Ashford Mill Ruins

Ashford Mill Ruins. Fading Fortunes. , In 1914, gold ore from the Golden Treasure Mine, 5 miles to the east, was processed here for shipment to a smelter. Legend has it that the Ashford Brothers sold the mine for $50,000 to a Hungarian Count, who later sold it to B.W. McCausland for $105,000. , Fading Fortunes , The foundations of the Ashford Mill are set into the hillside directly ahead, with the concrete walls of the office building to the left framing the desert beyond. Ore hauled down from the Golden Treasure Mine five miles to the east in Ashford Canyon was crushed at the mill. The Ashford brothers - Henry, Harold, and Louis - acquired the mine in 1907, alternately working it and leasing it to a series of companies. Each lessee defaulted on the agreement, returning the mine and any improvements to the brothers. The mill was abandoned the same year it was built. A 1915 edition of the Bishop Inyo Register said that the Ashford Mill ruins are "conspicuous monuments to disappointment," yielding far less than the investments made in them. This prophetic statement applied to many mining operations in Death Valley. , Safety Information , If you visit the mining site please exercise extreme caution: colapsing tunnels, unstable buildings, and refuse heaps are potentially hazardous. , Stay Out - Stay Alive.