Gold Town
In 1894, George Bowers discovered gold ore at what is now known as Standard Hill. He staked the Yellow Rover claim, and soon shipped $1600 worth of ore, spawning a rush to the area. Before long, additional claims were staked including the Exposed Treasure and Desert Queen.
In 1900, the Exposed Treasure and Yellow Rover claims were consolidated to form the Exposed Treasure Mining Company. The following year, a 20-stamp mill and 60-ton cyanide plant were built. In 1921, the mines were renamed the Standard Group and taken over by the Standard Mining and Milling Company. In 1923 a new 40-ton custom mill was erected, and meanwhile a camp called Gold Town (or Goldtown) developed below the mine.
Mining continued under various owners until 1942, when Executive Order L-208 closed the mines in the Mojave District. By then, an estimated $3.5 million was produced by the Standard Group. After World War II, the mines in the Mojave District were never able to fully recover; nevertheless Standard Hill was extensively mined between the late 1980s and 1991, when four open pits were worked by the Shell Mining Company/Billiton Minerals.
