Category: Mines

Nivloc Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

Posted on by

In 1907, Gold was discovered at the town site which would be known as Nivloc Nevada by a Native American prospector. The town derived its name from for the former owners “Colvin” who operated the site in 1923. The name spelled backwards was Nivloc and such is the haste in the Nevadan desert.

Nivloc mine and camp - Tonopah Times-Bonanza - Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - Paher
Nivloc mine and camp – Tonopah Times-Bonanza – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps – Paher

Discovery and Early Development

Gold was discovered in 1907 by Tom Fisherman (also referred to as Tom Risherman in some accounts), a Shoshone prospector. He reported the find to Harry Stimler (a key figure in the Goldfield discoveries). Stimler did limited work, and the site was initially associated with the name Stimler. In about 1909, Chicago millionaire broker W.H. Colvin acquired the property and renamed it Nivloc—“Colvin” spelled backward. Early development was modest; a shaft was sunk, but significant production did not follow immediately.

The broader district had earlier roots: mining activity in the Silver Peak Range began in 1863, with the Red Peak (later Silver Peak) Mining District organized in the mid-1860s. Nearby centers such as Silver Peak and Blair processed ore from the area, including with large stamp mills.

Limited work continued intermittently. In 1928, Colvin appointed Fred Vollmar, Sr., as superintendent. Vollmar improved water supply and repaired the camp after a flash flood, but ore reserves did not justify a mill at the time. Colvin largely abandoned the property by 1934. Vollmar relocated claims; after his death the property passed to his son, Fred Vollmar, Jr. In 1936 the Red Mountain Mining Company was organized. The following year the property was acquired by interests linked to Bralorne Mines (Canada), which formed Desert Silver, Inc., to operate it.

Peak Production Era (1937–1943)

Extensive development followed. A 200-ton (sometimes described as rated ~175 tons, operating higher) cyanide mill began operations in November 1937. The mine featured a substantial vertical shaft (reports note depths around 440–600 feet with further work via winzes approaching or exceeding 900 feet in places, and extensive lateral workings; one account mentions a deeper shaft figure). Ore was moved via rail trestle to the mill.

From 1937/1938 to 1943, Nivloc was one of Nevada’s leading (and for several years the largest) silver producers, also yielding gold (and minor lead). Production figures commonly cited are over $3.9 million in silver and gold (some sources note roughly $2–3 million or more specifically for the main period), from more than 400,000 tons of ore. The operation ran at substantial capacity (averaging over 200 tons daily at times).

Role in the area: Nivloc contributed significantly to the Silver Peak district’s output during the late Depression and early World War II years, when silver mining provided important economic activity in remote Esmeralda County. It exemplified successful development of deeper, previously under-exploited vein systems in a district with a long but fluctuating history. The company-built townsite supported the workforce near the mine rather than relying solely on Silver Peak.

Population and Community

At its height around 1940, Desert Silver had a payroll of approximately 156 workers at the mine, with about 60 of them having families living in the camp. Including others in the immediate district, the population was reported as nearly 250. Stanley W. Paher described it as a “one-saloon camp,” indicating a modest, work-focused settlement rather than a large boomtown with numerous commercial establishments.

Post Office

The Nivloc post office operated from October 11, 1940, to November 15, 1943 (service then transferred to Silver Peak). An earlier short-lived Stimler post office had existed briefly in 1907–1909. The establishment of the Nivloc office reflected the camp’s size and isolation during the production peak; local advocates noted the inconvenience of traveling to Silver Peak for mail.

Newspapers

No newspaper was published in Nivloc itself. Residents relied on papers from nearby communities such as Silver Peak, Goldfield, or Tonopah.

Buildings and Infrastructure

The camp and mine complex included:

  • A company townsite with residences (including a manager’s residence and other houses; some were later moved away in 1943 as operations wound down).
  • Mine support buildings (hoist house, blacksmith shop, operations structures).
  • A large steel headframe over the main shaft.
  • An impressive wooden ore trestle (one of the more notable remaining features, roughly 120 feet long and elevated).
  • The 200-ton cyanide mill complex, water facilities/tanks, and related processing infrastructure.
  • At least one saloon.

Many structures and the mill plant (which had cost hundreds of thousands of dollars) were present during the peak years. After closure, equipment was often sold or scrapped.

Decline and Later History

Operations were heavily affected by World War II manpower shortages, rising costs, and wartime restrictions. The night shift was cut, and the mine closed in 1943 (around July–November accounts). The plant was placed on sale, and some houses were relocated. Postwar attempts included organization of Nivloc Mines, Inc., in 1946 and later involvement by U.S. Mining and Milling Corporation (some bullion production in the late 1950s before focus shifted elsewhere). Activity remained sporadic; the shaft was reported badly caved by the 1960s. Estimates in the 1960s suggested remaining mill-grade ore, and later companies explored or held claims, but no major sustained revival occurred.

Present Day

Nivloc is a classic Nevada ghost town/mine site on or near public land (BLM-managed areas are common in the region). Notable remaining features include the headframe, the distinctive trestle, mill ruins and foundations, scattered buildings or remnants (including houses), tailings, and mine dumps. It attracts explorers interested in mining history, though sites like this can have hazards (unstable structures, open shafts, etc.). Access is typically via dirt roads from the Silver Peak area.

In summary, Nivloc was a relatively late-blooming but productive silver-gold camp whose main significance came in the late 1930s–early 1940s as a major district and statewide silver contributor, supporting a temporary population of a few hundred people with basic company facilities and a short-lived post office, before wartime conditions and economics turned it into a ghost town.

Town Summary

TownNivloc, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.71583, -117.75722
Elevation6,170 feet
GNIS851592
Post OfficeOctober 1940 to November 1943

Nivloc Map

Resources

Journigan’s Mill

Posted on by

Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California). It was the largest and longest-operating mill of its type remaining in the park from the 1930s–1950s era and played a key supporting role in the mid-20th-century revival of gold mining in the Skidoo/Harrisburg and Emigrant Spring areas.

Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun

Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun

Location and Physical Setting

The site sits on the west side of Emigrant Canyon Road (also called Wildrose Canyon Road), roughly 1 mile south of Emigrant Springs and about 13.5–14 miles south of Stovepipe Wells, at an elevation of approximately 4,400 feet in the Panamint Range. It covers about 3 acres and is highly visible from the paved road.

Water—the critical limiting resource in Death Valley—came from nearby springs (Green, Burro, Willow, and Burns; earlier accounts also mention additional springs such as Canyon and Malapi). Pipelines delivered water to the mill, enabling continuous operation in an otherwise arid environment.

Today the site consists of scattered concrete foundations (mill platforms on multiple levels, housing footings), remnants of cyanide tanks, two steel water tanks (in earlier descriptions), a wooden floor platform, and tailings piles/stockpiles. Machinery was removed long ago. The ruins are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for their local significance as the largest surviving amalgamation/cyanide plant of the period and for having the longest contiguous use of any milling site within the former Death Valley National Monument.

Early Use of the Site (Pre-Journigan)

The location had intermittent milling activity for decades before Roy Journigan’s major development, taking advantage of the springs:

  • Possible early one-stamp mill processing Skidoo ore around 1909 (unconfirmed in some studies).
  • Carl R. Suksdorf and Frank “Shorty” Harris reportedly ran a ball mill here in 1918 for custom work.
  • Suksdorf filed for water rights to six nearby springs in the early 1920s for his Gold Dollar Millsite (tied to his nearby Gold Dollar Mine) but lost them for non-development.
  • Shorty Borden and Shorty Harris purportedly operated a five-stamp mill in 1924 processing Skidoo and Poppy Mine ore.
  • Dr. Archibald and later Walter M. Hoover continued intermittent milling into the early 1930s.

These earlier efforts were smaller and sporadic.

Establishment and Operation under Roy Journigan (mid-1930s–1939)

The decisive impetus came from the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, which raised the official U.S. gold price from $20.67 to $35 per ounce. This made lower-grade ores newly profitable and spurred a revival of mining in the region.

National Park Service Sign - Journigans Mill. Photo by James L Rathbun
National Park Service Sign – Journigans Mill. Photo by James L Rathbun

In March 1934, Roy Journigan (with partners E.L. Journigan and L.E. Steinberger) located the five-acre Gold Bottom Mill Site claim. Construction of a new 25-ton-per-day amalgamation and cyanide mill began around 1935; sources commonly date the main plant to 1937. Journigan’s business model was to operate a custom mill: local mine owners would truck ore to the mill rather than ship bulky low-grade material long distances to distant smelters. This reduced transportation costs, allowed higher-grade concentrates to be shipped, and created shared profits.

Key features of the plant (from NPS Historic Resource Study descriptions) included:

  • 25-ton ore bin and a finer-ore bin
  • 6-inch by 8-inch Blake crusher
  • 3 × 4 ft Straub cone-type ball mill
  • 4 × 8-foot amalgamation plates
  • Seven 14 × 5-ft cyanide tanks
  • Four-compartment zinc boxes for precipitation
  • Powered by a 15 h.p. Fairbanks-Morse gasoline engine

Four men typically worked the mill. In 1937 Journigan leased the Skidoo mine and also processed ore trucked from the Cashier mine at old Harrisburg. The mill stimulated renewed activity around Emigrant Spring and the reopening of Skidoo/Harrisburg-area mines by lowering production costs.

Journigan sold the mill in 1939 (some contemporary reports say 1938). One account notes that the last ore milled under his direct operation was in 1938; subsequent owners used the water rights for related milling, including at Skidoo.

Later Ownership and Continued Operation (1939–late 1960s)

The mill changed hands multiple times and continued operating under various owners into the late 1960s—making it the longest-running mill in Death Valley. It was rebuilt or renovated in the 1950s. In September 1959 the Argentum Mining Company purchased the machinery, dismantled it, and moved it to Columbia Flats (near Mina/Columbus), Nevada. A final effort in the 1960s used the remaining cyanide tanks to leach the tailings dump; this activity ended by 1967 (some accounts extend minor activity into the early 1970s).

Role in Regional Mining and Output

Journigan’s Mill was never a primary mine producer itself; it was a custom processing facility that enabled profitable extraction of gold from relatively low-grade ores in the surrounding Panamint Range districts. By providing local, efficient amalgamation (mercury-based recovery of free gold) followed by cyanide leaching (dissolving remaining gold into a soluble complex for precipitation), it made remote desert mining more viable during the post-1934 gold-price boom and beyond.

Capacity: 25 tons of ore per day.
Primary feed sources: Skidoo mine (under lease) and Cashier mine (Harrisburg); also custom work for other local properties.
Specific production totals (ounces of gold recovered or total tonnage processed across the mill’s life) are not well documented in available NPS summaries or secondary sources. Contemporary notes indicate ore values in the Skidoo area in the mid-1930s were often in the $15–$30 per ton range (at the new gold price). The mill’s contribution was primarily enabling activity rather than generating independently recorded large-scale output figures comparable to the original early-20th-century Skidoo production (which totaled roughly $1.3–1.5 million before 1917).

An estimated 1,500 cubic yards of mill tailings remain on site, reflecting the volume of material processed over decades.

Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun
Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun
Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun
Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun
Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun
Journigan’s Mill (also known as the Gold Bottom Millsite) was a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide gold mill in Emigrant Canyon, Death Valley National Park (Inyo County, California) Photo by James L Rathbun

Significance and Present Status

Journigan’s Mill exemplifies the ingenuity required for desert mining: securing water rights, building pipelines, and running a relatively sophisticated (for its remote setting) cyanide plant that extended the productive life of older districts. It is the largest surviving ruin of a 1930s–1950s amalgamation-and-cyanide operation inside Death Valley National Park and documents the longest continuous milling use of any site in the former monument.

Visitors today see only foundations, tank remnants, and tailings. The National Park Service has conducted environmental assessments because of residual cyanide and elevated metals in soils and tailings; the site is managed with “Stay Out – Stay Alive” warnings due to physical and chemical hazards. An interpretive sign recounts the mill’s history for the public.

In summary, Journigan’s Mill operated primarily from the mid-1930s through the late 1960s (peak development and custom milling under Journigan and successors ~1935/1937–1959, with residual activity into the 1960s), processed ore at a capacity of 25 tons per day drawn mainly from Skidoo and Cashier, and served as a critical local processing hub that helped sustain gold mining in the Emigrant Canyon–Skidoo–Harrisburg corridor long after the original boom towns had faded.

Tucki Mine

Posted on by
The hottest place on earth, Death Valley National Park is on the order with California and Nevada
The hottest place on earth, Death Valley National Park is on the order with California and Nevada

The Tucki Mine (also known as the Tucki claim, Tucki No. 1 Mine, and Tucki Nos. 2, 3, and 4 claims) is an abandoned underground gold mine on the southeast slope of Tucki Mountain in the Panamint Range, Inyo County, California. It lies within Death Valley National Park (and the Death Valley Wilderness), approximately 4 miles north-northeast of the ghost town of Skidoo and about 10–10.5 miles by rough 4×4 road from Emigrant Canyon Road via Telephone Canyon. The site occupies roughly three acres along a steep-sided wash that drains eastward toward Death Valley.

Geologically, the deposit consists of thin quartz veins carrying free gold (with minor silver) that occupy fractures in Precambrian metasedimentary rocks, primarily metaquartzite. The host rock strikes roughly northwest and dips southwest. The mine was a small-scale operation that produced ore from shallow stopes and limited underground development.

Early Claims (1909–1920s)

The first formal record appears in the Wild Rose Mining District books: a Notice of Location for the “Tucki No. 1 Mine,” described as “located about 3 miles NE of Skidoo,” dated 12 April 1909 and filed by Henry W. Britt (or Birtt; handwriting is ambiguous). No significant production or development is documented from this period.

The property was relocated in September 1927 by John Millett, Samuel E. Ball, and Charles G. Walker as a group of claims lying about 2½ miles southwest of Tucki Wash and roughly 4 airline miles north-northeast of Skidoo. By October 1927, Edward R. (Ed) Attaway had acquired a one-fourth interest in the Tucki and Tucki Nos. 2, 3, and 4 claims. Activity remained sporadic and inconsequential through the 1920s; no detailed production records survive from this era.

Development and Peak Activity (1930s–1940s)

Serious work began in the mid-to-late 1930s. By 1937 Ed Attaway and Sam Ball were actively mining and trucking ore first to Death Valley Junction for shipment to a smelter and later to the fifty-ton cyanide plant of Keeler Gold Mines, Inc., operated by Roy Troeger in the Owens Valley. Contemporary accounts described ore values ranging from $12 to $60 per ton (with some promotional claims of higher grades).

In August 1938 Attaway and Ball executed a lease/bond agreement on the “Tuck-I Mine” with the Lane Development Company of Hollywood for a total consideration of $25,000. Newspaper reports at the time stated that the lessees had been working the property for about fourteen years and shipping high-grade ore. Roy I. Journigan (operator of Journigan’s Mill, a custom amalgamation-and-cyanide plant in Emigrant Canyon) became a part owner by April 1939 alongside Attaway and Ball. The partners then leased the mine to Felix Castro, Fred Bunting, and Fred Mastagan. A subsequent lease/bond agreement transferred operations to Warnken, Potter, and associates.

Until about 1940, ore was processed at Journigan’s Mill roughly 20 miles away in Emigrant Canyon. In 1940 a small, crude cyanide leaching plant was constructed on-site. Production figures from this period include:

  • Approximately $846 in gold every two weeks in 1940.
  • From August 1940 to April 1941, lessees sold $5,200 worth of ore averaging about $20 per ton (assays $12–$60 per ton).
  • Mine receipts for gold bullion delivered in 1941 totaled nearly $18,000.

Underground development consisted of an inclined shaft (or incline) to the 200-foot level that continued as a winze to about 330 feet, with short drifts on intermediate levels (including 15 feet of drifts at the 50- and 100-foot levels and additional drifts at 130, 170, and 200 feet). Two earlier adits, located 60 and 200 feet northwest of the shaft, represented the initial prospecting work. The operation was essentially underground, producing ore from shallow stopes.

By 1951 the property consisted of four unpatented lode claims owned by Roy I. Journigan and Ed Attaway. Workings remained modest.

Dormancy and Brief Revival (1950s–1970s)

The mine was largely idle through the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1970s activity resumed. Early in 1974 Russ Journigan (son or relative of Roy) and his wife held title to the core claims (Tucki, Tucki No. 2, and Tucki No. 3); adjacent claims were allowed to expire. In 1974–1975 Russ Journigan and Paul Barnett reopened the mine. They installed gold-leaching apparatus, including four steel-lined cyanidization tanks, and processed old tailings using the carbon-filtration method (later involving sodium hydroxide and zinc). A more efficient jaw crusher and advanced leaching facility were planned, with a projected capacity of 25 tons of ore per day.

The revival produced only a few dozen additional ounces of gold. The last recorded production occurred in December 1971 (or shortly thereafter in the mid-1970s accounts). Operations ceased by the late 1970s, coinciding with the 1978 Death Valley mining claims moratorium and the site’s incorporation into the national park system. Total documented gold production for the entire life of the mine was modest—little more than $18,000 (period values)—and profits were limited.

Site Description and Later Management

At its peak the cyanide plant included four steel-lined concrete-block tanks, two water reservoirs, crushing equipment, and a pump. Today only the concrete tanks remain; most other processing equipment was removed after shutdown in the early 1980s. The site also includes cabin remains, foundations, an ore chute, waste-rock piles, and residual mine openings (many later sealed by the National Park Service for safety).

The National Park Service has investigated the site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) because of residual metals (including antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, and zinc) and potential cyanide-related contamination in soils and tailings. A Preliminary Assessment was completed in 2014, followed by a Site Inspection in 2016 and preparation of an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis to evaluate cleanup alternatives. Visitation is low (NPS estimates fewer than 500 people per year).

Historical Context and Significance

Tucki Mine is a characteristic small-scale, intermittent gold operation of the Death Valley region during the mid-20th century. It never approached the output of major producers such as the nearby Skidoo Mine. Its history is closely tied to the Journigan family and their custom mill in Emigrant Canyon, which supported several local properties during the 1930s–1940s revival of gold mining in the Skidoo–Wildrose district. The mine illustrates the challenges of extracting low-grade, narrow-vein gold deposits in a remote desert environment and the eventual transition of such sites from active claims to protected cultural and environmental resources within Death Valley National Park.

Primary sources for this history include the National Park Service’s Historic Resource Study: A History of Mining in Death Valley National Monument (Linda W. Greene and John A. Latschar, 1981), contemporary mining district records, California Journal of Mines and Geology reports, Mindat locality data, and NPS CERCLA documentation for the Tucki Mine and Mill Site.

Ashford Mill Site

Posted on by

Ashford Mill Site is a historic mining ruin located in Death Valley National Park, California. It represents one of the many short-lived gold mining operations that dotted the region during the early 20th century, embodying the boom-and-bust cycles typical of desert prospecting in one of the harshest environments in North America.

Ashford Mill Ruins Sign. Photo by James L Rathbun
Ashford Mill Ruins Sign. Photo by James L Rathbun

Location and Setting

The site lies on the valley floor along Badwater Road (California State Route 178), approximately 28 miles (45 km) west of the Shoshone entrance to the park. The associated Ashford Mine (also known as the Golden Treasure Mine) is located about 5 miles (8 km) east in the Black Mountains, roughly 3,500 feet (1,067 m) higher in elevation within Ashford Canyon. The mill was strategically placed on the valley floor to process ore trucked down from the mine. Today, visitors find concrete foundations, scattered debris from machinery, and the crumbling walls of a former office building. The site includes parking, picnic tables, scenic viewpoints, and vault toilets. Nearby Shoreline Butte displays ancient wave-cut terraces from the prehistoric Lake Manly.

Discovery and Claim Acquisition (1907–1910)

In January 1907, prospector Harold J. Ashford arrived in the Death Valley region, drawn by recent gold strikes at the nearby Desert Hound Mine. He noticed that the Keys Gold Mining Company had failed to perform required assessment work on several claims in the Black Mountains. Ashford relocated (re-staked) the claims under mining law and began working them. The Keys company did not discover the issue for nearly two years. In January 1910, they sued to reclaim the property, but a judge ruled in Ashford’s favor, securing title for him and his brothers, Henry and Lewis. The Ashfords worked the mine intermittently from 1910 to 1914 but achieved only modest results.

Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun

Development and Mill Construction (1914–1915)

In November 1914, the Ashford brothers leased the mine to wealthy Los Angeles residents B.W. McCausland and his son Ross. Under their leadership, the operation expanded dramatically. They drove a 180-foot tunnel, developed approximately 2,000 feet of underground workings, and employed up to 28 men at peak. The lessees invested over $125,000 in infrastructure, including construction of a 40-ton-capacity mill on the valley floor in 1915. The mill featured a jaw crusher, a 10-foot Lane mill, a Wilfley concentrating table, and a Diester slime table. Ore was trucked five miles down the mountain for processing before shipment to a smelter. The mill became operational by late August 1915. A popular (but unverified) local legend claims that a double shipment of cement arrived during construction; rather than return the excess, the McCauslands used it to build the durable concrete foundations and office that still stand today.

Operations, Decline, and Initial Closure (1915)

Despite extracting an estimated $100,000 worth of gold ore, the operation proved unprofitable. The ore grade was too low to cover the enormous costs of extraction, processing, and transportation across the remote desert terrain. Operations ceased in September 1915, only weeks after the mill opened. The McCauslands withheld lease payments, leading the Ashfords to file a lawsuit that yielded no compensation. The mill and mine then lay idle for more than a decade.

Intermittent Later Activity (1926–1941)

Brief revivals occurred over the following years. In 1926, four men worked the mine briefly before abandoning it again. In 1935, the Ashfords leased the property to Golden Treasure Mines, Inc., which reopened the mine and shipped high-grade ore to Shoshone via the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad. High trucking costs limited profitability; total production through 1938 was valued at no more than $18,000. The Ashfords briefly operated the mine themselves in 1938, shipping 38 tons of ore. Later that year they leased it to Bernard Granville and Associates of Los Angeles, who installed a short aerial tramway to consolidate ore from scattered workings. The operation employed about 10 men but produced no recorded shipments and ceased by 1941. The Ashfords retained ownership but performed no further significant work. Over its entire history (1910–1941), the mine yielded just enough gold to sustain the brothers in basic supplies and legal fees.

Legends, Myths, and Cultural Significance

Early tourists were drawn by colorful legends surrounding the mine, including a story that the Ashford brothers sold it for $50,000 to a Hungarian count, who then resold it to B.W. McCausland for $105,000. An old wooden interpretive sign at the site perpetuated this tale for decades. However, National Park Service records describe these stories as more intriguing than factual. The site nonetheless symbolizes the persistent yet often futile quest for riches in Death Valley’s extreme environment.

Abandonment and Preservation

The mill was never reopened after 1915; its wooden walls, windows, and most machinery were removed or decayed over time, leaving only the concrete foundation and debris. The nearby office building survives as crumbling concrete ruins. The Ashford Mill Site was incorporated into Death Valley National Monument (later National Park) and is preserved today as a historic resource. The mine site higher in the canyon contains collapsed shacks, bunkhouses, headframes, and tramway remnants from the 1930s–1940s era, accessible via a strenuous hike up Ashford Canyon (the old road is washed out).

Look through the Ashford Mill building. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look through the Ashford Mill building. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look through the Ashford Mill building door frames. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look through the Ashford Mill building door frames. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look up at the Ashford Mill foundations. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look up at the Ashford Mill foundations. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look down at the Ashford Mill foundations. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Look down at the Ashford Mill foundations. Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
National Park Service sign for Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park
National Park Service sign for Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park
Ashford Mill Ruins Sign. Photo by James L Rathbun
Ashford Mill Ruins Sign. Photo by James L Rathbun
Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun
Ashford Mill, Death Valley National Park. Photo by James L Rathbun

Visiting the Site Today

The Ashford Mill Site remains a popular roadside stop along Badwater Road. A short walk reveals the ruins and interpretive signage (the older legend-bearing sign may still be present). It offers a poignant reminder of the human ambition and environmental challenges that defined early 20th-century mining in the American Southwest. The site is open year-round, though summer heat and flash-flood risks in the canyon require caution. No artifacts should be disturbed, as the area is protected within the national park.

Chloride City California – Inyo County Ghost Town

Posted on by

Chloride City is a remote ghost town and historic mining site located in the Funeral Mountains on the eastern side of Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California. Situated at an elevation of approximately 4,770 feet (1,454 m) in a saddle high above the valley floor, it offers dramatic panoramic views across Death Valley to the Panamint Mountains—over 5,000 feet below—making it one of the more scenic yet challenging historic locations in the park. Access requires a high-clearance vehicle (often 4WD) via rough dirt roads, such as Chloride City Road off Daylight Pass Road or near Hell’s Gate, and the site remains largely untouched, with scattered remnants rather than intact structures.

Crowells Mill under construction in Chloride City, CA about 1915
Crowells Mill under construction in Chloride City, CA about 1915

Early Discovery and Initial Mining (1870s)

The area’s mining history dates back to one of the earliest documented strikes in the Death Valley region. In August 1871, prospector August J. Franklin (a civil engineer involved in U.S. government surveying work on the Nevada-California border) made the initial discovery. According to local legend, Franklin killed a rattlesnake with a rock, noticed rich-looking float (loose ore fragments) beneath it, and traced the material uphill to its source—a vein of silver chloride (a form of silver ore) at what became known as Chloride Cliff.

Franklin staked claims and formed the Chloride Cliff Mining Company, sinking a shaft to about 70 feet by mid-1873 and employing several miners. Ore samples reportedly assayed at high values—between $200 and $1,000 per ton in silver—indicating significant potential. However, the remote location, harsh desert conditions, lack of water, and transportation difficulties limited development. Activity was intermittent; Franklin and later his son George worked claims sporadically to maintain ownership, but the site saw little sustained production through the 1870s and remained largely deserted from around 1873 until the early 1900s.

Boom Period and Establishment of Chloride City (1905–1906)

Interest revived in the early 20th century amid the broader Death Valley mining boom, particularly following the major gold discovery at Bullfrog, Nevada (near Rhyolite) in 1904 and the development of the nearby Keane Wonder Mine (discovered in late 1903). Prospectors from Bullfrog crossed into the Funeral Mountains, reworking older claims and exploring new ones.

By 1905, enough activity centered on the Chloride Cliff area (including renewed work on silver-lead and emerging gold veins) that a small support camp was laid out: Chloride City. It served as a hub for nearby operations, featuring basic facilities such as an assay office, bunkhouse, and possibly other rudimentary structures. The town was positioned in a picturesque but wind-swept saddle, supporting miners extracting ore from adits (horizontal tunnels) and shafts in the vicinity.

Despite initial promise, the boom was short-lived. Most operations proved uneconomical due to low-grade ore, high processing costs, and isolation. Chloride City became a ghost town by late 1906, abandoned as miners moved to more promising strikes elsewhere.

Later Activity and Nearby Mines (1910s–1940s)

Sporadic mining returned in the 1910s and especially the 1930s, when higher gold prices during the Great Depression spurred renewed prospecting. Nearby sites like the Big Bell Mine (and Big Bell Extension) saw more substantial work, including construction of an aerial tramway, ore bins, ball mills, cyanide tanks, and other equipment—much of which remains remarkably preserved due to the site’s inaccessibility. These operations focused on gold and silver, with some claims reportedly changing hands through dramatic means (e.g., gambling, disputes, or even a reported duel). Activity largely ceased by the early 1940s, with the last major shutdown around 1941.

Chloride City itself did not revive as a town; it remained a loose collection of mining features rather than a populated settlement.

Current Status and Remnants

Today, Chloride City is within Death Valley National Park and protected as part of its historic resources. Little of the actual “town” survives—mostly scattered foundations, mine dumps, numerous adits (some explorable with caution), ore remnants, and the remains of three stamp mills. A single grave marks the site: that of James McKay, about whom virtually nothing is known.

The area includes dramatic overlooks at Chloride Cliff, where visitors can stand on old dumps and gaze down into Death Valley. Nearby hikes lead to well-preserved ruins like those of the Big Bell Mine complex, featuring rusting machinery, collapsed shacks, and tramway elements frozen in time.

The site exemplifies the fleeting nature of desert mining booms: early promise, rapid influx, quick bust, and long-term abandonment. Its isolation has helped preserve artifacts, offering a glimpse into the grit of 19th- and early 20th-century prospectors in one of Earth’s harshest environments. Visitors should prepare for rough roads, extreme conditions, and practice Leave No Trace principles, as the area has no facilities or signage in many spots.

Chloride City Trail Map