Nevada City in Nevada County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Ten Stamp Mill

Photographed by Karen Key, October 12, 2010

1. Ten Stamp Mill Marker

Inscription. "Six tall, upright rods of iron, as large as a man's ankle, and heavily shod with a mass of iron and steel at their lower ends.." So begins Mark Twain's description of a Nevada stamp mill.

"...These rose and fell, one after the other, in a ponderous dance, in an iron box called a battery." Each of the stamps weighed 600 pounds. "One of us stood by he battery all day long, breaking up masses of silver-bearing rock with a sledge and shoveling it in."

At the end of his brief stint shoveling ore into the Nevada stamp mill, Twain told his boss he though the $10 a week was not quite enough. He asked for a new wage of $400,000 a month. He didn't get it and had to become a newspaperman.

This ten stamp mill stands just two blocks from where it was manufactured at Miners Foundry in 1904. It operated at the Alpha mine in Sierra County from 1905 until 1931. Each stamp weighs 1,000 pounds and was used ot crush gold-bearing rock. Gary Cope recovered the stamp mill in 1975. It was bought and erected on this site, Native Sons Park, by Hydraulic Parlor No. 56 of the Native Sons of the Golden West with the help of the Historic Preservation Foundation of the N.S.G.W. in 2005.

Dedicated March 11, 2006

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by the
Native Sons of the Golden West
Thomas J. Sears, Grand President
In Memory of James D. Phelan, United States Senator

Erected 2006 by Native Sons of the Golden West.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Native Sons/Daughters of the Golden West series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 11, 1830.

Location. 39° 15.823′ N, 121° 1.192′ W. Marker is in Nevada City, California, in Nevada County. It can be reached from 412 Commercial Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Nevada City CA 95959, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Sierra Nevada.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Nevada City Public Library (about 300 feet away, measured in a

Photographed by Karen Key, October 12, 2010

2. Ten Stamp Mill Marker

direct line); Pennsylvania Engine Co. No. 2 (about 300 feet away); Nevada Theater (about 300 feet away); 400 Broad Street (about 300 feet away); Nevada City Methodist Church (about 300 feet away); Nevada County Court House (about 400 feet away); Searls Law Office (about 400 feet away); North Pine & Commercial (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nevada City.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2010, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 1,095 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 21, 2010, by Karen Key of Sacramento, California.