In December of 1916, Sam Hughes, a Phoenix resident, discovered cinnabar deposits in the area now known as Dreamy Draw. Cinnabar, a mercury sulfide, had been discovered earlier that year in the area. Near his largest deposit, the Rico Mine, Sam Hughes erected a retort furnace, built a cabin, and sunk a main shaft and water well. Hughes, working alone, would fill an ore bucket, climb 100 feet of ladder to the surface and then hoist the ore bucket using a hand windless. In 1925 the U.S. Bureau of Mines reported that, “the bottom of the mine is damp, the temperature in the face of the drift is high, and the ventilation is poor.”