Ashford Mine and Mill in Death Valley
Death Valley, a land of extremes, holds secrets etched into its arid landscape – tales of boom and bust, dreams of fortune, and the enduring allure of gold. Among these stories lies the saga of the Ashford Mine and Mill, a testament to human ambition in the face of unforgiving nature. This location, situated in the southwestern portion of Death Valley National Park, offers a glimpse into the challenges and rewards of early 20th-century mining operations. The Ashford Mine and Mill stands as a monument to perseverance, a reminder of the relentless pursuit of wealth that once gripped this region.
The story begins in January 1907, when Harold Ashford, drawn by the promise of gold in the Death Valley region, ventured into the area. Inspired by the activity at the Desert Hound Mine, he began prospecting, meticulously searching for his own claim. He soon discovered that the Keys Gold Mining Company had neglected to fulfill the necessary assessment work on several of their claims. Seizing the opportunity, Ashford relocated these claims, effectively taking possession and initiating his own mining venture. It took the Keys Gold Mining Company nearly two years to realize that another party was working their former property. When Ashford refused to relinquish his claim, the company initiated legal proceedings in January 1910. However, the court sided with Ashford, granting him the rights to the claims. In retrospect, some might argue that Ashford would have been better off losing the case.
From 1910 to 1914, Harold Ashford, along with his brothers Henry and Lewis, intermittently worked the mine, but their efforts yielded limited success. In November 1914, they decided to lease the mine to B.W. McCausland and his son, Ross, hoping for a more profitable outcome. This marked a turning point in the history of the Ashford Mine and Mill.
The McCauslands embarked on a large-scale operation, investing significant capital and manpower into the project. Within a year, they had driven a tunnel 180 feet into the mountainside, expanding the mine’s accessibility and potential yield. At its peak, their operation employed 28 men and boasted over $125,000 in capital improvements, with a total of 2,000 feet of workings completed. A crucial aspect of their operation was the construction of a mill on the floor of Death Valley, approximately five miles and 3,500 feet below the mine itself. This mill served as a preliminary processing facility for the ore extracted from the mine. The ore was transported from the mine to the mill by truck, a testament to the evolving technology of the time. The mill was equipped with a jaw-crusher, a ten-foot Lane mill, a Wilfley table, and a Diester slime table – machinery designed to extract valuable minerals from the raw ore. According to the Inyo Register, the McCauslands were described as wealthy residents of Los Angeles. In late August, they proudly announced that their 40-ton capacity mill was fully operational, and they had ambitious plans to increase its capacity to 150 tons.
Despite extracting an estimated $100,000 worth of ore, the McCauslands soon faced a harsh reality. The ore from the mine proved to be insufficiently rich to justify their substantial capital expenditures. As a result, they ceased operations in September 1915. Adding insult to injury, the McCauslands failed to compensate the Ashfords for the year’s lease on the mine, further exacerbating their financial losses. Although the Ashfords pursued legal action, they were never able to recover the unpaid lease. The legacy of the Ashford Mine and Mill is forever intertwined with the story of the McCauslands’ ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful venture.
For over a decade, the mine and mill remained idle, silent witnesses to the harsh desert landscape. In 1926, a brief resurgence occurred when four men attempted to revive the mining operation, but their efforts were short-lived, and the mine soon fell silent once more. In 1935, the Ashfords leased the mine again, this time to Golden Treasure Mines, Inc. The new company reopened the mine, but deemed the existing mill inadequate for processing their ores. Instead, they opted to ship the extracted rock to Shoshone, where it was loaded onto the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad for further processing. However, the long truck hauls proved to be prohibitively expensive, forcing the company to re-evaluate their strategy. In an attempt to reduce costs, they focused on extracting only the highest-grade ore available. They continued to work the mine until 1938, when they finally abandoned the project. During their tenure, Golden Treasure Mines, Inc. shipped a total of no more than $18,000 worth of ore, a far cry from the fortunes they had hoped to unearth.
Following the departure of their lessees, the Ashfords resumed working the mine themselves. In August 1938, they made a 38-ton shipment, indicating a renewed effort to extract value from their claim. By this time, the mine comprised twenty-six claims and featured a 320-foot shaft with a crosscut, a 215-foot tunnel, and a 200-foot drift. The equipment at the site included a portable Ingersoll-Rand compressor and various camp buildings, providing a basic infrastructure for the mining operation. The workforce consisted of three men, likely the three Ashford brothers, dedicated to the arduous task of extracting gold from the earth.
After a brief period of self-operation, the Ashfords once again leased the mine, this time to Bernard Granville and Associates of Los Angeles. The new company commenced operations immediately, employing ten men and installing a short aerial tramway. The tramway was designed to facilitate the consolidation of ore from the scattered shafts and tunnels to a central point for trucking down the mountain, streamlining the transportation process. Operations continued until sometime in 1941, when the new lessees also gave up, adding another chapter to the mine’s turbulent history. Despite their efforts, no record of any shipments being made by Granville and Associates can be found, suggesting that their venture was ultimately unsuccessful.
The Ashfords retained ownership of their mine even after the departure of their last lessees, but they never returned to work it themselves. C.B. Glasscock, in a succinct summary of the Ashford Mine’s history, famously quipped that it produced just enough gold to keep the Ashfords in groceries and lawsuits for more than a third of a century, a testament to the mine’s marginal profitability and the legal disputes that plagued its operation. The story of the Ashford Mine and Mill is a complex tapestry of ambition, perseverance, and ultimately, the harsh realities of mining in the unforgiving landscape of Death Valley.
Today, the remnants of the Ashford Mine and Mill serve as a tangible link to the past, offering visitors a glimpse into the history of mining in Death Valley. Several structures still stand at the Ashford Mine site, although many are in a state of disrepair. The main mine site is located high on the west side of the Black Mountains, offering panoramic views of Death Valley below. The old road leading to the site has been washed out for many years, making access possible only via a challenging hike of approximately one mile from the end of the road up to the mine site. The structures at the main complex include a collapsed shack, an outhouse, a large office and cookhouse building, two wooden bunkhouses, a tin shed, a head frame and ore bin, and the tramway towers and terminal. These structures primarily date from the 1930-1940 period of mining activity.
Around the knoll from the main mining site, towards the east, lie the ruins of an older mining effort, undoubtedly the remnants of McCausland’s work in 1914-15. Here, visitors can find several older adits and dumps, the ruins of a collapsed shack, and half a dozen level sites, the former locations of a small tent community. This site, relatively undisturbed by later mining activities, retains better integrity than the main complex but is not considered historically significant. The ruins offer a glimpse into the early days of the Ashford Mine and Mill.
The ruins of Ashford Mill stand on the floor of Death Valley, a stark reminder of the ambitious milling operation that once processed ore from the mine. The structures consist of the crumbling walls of a concrete office building and the ruins of the mill itself. Not much remains of the mill, except for the large concrete foundations and scattered debris. The ruins of the mill foundation and the office building are particularly interesting. According to local legend, a double load of cement was mistakenly shipped to the McCauslands during construction. Rather than incurring the expense of returning the excess cement, they decided to use it to reinforce the mill and office building, which largely accounts for their enduring presence today.
Ashford Mills is located approximately 29 miles west of Shoshone, California, along CA-178. To reach the mine from the mill, visitors must travel east on Ashford Canyon Road for three miles and then hike approximately 1.25 miles up Ashford Canyon to the mine site. Following the remnants of the old road up the Canyon will make for an easier hike, allowing visitors to retrace the steps of the miners who once toiled in this remote and challenging landscape.