Clara Kinney (1867 – 1940)

Mine Owner & Investor

2026 Inductee from Mining's Past

Clara Kinney (nee Maichon) was born in Austria in 1849 and immigrated to the United States in 1873. In 1880, following the death of her first husband, she was living alone in Globe managing a boarding house which she had built. In May of 1881, Clara married Alfred Kinney who is well known for his public service roles as a Mayor of Globe. In 1889, Clara invested in mining, purchasing the Bryan group of mines located near Kelvin in Pinal County. Under her management and ownership, significant workings were developed with ore shipped to the Humboldt smelter near Prescott. After the sale of the Bryan mine, Clara patented 25 mining claims in the Sleeping Beauty Mountains near Globe between 1907 and 1919. After two decades of ownership, she sold her rights to 25 mining claims to the Porphyry Reserve Copper Company in 1930 for $250,000. At the time it was one of the mining transactions in Gila County. Kinney was the most prolific and successful woman mine owner in the Globe-Miami District in her time. Her business acumen allowed her to be one of the wealthiest women in Arizona.

Print Version     Previous     Archive     Next