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| 1946 Pontiac Streamliner |
Up in the Panamint Mountains on the slopes of Pinto Mountain is a small, very well preserved mill camp with a cabin and what remains of a mill. Small, remote, and quiet, it sits at the end of a long-closed road in a small canyon among the sagebrush awaiting the next visitor.
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| First view of the camp from down canyon. |
The history of the location is partially lost to history, and only a small amount of its history is known for certain.
It was probably built sometime in the mid 1950s, being rarely used until the mid 70s. There are hardly any tailings at the site What is known for sure is that at different times it was owned by men named Thad Greene, then Erwin Denner, then John Drake and that it probably processed small amounts of gold for local mines after the giant Journigan's Mill closed just down the canyon, coin incising with a small revival in Skidoo. Thad Greene also had tungsten claims up the canyon, but it is not known if these two operations were connected. Hardly any tailings remain, and it is very difficult to decipher what was processed. No statistics of production are known to exist.
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| Looking at the mill from the gully |
Today the site is in tremendous condition, though not much remains of the mill. The extraordinary picturesque locale is scattered with sundry items and the remains of a 1946 Pontiac Streamliner with most of the fixtures still in place, even though the engine (a straight six) is rather stripped and now contains a woodrat nest. The mill is simply a shoddy wood shack stabilized by cable stays and the cement cabin is very well preserved, with just a little work it could be restored. I'm endlessly kicking myself for not taking more pictures of the cabin while I was there. At least it's a short hike to get back and gives me an excuse to return.
Thanks to Robert for correctly identifying the car.
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| Closer view of the dilapidated structure |
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| The interior of the car is in remarkable condition. |
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| The concrete block cabin behind the car. |
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| The block and not much else. |
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| The Chrome looks almost new |
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Most of the badges have been taken, but the car
is structurally rigid. |
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| "Skidoo" written on the boiler. I haven't seen any explanations for that. |
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| Most of the walls have been removed or fallen off. |
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| Lone Cyanide tank |
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| Mill building. No stamps or tables or any equipment remain inside. |
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| Written on the side of the tank. |
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Burro Spring, from where the water for the
mill was piped. |
2 comments:
I've been researching this site and have not found any solid evidence to support the Greene-Denner-Drake claims that are found around the 'net. The car is a 1946 Pontiac Streamliner, not a 1939 as you have listed. The Skidoo site mainly ran from 1908 to 1917, with a small attempts in the 20's, 30's and 40's. None of which ammounted to much. The events in the 70's were mainly prospects with some crude on-site cyanide leaching, but these ammounted to nothing to speak of. This information came from the Historic Resouirce of DV, which is about as accurate as any can be. There is nothing about this mine site or the supposed Tungsten claims of Greene on Mindat.org, which is very encompasing and has information on many prospects that ammounted to nothing. If you can give me your source of the Greene-Denner-Drake info it would be appreciated. robert92569 at gmail.
Erwin Denner was my great uncle. As a young boy I remember traveling with my father to work on Erv's home in Essex where he operated small tungsten mine. I have no information on his possible association with this site.
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