Death Valley Historic Resource Study A History of Mining

B. Emigrant Wash and Wildrose Canyon (continued)

2. Wild Rose Mining District (continued)

i) Sites (continued)

(3) A Canyon Mine

(a) History

This site was not visited by the writer in 1978, but was inspected by Bill Tweed and Ken Keane in connection with the LCS survey in 1975. The area was once accessible either via a 2-1/4-mile-long unimproved dirt road leading east down A Canyon from the Emigrant Canyon Road and eventually turning into a foot trail necessitating a 1-1/4-mile-long hike to the mine workings, or by following about a one-mile-long dirt road leading north from the Wildrose Canyon Road about 2-3/4 mites east of Wildrose Ranger Station. This latter route led to a corrugated-metal structure undoubtedly connected with the mine workings, which are one-half mile further north on the ridge along a foot trail. In later years a bulldozer road was pushed north up the ridge from Wildrose Canyon over to the mine and on over the ridge down into the head of A Canyon. All these routes were heavily washed during flash floods in September 1975, making the site accessible only by foot.

The mine workings themselves consisted of a solid wooden headframe standing over a wood-lined shaft. A collapsed wood frame tool shed and blacksmith shop, roofed with corrugated metal and built on the dump near the shaft, had partially collapsed by 1975. A good-sized brick forge was still located inside the building. Bulldozer prospecting was evident in the general vicinity of the mine.

The only mention found of early activity in the area is a notation mentioning the discovery by Reno men of high-grade silver ore in A Canyon reputedly running up to 2,500 ozs. in silver. [77]

(b) Present Status

The current appearance of the site is unknown.

Illustration 129. Headframe and tool shed, A Canyon Mine. Photo courtesy of William Tweed, 1975.

Illustration 130. Forge inside tool shed, A Canyon Mine. Photo courtesy of William Tweed, 1975.

(c) Evaluation and Recommendations

The LCS crew determined that this site was probably a 1920s to 1930s operation. The only structures on site of any particular interest were the headframe and the timbered inclined shaft, both being solidly reinforced and in relatively good condition. On the basis of current data, this site has no significance in the history of mining in Death Valley. Benign neglect is recommended.