Frisco Charcoal Kilns, State Route 21 (Frisco), Milford

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,1-FRIS,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Frisco Charcoal Kilns site is composed of five beehive charcoal kilns that- were built in For descriptive purposes the kilns have been numbered from one to five (see sketch map). Kilns number 1 and 4 are in partial ruin, with approximately one-half to one-third of their tops having collapsed. The others remain almost intact. Their location is on a hill adjacent to the site of the Frisco Smelter. Only several partial foundations remain of the smelter structure itself smoke stack structures. They remain among the best surviving charcoal kilns in Utah that documents the state's early mining history. The kilns were built of granite float and a lime mortar in random rubble construction.

Built in a form of a parabolic dome, kilns number 1, 3, 4, and 5 are blunted at the top, whereas the top of kiln 2 rises to a point. Kilns 1, 3, 4, and 5 are approximately 22 feet in height and measure respectively, 21 feet, 21 feet, 21 1/2 feet and 22 feet in diameter. Kiln 2 is 22 feet 9 inches high and 23 1/2 feet in diameter. All five kilns have arched front openings at ground level and arched openings on the other side approximately 2/3 of the distance to the apex. The front openings range in the area of 6 HAER No. UT-25 -2- feet high and 4 feet wide, and slant inward on all kilns, thus the exterior dimensions are larger than the interior, an average of 8 inches difference on the width and 1 inch on height. The other openings on the side are all approximately 3 by 4 feet.

Rock work around the arched openings is visible on all kilns, either front or side or both, including the keyways. There are three rows of air vent holes, each hole being approximately 3 by 4 inches, and each row 1 1/2 feet apart on all kilns. The first row of vents has been partially covered by a rising ground level. Vertically, the rows are also approximately 1 1/2 feet distant. Remnants of wood logs, used as stops for the vents, were found in some of the holes. Kilns 1, 3, 4, and 5 have a 1-foot ledge located approximately 11 feet from ground level. Kiln 2 has an 8-inch ledge about 7 feet from its base.

Geographically, the kilns are arranged in semi-circular fashion, and are spaced as follows: kiln 2-4 1/2 feet from #1 Kiln 3' - 15 feet from #2 Kiln 4 - 6 feet from #3 Kiln 5 - 5 feet from #4 A hill runs behind the kilns, approximately 2 to 4 feet away from their bases, and is nearly level to the ledges of the kilns. The kilns are in a deteriorated state, with numbers 1 and 3 partially collapsed. However, they appear much as they did when in use (as determined from an historic photograph) and considering their proximity to a state highway are in generally good condition. The iron doors which covered the front and upper side openings are gone. A trace of white stucco material, probably used to cover the exterior surface, still remains on kilns 3 and 4.

Kiln 5 exhibits three sections where an apparent patch-work of soft red firebrick was added (no date). These exist over the upper archway of the front door and on the upper east and north sides, just above the 11-foot high ledge. The brick is approximately 9 1/2 inches long, 4 1/2 inches wide, and 2 1/4 inches thick. Interior walls are glazed with a black substance, a residue of their use in the charcoal burning process. ~\ HAER No. UT-25 -3- Presently the kilns are abondoned. Tintic Minerals Resources, Inc. and the Horn Silver Mines Co. are interested in the possibility of placing a fence around the kilns. A title search of the property is presently {September being conducted by the companies to establish firmly ownership of all surrounding property.

Plans are also underway to reopen the Horn Silver Mine, west of the Kilns. The owners are desirous of preserving the kilns andprotecting them from potential harm. There are no plans however, for any stabilization work to be done on the structures. Dimensions for particular features of each kiln are as follows (for an historical description of the kilns, see the history): WALL THICKNESS KILN # HEIGHT DIAMETER AT BASE FRONT OPENING SIDE OPENING 1 ca. 22' 21 2' X Gone 2 22. 9,, 23 2' X 3' X 4' 4 l H 3 ca. 22' 2V 2' X 32 X 4' 4 ca. 22 21 Z\ X Gone 5 ca.

22* 22* V X 3* X 4* SIGNIFICANCE: The five beehive Frisco Charcoal Kilns, built in by the Frisco Smelting Company, are significant as among the few remaining charcoal kilns in the state of Utah that retain much of their visual integrity, and help to document the state's early mining history. The structures, three of which are nearly intact, were constructed of granite float in the form of a parabolic dome, and are significant remnants of Utah's charcoal industry, as well as excellent examples of the engineering techniques of kiln construction- The Frisco kilns were among the earliest built, and excluding several kilns that may exist high in the mountains near Frisco, are the best remaining in the state of Utah. In addition, they are the best documented kilns of any in the state. HAER No.

UT-25 HISTORY: The San Francisco mining district is located in Beaver County, some 17 miles west of Milford (approximately 225 miles south southwest of Salt Lake City). Its area embraces about 7 square miles, situated upon both flanks of the San Francisco mountains. The district itself was organized August 12, and became prominent as a producer of silver and lead beginning in about Water in the area was considered "very bad and scarce;" and in time, this same observation was made regarding wood for fuel. In addition, Frisco was linked to the mining efforts in eastern Nevada in terms of geographical proximity, time, e.nd labor.

The effective beginnings of the prospecting and exploitation of Utah's precious metals is linked to the early Commencing with the efforts of prospector-soldilers under the leadership of Colonel Patrick E. Connor, who with the California and Nevada Volunteers entered the territory in the area's real commercial mining development awaited the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 'Throughout the and mining claims were filed and mining districts established in various regions of the territory. In the north, important districts were located at West Mountain (Bingham Canyon), Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, Park City and the Ophir and Mercur areas of Tooele County. Silver Reef, in Washington County, organized in became an active producer of silver-lead ores.

The central region was dominated by the Tintic District and the districts of Beaver County, especially the Frisco Mining District, which proved to be of signal importance to the growth of that county. Thus, the Frisco District was an early and important link in the nascent mining industry of Utah. The town of Frisco became the commercial center for this district, and the terminus of the Utah Southern railroad extension from Milford. In the 2 population was enumerated at about 800 people. At that time the two largest mining enterprises were the Horn Silver Mining Company, and the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company, w&o built the five remaining charcoal kilns that still stand near Frisco as stark reminders of past technology, needs, and industry. HAER Wo.

UT-25 -5- Frisco's main mines in the late through the were the Horn Silver Mine and Carbonate group of mines, the latter being owned by the Frisco Mining and Smelter Company. With the development of these mines, made possible primarily because of the extension of the Utah Southern railroad to Frisco in came prosperity and growth. The Frisco Smelting Company began expanded construction in Frisco in July, Corresponding to the successful working of the Horn Silver mine. It was at that time that the smelting works were built, including in all probabilty, the five beehive charcoal kilns needed to 3 provide fuel for the smelter. The Frisco Smelting Company was headed by W. S. Godbe, manager; Benjamin Y. Hampton, superintendent; and M. Atkins, agent.

It was Hampton who supervised the construction of the smelter, which was reported running in September , again primarily with ore from the Horn Silver mine. In September, the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company incorporated representing a reorganization of the Frisco Smelting Company. The Frisco Mining and Smelting Company had a capital stock of in shares, with property that included the smelting plant at Frisco, the Carbonate group of mines located about miles northeast of town, the Cave mine in the Bradshaw district {nearer to Mil ford), and an iron flux mine in the Rocky district. In the general manager of the company was C. D. Bigelow.

An report on the Frisco Mining and Silver Company described the smelting plant as a "complete one," containing a Blake rock-breaker, a Number 5 Baker blower, two horizontal boilers, one 40 horse-power horizontal engine, several pumps, <\ shaft furnace and flue-dust chamber, a reverberatory flue-dust slagging furnace, and five charcoal kilns" adjacent to the works." These are the kilns that remain in Frisco. Charcoal was a necessary fuel for smelting, which made mining more profitable by enabling the mining company to work the ores closer to their working site. In the process of making charcoal "pits" were first utilized. In pits were still used in the Frisco area, primarily in the Wahwah Mountains, west of HAER No. UT-25 -6- 9 town.

These were conical-shaped pits in the ground, usually lined with stone or brick. Wood was then put inside, placed on fire, and covered with earth and sod, and allowed to smolder for 15 to 20 days, eventually burning itself out. The product was a black, porous residue of wood with all organic matter removed, leaving almost pure carbon* It would burn in smelter furnaces without smoke, producing an intense heat. During the the trend turned from pits to kilns, constructed of stone or brick. This represented a capital investment and an original cost to the company of from to but was offset by the fact that it proved more efficient, less wasteful, and produced a higher quality of charcoal. The engineer credited with introducing the beehive kiln was 0.

C Cameron, in Marquette County, Michigan, in Cameron, in an article in the Utah Mining Gazette stated that he indeed introduced the kiln, and described them as in a form of "a parabolic dome, with a base of twenty to twenty-four feet in diameter and altitutde of nineteen to twenty-two feet." He estimated the 1o cost at not to exceed These kilns were probably constructed with the use of internal scaffolding against which the walls were laid as they slanted towards the top of the dome. The five Frisco charcoal kilns of the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company were among those described extensively in the census mineral compendium.

That description including a discussion of charcoal burning in Frisco was as follows: The kilns are made of granite float found in the neighborhood and a lime mortar. They are of various sizes, from 16 to 26 feet in diameter. It is the rule in this section to make the height of the kiln equal to the diameter. The thickness varies from 18 to 30 inches at the base and from 12 to 18 inches at the summit. There are two openings, closed by sheet iron doors, one at the ground level, 4 by 6 feet, and the other in the side two-thirds of the distance to the apex, 3 by 4 feet. There are also three rows of vent holes, 3 by 4 inches, near the ground. The lower row is at the surface of the ground. The rows above HAER No.

UT-25 -7- # are 18 Inches apart, having vent holes 3 feet apart in each row- The kilns cost from to each, and lasted a very long time if used regularly- The 16-foot kiln holds about 15 cords of wood and the 26-foot kiln 45 cords. Sometimes the wood is piled radially, but generally very closely in cord-wood fashion. The wood is all pinon pine, and is cut at all seasons by Mormons at per cord. It is brought from 1 to 4 miles by sledges or wagons to kilns for from to per cord. The kilns are fired in the center at the bottom (though sometimes at the top), and the fire is drawn to the top by leavig a small unsealed space around the upper door. This is then closed entirely, and the fire is regulated by the vent holes.

The duration of burning is from three to seven days, and of cooling from three to six days. Charring, which includes packing the wood in the kiln and drawing the coal, is usually done by contract, and costs from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 cents per bushel. About 50 bushels are produced per cord charred. The coal is bought by weight, 17 pounds making a bushel. It is shipped to the smelters in racks, at a cost of from 3 to 5 1/2 cents per bushel for hauling, depending on the distance. The price received is 18 cents per bushel. Kiln hands are paid from $2 to The labor required averages 3 one man per kiln per twenty-four hours J In a specific description of the five kilns appeared in The Engineering and Mining Journal. At that time charcoal sold for 16 cents per bushel.

The report stated: Each kiln burns at one time 32 cords of wood, making from to bushels of charcoal-pinon pine, at a cost of $6 per cord, being used. It takes from six to ten days to burn a kiln. The company uses about bushels of charcoal per month, besides about ten cords of cedar wood per day, at a cost of $3 per cord.14 Scrutiny of the manuscript census population schedule aids in an understanding of the Frisco charcoal industry. The stages in the production of charcoal have been defined as kiln construction, wood cutting and hauling, charring, and freighting to the smelters. The Frisco Mining and Smelting Comapny had their five kilns next to the smelter; thus, alleviating the cost of freighting. According to the census, taken in June, there were in HAEE No.

UT-25 -8- Frisco 4 coal contractors and 21 coal burners. In addition, 7 stone masons, 1 brick mason, Z wood contractors, and 5 wood choppers appeared on the roles. In the case of the coal contractors, their average age was 42, whereas, the coal burners averaged 27 years of age. Fourteen of the 21 burners were single men, and most resided in multi-family households, probably boarding or lodging houses. In several cases persons of related charcoal burning tasks lived in 15 the same household, but not exclusively. This case points to the opposite view that charcoal hands lived under worse housing conditions than did other mine employees. Coal burners were exclusively either from the United States or from northern European countries. Seven burners were listed as born in Utah Territory.

One family, the Angels, from England, numbered four brothers, all coal burners. The coal contractors were all born outside of Utah-two in Illinois, one in Ohio, and one in Germany. Charles Lamendorf, from Germany, was also active in the Tintic Mining District in Ouab and Utah counties. Thus, the charcoal industry in Utah, as were most mining-related enterprises, was a product of importation into the territory by others experienced in the field. Smelting activity of the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company reached Its highest during the years The following are the tonnages of ore and concentrates from the Carbonate-Rattler mines treated at the Frisco smelter from to April 1, Jan.

1 to April 1, In the smelter's furnaces had treated 222 cars of bullion from the Bonanza and Cave mines pounds of lead, ounces of silver,and ounces of gold, for a value of The Salt Lake Tribune, in June, stated that in Frisco, "The demand for charcoal is now HAER No. UT-25 -9- greater than the supply, and all the kilns in these parts are crowded to their utmost capacity." During the smelter was reportedly working nearly 20 tons of ore daily from the Cave mine alone. 20 Therefore, during the to period the Frisco charcoal kilns were at their peak of production. Factors intervened to change the nature of the charcoal and the smelting industry in Frisco. Charcoal became an expensive fuel- As of March, the total cost of smelting one ton of ore amounted to for the Frisco Smelting Company.

Of this amount, charcoal accounted for or about 45 percent of the total. Labor, the second largest cost, was per ton of ore smelted. The ore smelted required about 45 bushels of charcoal per ton. Forty-six bushels translated into one cord of wood. The report cited earlier stated that bushesl of charcoal were used per month, or approximately 652 cords of wood. In addition, 10 cords of cedar wood were used per day for roasting the ore. 22 As wood reserves dwindled, the cost escalated. The increasingly cheaper freight rates, coupled with the growing coke Industry- in Utah, made coke a cheaper and better fuel. During railroad competition in transporting coke from Pennsylvania and $&n Francisco to Utah had brought the price of the commodity down.

23 In addition, during the early the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad opened the vast coal fields of what was to become Carbon County; and in the latter years of that decade, Castle Gate coke would be produced as an excellent fuel. Sunnyside coke would follow. High labor costs, lack of water, inferior and highly priced charcoal, and the lack of good fluxing ore (ore containing fluxing agents those that assisted in fusion required in the reduction of richer ores), all prompted the Horn Silver Mining Company to cease smelting operations at Frisco in During the company had erected a smelter which burned coke at Francklyn, some 6 1/2 miles south of Salt Lake City.24 Smelters in the Salt Lake Valley began to come into prominence, especially with competing railways and cheaper freight rates.

HAER No. UT-25 Effected by the above conditions, the Frisco Mining and Smelting Comapny closed and dismantled its smelter in The kilns remained, with no explanation as to Output from the company's mines were being sent to 25 Salt Lake smelters, and some later to the Tintic smelter. Production figures cited by Bert S. Butler go to April 1, (as cited), and then from April 1, to December 31, tons}.26 Thus, these figures apparently represented those compiled before and after smelter closure- Post-1884 witnessed sporadic and limited work with the Frisco Mining and Smelter Company property. In the Carobonate dump and tailings pile were being concentrated by leasers, and one G. S.

Handy was working over a portion of the company's slag dump, shipping pounds of matte (a brittle Of* product obtained in the smelting of sulphide ores). By the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company was no longer listed in the Utah Gazetteer. To the Horn Silver Mine was the only producer in the Frisco area. In the Carbonate and Rattler Mining Company incorporated based on a bond held on the Carbonate and Rattler mines, then "old" properties of the Frisco Mining and Smelting Company. The property underwent further development, but in it was sold under a sheriff's sale to foreclose a mortgage held by the Horn Silver Mining Company. Little is known about the later disposition of the property, but by the major part of the Frisco area was controlled 29 by the Tintic Lead Company.

The kilns, however, have survived the vicissitudes of the mining industry and time, and allow the present-day observer a glance at past technology and life. As stated in the conclusion of an anthropological study of Colorado's cultural resources, these kilns in Utah need both archaeological and 30 historical analysis for further Illumination. In the case of the Frisco charcoal kilns, the potential for obtaining further knowledge through historical archaeology is indeed good. These five kilns stand as among the earliest and best preserved charcoal kilns identifed in the state of Utah. HAEE No. UT-25 ^D. B. Huntley reported on the mines in Utah, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Tenth Census, Col- 13, "Precious Metals," (Washington, GPO, p. 2 Ibid. 3 Salt lake Tribune, July 1, 4 H.L.A.

Culmer, Utah Directory and Gazetteer for (Salt Lake City: H.L.A. Culmer and Company, (98U}, p. ^y. 5 Salt Lake Tribune, July 1, and September 2, 6 Tenth Census, Vol. 13, pp. ?Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 8 Tenth Census, Vol. 13, p. 9 Ibid. ^Nell Murbarger, "Forgotten Industry of the West," Frontier Times (May, p. 26. 11 Ibid. IJrThe Utah Mining Gazette, July 25, p. ^5Tenth Census, Vol. l^The Engineering and Mining Journal (New York), November 18, p. 15 Tenth U.S. Census, Utah, "Population Schedules," Beaver County, Film A-T47, Utah State Historical Society. ^6Murbarger, Forgotten Industry, p. 26. *7Tenth Census, "Population." 18 Bert S. Butler, Geology and Ore Deposits of the San Francisco and Adjacent Districts, Utah, Professional Paper au (Washington, p.

19 Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, ^ 20 Salt Lake Tribune, June 22, and January 1, 21 Tenth Census, Vol. 13, p. W.A. Hooker, E.M. The Horn Silver Mine Report, March, p. 27. This report is located in Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah. HAER No. UT-25 2 ^Ibid., p- The charcoal was described here as "inferior" in quality to that used in the northern part of the territory. 23 Salt Lake Tribune, January, 1, 2 ^Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, Butler, San Francisco and Adjacent Districts, p. and fenth Census, Vol. 13, p. 4W. 2 %alt Lake Tribune, January 1, Butler, San Francisco and Adjacent Districts, p. i/tt; and Beaver County News, November 12, ' ~ 26 Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 27 Salt Lake Mining Review, December 30, pp. 28 Salt Lake Mining Review, May 30, p.

22; May 15, p. 30; May 30, p. 30; September lb, p. 36; January 15, p. 7; and February 15, p. 30. 29 Allan R. Reiser, "Geology and Major Ore Deposits of the San Francisco Mining District," thesis, University of Utah, p. 2. 3 See, William 6. Buckles, ed. Anthropological Investigations Near the Crest of the Continent, Vol. Ill Copy located in the Antiquities Section, Utah State Historical Society, HA R No. UT-25 Bibliography Beaver County News (Beaver, Utah), November 12, Buckles, William G., ed. Anthropological Investigations Near the Crest of the Continent. Vol. Ill Copy located in the Antiquities "~ Section, Utah State Historical Society. Butler, Bert S. Geology and Ore Deposits of the San Francisco and Adjacent Districts, Utaiu Professional Paper 80.

Washington, Government Printing Office, Culmer, H. L. A. Utah Directory and Gazetteer for Salt Lake City: H. L. A. Culmer and Company, The Engineering and Mining Journal (New York), November 18, Hooker, W. A. The Horn Silver Mine Report, March, Copy located 1n Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah. Murbarger, Nell. "Forgotten Industry of the West." Frontier Times. May pp. Reiser, Allan R. "Geology and Major Ore Deposits of the Szn Francisco Mining District." B. S. thesis, University of Utah, The Salt Lake Tribune, Tintic Mineral Resources, Inc. and Horn Silver Mines Company Records, Boston Building, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Utah Mining Gazette, Ouly 25, U. S. Department of the Interior. Tenth Census of the United States, Vol. 13 Precious Metals. Washington, D.

C: Government Printing Office, Report of 0. 8. Huntley. U. S. Department of the Interior. Tenth Census of the United States, "Population Schedules," Beaver County, Utah. Film A-14/, Utah State Historical Society. HAER No. UT-25 page Ik * o t- <-> CO /- > --\ HAER No. UT-25 page 15

Verbal Boundary

Point "D" of the Frisco Charcoal Kilns National Register property is approximately 1/2 mile northwest of the southeast corner of Section 13, Range 13 West, Township 27 South. The property then continues West approximately 151 feet to point UA", then approximately 70 feet North to point then East approximately 151 feet to point then South to the point of beginning The boundary is justified as that area immediately surrounding the five charcoal kilns where the owner would like to put a fence so as to protect the site from scavengers* The old smelter site, immediately south of the kilns, contains only several partial foundations and has been picked-over by souvenir hunters and therefore, has not been included in the nomination.

The old town site of Frisco has also been severely potted by bottle hunters.