 1860s, manufacturers throughout the mining industry had come to privilege market competition, with several entities emerging to supply drilling machines and other machinery. In response, in 1869 Tabor and Rische joined forces and constructed the Rocky Mountain Drill and Machinery Company. The initiative paid off in short order; in no time at all, Rocky Mountain Drill and Machinery Company had proudly established itself as the foremost provider of mining equipment in the Western region.

For more than two decades, Rocky Mountain Drill and Machinery Company held a stranglehold over the mining equipment market. That was until 1890, when it underwent a rebranding and became known as Tabor-Rische Company. Seven years later, the name was changed to Tabor-Rische-Denver Company – an industry giant that ruled the roost with their offices and factories scattered across Denver, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco.

The early 1920s saw the fall of the Tabor-Rische-Denver Company, which had produced the Tabor-Rische drill for many years. This infamously effective tool was ceded to the ever-evolving pneumatic drill, promising increased efficiency and convenience. However, the Tabor-Rische drill has not been forgotten and now serves as a treasured collectors item, proudly displayed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

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