Gold Springs
Though prospecting was done as early as the 1870s by "Old Man Pike" of Montana, this area along the Nevada-Utah line went largely unnoticed until discoveries were made at Stateline and Deerlodge, Nevada in 1896. Locations made in 1897 led to an informal assemblance of a camp called Pike's Diggings, near claims straddling the state line. By the end of 1899, A.W. McCune (responsible for much of the development at nearby Fay) purchased several of the mines near Pike's Diggings, and a new townsite called Aqua was planned with the expectation that it would become a booming center. Aqua lasted less than a year, but a simultaneous strike at Charles A. Short's Jennie claim would help propel development into the 1900s.
The Jennie Gold Mining Company was incorporated in December 1902 under Short's management, and within the next few years obtained many of the claims around the former Aqua and Pike's Diggings. In 1906, the Uvada Gold Mining Company as formed, also under Short, and the new camp of Gold Springs was laid out. Houses were erected, and within a few months Gold Springs had a population of 50, general store, post office, and telephone connection to Modena. Before the end of the year, construction was underway on a 30-ton Nissen stamp mill which was fired up the following spring. The Jennie Mill saw almost instant success, and by fall plans were made to enlarge the mill to 100-tons and install a cyanide plant. Gold Springs's population skyrocketed to 250 by the new year, and in February eight new stamps went into operation at the Jennie, bringing production to an estimated $400 per day. By the end of summer, the cyanide plant was completed.
In June 1909, the Gold Springs Mining & Power Company was organized, taking over operations of the Jennie Co., and a year later a new power plant at Modena was completed. Unfortunately, the Company soon experienced legal and financial difficulties, and Gold Springs presumably declined as a result. In 1913, the Company and its properties were placed up for foreclosure sale, but failed to sell until mid-1915. Little development occurred until 1933, when Superior Gold Mines, Inc. installed a new concentration plant with a capacity of 50 tons daily to treat ore from the Jennie. This revival brought seventy miners back to Gold Springs, and by the end of 1934 the plant was enlarged to 100 tons. Renewed activity led to a new powerline from Pioche to Gold Springs in 1937, and in 1940 Etna Gold Mines constructed their own 75-ton mill at their property a mile to the south. Little else is found about the Superior or Etna operations, which almost certainly didn't last.
Intermittent work has been done in the Gold Springs area since, but no major development is noted. Impressive ruins of the Jennie Mill remained until around 2004, when they were unceremoniously razed.
