Tucked away in a small canyon just off of Emigrant Canyon/Wildrose Road, on the slopes of the northern Panamint Mountains at 5,020 feet elevation, sits the Greene-Denner-Drake Mill. Forever in the shadow of its more famous neighbor, Skidoo, this quiet spot sees few visitors. This little camp contains a cabin, remains of a mill, a few old cars, and a wood-fired water heater scattered in the sagebrush.
History
The history of Greene-Denner-Drake Mill is somewhat obscure, with limited documentation available. The site was originally developed by prospector Thad Greene, probably in the early 1950s. Despite there being no mines in the immediate vicinity, Greene chose this location likely to take advantage of the water from Burns Spring (just upslope at 36.39655°, -117.18822°), a seep on the hillside marked by a few bushes.
In 1952-1953, Greene located and prospected tungsten claims about 4 miles up the Skidoo Road, and this mill may have been built to process ore from those claims. However, like many tungsten operations in the Death Valley region, Greene likely discovered that the ore was too low-grade to economically process.
The property subsequently changed hands twice, passing to Erwin Denner and then to John Drake. During their ownership, which extended (surprisingly) into the 1970s, the mill's purpose seems to have shifted toward becoming a custom mill operation. This period coincided with a small revival in mining activity around Skidoo, and the new owners likely intended to use the mill as a custom facility to process gold ore from various nearby mines after the larger Journigan's Mill closed down.
Mine camp. Photos courtesy of Hugh Smith
The mill itself is a small two-story, tin-roofed structure with a small ore bin. Today, the inside of the mill is completely empty. Evidence at the site suggests a cyanide-leaching batch process was used for gold recovery. Water was piped to the site through a 1-inch steel pipe from up-canyon, and two steel water tanks remain visible above the site.
Several old cars sit outside the mill, including a 1946 Pontiac Streamliner. These vehicles were likely brought to the site to salvage their engines to power the mill or other equipment. Production figures for the mill are not known to exist, but the relatively small amount of tailings scattered around the site suggests limited operational activity.
1946 Pontiac Streamliner. Now and then. Photos courtesy of Hugh Smith.
Hugh and I both went to this mill on separate trips; and we saw different things. See both of our photo galleries below.
