Spencer, Charles H.

Charles Spencer grew up in along the San Juan River in Utah Territory and near Mancos, Colorado. He received just three months of formal education in Durango, Colorado. Instead, Spencer opted to pursue mining and engineering. He served as Managing Director at the Lee’s Ferry, Arizona field office at the American Placer Company. Independently, he selected several sites for the harvest of resources such as gold or water, and solicited investors to fund the ventures.

In 1911, Spencer and his investors commissioned the construction of a steamship in San Francisco. It was shipped in pieces to Salt Lake City, Utah, and reconstructed to be used to transport newly mined coal up the Colorado River. In 1912, a clogged amalgamator rendered the steamboat unusable, and it was docked near Lee’s Ferry. The boat was submerged in a 1921 flood, and was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places and can still be viewed along the Colorado River.

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