Historic Structures Report: Charcoal Kilns, Wildrose Canyon, Death Valley National Monument
Mattes MJ and Simmonds RV. 1970. Historic Structures Report: Charcoal Kilns, Wildrose Canyon, Death Valley National Monument. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Office of History and Historic Architecture. San Francisco, California
This Historic Structures Report concerns the charcoal kiln complex at Death Valley National Monument (now Death Valley National Park). It is a row of ten beehive shaped masonry structures, about 25 feet tall, located on a spur road in Wildrose Canyon, Panamint Canyon. The kilns were determined to be a historical resources of major importance because: 1. They have a high degree of structural integrity despite the lapse of nearly a century since their construction. 2. They are associated with the Modoc Mine, which achieved fame as a silver producer in the 1870s and 1880s. 3. They offer a unique opportunity to interpret a lost industrial art: the operation of charcoal kilns to provide fuel from local timber for the local smelting of precious metals in remote areas of the west. 4. They are believed to be the best known surviving example of such kilns to be found in the western states. 5. They are accessible by auto road, affording visitors to Death Valley the opportunity to witness evidence of frontier mining activity. A recommended program of preservation and interpretation includes that all ten kilns be restored as nearly as possible to original condition and appearance. Archeological study, landscaping treatment, interpretation method, and administration requirements are also addressed. The Wildrose charcoal kilns were completed in 1877 by Modoc Consolidated Mining Company to provide a source of fuel for use in two smelters adjacent to their lead-silver mines in the Panamint Valley. Although the mines were worked until about 1900, there is no clear evidence that the kilns were operational after 1879.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Mattes, Merrill; Simmonds, Roberts
- Date of Issue
- 1970-07
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Office of History and Historic Architecture
- Units
- DEVA , PWR
- Keywords
- charcoal manufacturing, engineering, extraction, industry, Inyo County Mines, kiln, Lookout Mining District, masonry structure, mining, Modoc Mines, Modock Consolidated Mining Company, Panamint Mountains, pinyon pine, silver mining, smelting, Wildrose Canyon
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 000249: Wildrose Canyon Charcoal Kilns