American Flat Mill, Substation, Gold Hill

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-48-H. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

One mile northwest of Silver City, Storey County, Nevada. The American Flat Mill Substation is located at latitude: longitude: The coordinate represents the center point of the American Flat Mill Substation. This coordinate was obtained on December 6, by plotting its location with Geoplaner (www.geoplaner.com). The accuracy of the coordinate is +/- 1 meter. The coordinate s datum is WGS 84 (World Geodetic System There is no restriction on releasing the location to the public. Present Owner/ Occupant: United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-48-H. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The American Flat Mill Substation is a contributing resource of the American Flat Mill District, an eight building silver ore processing mill complex. The American Flat Mill is significant under National Register Criterion A for its historical importance as the last remaining remnant of what was once the United Comstock and the Comstock Merger mining operations. The mill and its associated mining activities represented the last large scale underground mining efforts on the Comstock. Other early twentieth century mining activities on the Comstock were either much smaller in scale, or reflected the use of alternate technologies such as open pit mining or dredging. The American Flat Mill is also a contributing element to the Virginia City National Register District under Criterion A.

The American Flat Mill is eligible for listing on the National Register under AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 2) Criterion B at the local level due to the early and active participation of Royce Hardy and Alex Wise. These two local men were mining engineers who were involved in the formation of the United Comstock Mines Company and worked with the company until its demise in Wise began developing the middle mines which became a key part of the Comstock Merger operation. The American Flat Mill is the largest remaining physical reflection of their actions on the Comstock.

The American Flat Mill is eligible for the National Register under Criterion C at the national level as an early representative of the International Style of architecture, which stressed the metaphor of form following function, rejection of ornament, and use of modern building materials, including reinforced concrete, structural steel, and large window panels. All of these characteristics are strongly expressed throughout the American Flat Mill.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-48-H. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

HAER documentation of American Flat Mill is part of the measures to mitigate the adverse effect that will result from demolition of all buildings at the site. The BLM has proposed the demolition of the mill for public safety reasons. AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 3) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1. Date of Erection: 2. Engineer: Walter L. Reid, consulting milling engineer; A. J. Weinig, metallurgist; Lee L. Fillius, superintendent of construction; B. P. Little, chief draftsman in charge of engineering office; and Robert McFarland Doble, in charge of power and electrical engineering. 3.

Original and Subsequent Owners, Occupants, Uses: United Comstock Mines Company, Comstock Merger Mines, Inc.(subsidiary of Gold Fields America Development Company/New Consolidated Gold Fields, of London), 4. General Contractor: United Comstock Mines Company. 5. Original Plans and Construction: No original plans of the Substation are known to exist. 6. Alterations and Additions: None known. PART II. STRUCTURAL/DESIGN/EQUIPMENT INFORMATION A. General Description 1.Character: The Substation was a one-story rectangular building constructed of reinforced concrete. The substation building is presently no more than rectangular slab foundation with remnants of concrete stem walls surrounded by an array of concrete pillars that formerly held electrical equipment.

Remnants of the original metal lath and plaster walls remain in piles on the site. 2. Condition of Fabric: The Substation is presently in ruins. AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 4) B. Description of Exterior 1. Overall Dimensions: Approximately 60' long and 30' wide. 2. Foundations: Reinforced concrete. 3. Walls: Originally reinforced concrete stem walls with a metal frame covered with metal lath and plaster on both interior and exterior walls. The walls were destroyed upon salvage of the metal framing members in 4. Structural System, Framing: Reinforced concrete. Steel wall and roof framing. 5. Openings: Original openings consisted of Fenestra steel sash windows supported by structural steel frame. 6. Roof: The roof is no longer extant.

It was originally sheathed with galvanized corrugated steel. C. Description of Interior 1. Floor Plan: The ground level was an open floor plan with concrete pillars that formerly held electrical equipment. 2. Flooring: Reinforced concrete. 3. Wall and Ceiling Finish: Interior walls and ceiling were originally finished with metal lath and plaster. These finishes were destroyed during salvage efforts in D. Site Layout The Substation stood between the Coarse Crushing Plant and the Fine Grinding and Concentration Plant. Part III. OPERATIONS AND PROCESS Immediately northeast of the Substation building were three oil- cooled transformers. These transformers stepped the power down from volts to volts.

Four banks of transformers at different locations on the property further stepped the voltage down to 440 volts for operation of the motors and other equipment. AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 5) About 100 motors were disseminated throughout the mill having a total of horsepower.1 PART IV. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Architectural Drawings Selected drawings depicting process flow charts, plans and sections of buildings at the mill may be found in: George Young, "New Treatment Plant of United Comstock Mines," Engineering and Mining Journal 114 B. Early Views Early views of the American Flat Mill are available from the Nevada Historical Society, Special Collections and University Archives Photographs at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The views during operation range in date from approximately to with some later views dating from the and representing a total of 86 views. An additional private collection owned by Mr. Joseph Curtis of Virginia City represents approximately 50 views of the mill during its operating years. Some unique views of the building and its machinery may be found in George Young, "New Treatment Plant of United Comstock Mines," Engineering and Mining Journal 114 One aerial view of the mill ruins from is available from the University of California, Davis, in the Eastman's Originals Collection, Department of Special Collections, General Library. C. Interviews Glass, M. Royce Aller Hardy: Reminiscence and a Short Autobiography. Oral History Program, University of Nevada, Reno, D.

Selected Sources Bray, John L. The Principles of Metallurgy. Boston: Ginn and Company, The Athenaeum Press, 1 Zeier et al. An Architectural and Archaeological Inventory of the American Flat Mill, Storey County, Nevada , (Clinton, Tennessee: Zeier and Associates, AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 6) Gavazzi, I., and R. Kendall. American Flat: Stepchild of the Comstock, Virginia City, Nevada: Mark Twain Bookstore, Goin, P., and E. Raymond. Changing Mines in America. Santa Fe, New Mexico: The Center for American Places, Hamilton, E. M. Manual of Cyanidation. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., Hardesty, D. National Register Evaluation of the East Yellow Jacket Mine and the American Flat Mill Sites, Storey County, Nevada.

Report prepared by University of Nevada, Reno. Submitted to Bureau of Land Management, Carson City Field Office, Kendall, Robert E. "American Flat: Stepchild of the Comstock Lode Part II," Nevada Historical Society Quarterly Lincoln, Francis Church. Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Reno: Nevada Newsletter Publishing Company, Morse Brothers Machinery and Supply Company. "Mining and Milling Machinery of The Comstock Merger Mines and Mills at Virginia City, Nevada" Catalog by the Morse Brothers Machinery and Supply Company, Denver, Virginia City, Reno, ca. Located in the Special Collections and University Archives, University of Nevada, Reno. Reid, Walter L. "Design and Construction of United Comstock Mills," Mining and Metallurgy 191 Weinig, A. J.

"A General Study of United Comstock Metallurgy," in Papers Related to the Geology, Mining, Metallurgy and Milling of the Comstock Orebodies of the United Comstock Mines Company, San Francisco: American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Young, George. "New Treatment Plant of United Comstock Mines Company," in Engineering and Mining Journal 114 Zeier, Charles, Michael Drews and Ron Reno. An Architectural and Archaeological Inventory of the American Flat Mill, Storey County, Nevada. Clinton, Tennessee: Zeier and Associates, AMERICAN FLAT MILL, SUBSTATION (Comstock Merger Mine Mills) HAER No. (Page 7) E. Likely Sources Not Yet Investigated Newspaper clippings on file at the Nevada Historical Society, Subject Card Index: "American Flat".