Crescent Mill Site and Chimney

Crescent Mill Site and Chimney is an historic site that dates from the late 1860s, some of the very earliest silver mining activity in this part of Nevada. In 1867 and 1868, ore from the Rosario Mine (Logan Canyon Road) was hauled to Crescent and processed using a 5-stamp mill and the furnace, and they produced about $20,000 worth of silver. Unfortunately, they invested about $1,000,000 in the mine and mill.

Link to Map.

Location

The Crescent Mill Site is located in southwest corner of Basin and Range National Monument on the west side of the Mount Irish Range. Access is via Crescent Mill Road, which in turn is accessed via Wild Horse Valley Road (off Highway 375) or Logan Canyon Road (off Highway 318). For details of access, see Crescent Mill Road.

The Site

Several components of the old mill site remain. Most prominent is the brick chimney that stands tall above the site. Not so obvious, the smelter furnace sits near the bottom of the slope north of the chimney, and a brick-linked tunnel runs up the hill connecting the smelter with the chimney. The tunnel is exposed in two places.

Northwest of the chimney, at the end of the usable road, there are stone walls that shore up the flat work area and probably were the walls of stone buildings or perhaps part of the stamp mill.

Northwest from there, on the outside of the roadway loop, there are several more small stone buildings, perhaps cabins overlooking the wash.

Farther northwest (250 yards from the chimney), a large stone cabin with a roof made of logs sits on the hillside overlooking the entire area. One can imagine that the superintendent lived up there in the big house.

From the literature (Tingley, J.V. 1991. Mineral Resources of the Timpahute Range 30' by 60' Quadrangle. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 46.):

Early in 1867, a five-stamp mill was erected at Hiko, and another was built at Crescent. By 1868, the mill at Hiko was equipped with ten stamps and five roasting furnaces, and the Crescent Mill had ten stamps and four roasting furnaces. It was estimated that, by 1868, nearly $1 million had been invested in the Pahranagat Mining district, but only $20,000 in bullion had been shipped; Estimates of bullion production in 1869 were less than $80,000.

Active operations were suspended in 1871 and, by 1881, only ten miners were at work in the area. Small amounts of production were recorded from the district for most years between 1881 and 1899, and for 1912, 1939, and 1940; total recorded production through 1943 was, however, only $61,022 - less than the estimate for 1869 alone.