Stateline:
A Mining Ghost-Camp that's as good as they get!
Iron County, Utah

2005 UPDATE:

Dave and his Scouts camped at Stateline on a beautiful September night, shot a few more pics and looked around a bit:

Earlier Report Submitted by Jason Reber:
I'd read about the old Stateline mining camp, located about 16 miles north (and a couple of miles west) of Modena, in several books and on various web pages. I was particularly impressed with the pictures of the ore processing mill, and decided that the time had come to take a trip to western Iron County. My main interest in these types of places is in turn of the century mining equipment, and this trip was very rewarding indeed. We headed out on March 30th with perfect weather conditions- temps in the 60's and sunny. When we got to the Stateline site, I was instantly impressed with the number of standing structures- many in relatively good shape as far as ghost towns go. However, I was immediately unimpressed with the garbage that was left all over the area from a more current time- why the heck would anyone go clear out there to get rid of their old camp trailer, fridge, and other various household garbage? In any case, it was a reminder of how easily history is blemished or destroyed by modern-day idiots. On to the pictures…..

This old stone cabin is typical of the type of dwelling found at the Stateline town site. There are several ruins similar to this one, but most not in as good of shape.

An old log cabin located just north of the main town site. This one is a real beauty- notice that the roof is still intact. That's very rare for Cabins this old. This area must be protected from heavy snowstorms by the surrounding hills.

Remains of the old general store. This building must have been built in the early part of the 1900's, based on style of construction, but the town was established earlier than that. According to "The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns" (Stephen L. Carr), the town was established around 1894, and was abandoned in the early 1900's after the mines stopped producing. The property was later in the custody of caretakers with ideas of turning the area into a tourist attraction, but their plans never came to fruition.

This is the reason I went out- a perfect example of a gravity-type mill. The mill was built on a hillside so that ore could be moved and processed from the top of the mill to the bottom of the mill. Based on the equipment I found around the mill, it became obvious that this mill started life as an old style stamp mill, probably powered by steam, but was later updated with several pieces of electric equipment. I found this very surprising. Obviously, someone updated and used this mill a bit later in the 1900's. With all of the large processing vats in and around the mill, I'd guess this mill used cyanide processing to separate the valuable metals from the crushed ore. If anyone knows the history of the mill, I'd love to know more.

This old crusher is of the "Blake Jaw" variety, and was used for coarse grinding of the ore. The crusher was embossed with "Fraser and Chalmers, Chicago Ill.", which was a major supplier of mill equipment in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

A terrific old stamp mill, found in an old galvanized steel shed at the base of the hill that the mill resides on. These machines were used for fine grinding of the ore after it had been through the coarse grinder.

Another type of mill used for fine grinding, this old ball mill has found a new use as a heavy duty fence post!

The construction of this ore bin, located at the top ore entrance of the mill, shows that this mill was indeed first built a long, long time ago.

Two of these huge old engines sit quietly in the mill. I couldn't find any embossing on either unit to indicate who the manufacturer was or what model they were.

We drove west of the mill for about a mile on a dirt road that got progressively narrower. We then took a turn to the south, and climbed up a narrow dirt road to the top of a hill on the northern side of the Mahogany Mountains. Near the top, we spotted several stone walls, forming a sort of terrace a few levels down from the hill top. This is an example of one level.

A great old stone cabin found several hundred yards from the mill. Near this cabin, we found a small adit (horizontal mine tunnel) that went deep into the hillside. I'd guess some individual miner, or perhaps a small partnership, staked a claim on and worked this mine.

I spotted this head frame high up on the hillside across from the mine tunnel mentioned above. I hike up to it, and was rewarded with the remains of a small but deep shaft reaching deep into the mountain. This "tilted" shaft had ore cart tracks still coming up out of it. The head frame must have been rigged to draw the cart up the rails to the opening. Those were some brave (or drunk and crazy) old miners that worked these hills!

This is the opening of the shaft mentioned above. As with all vertical mine shafts, you MUST pay attention to your footing and not get too close. If you fall into one of these old shafts, it's all over folks.

A final shot of yet another cabin found in the area.

As mentioned previously, this area is a gem for folks interested in ghost towns and old mining towns, particularly if you like to see old mines and mining equipment. I would recommend going in the Spring or Fall, as it gets pretty hot out in that area in the Summer, and can get very snowy in the Winter. No matter when you go, be careful around the old shafts and buildings.

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