Belleville History:
As stated above the mining camp of Candelaria had a problem. They did not have a water source to run a decent mill. The Northern Belle Mine started looking for a likely spot. They choose Belleville. At the time is was a spot in the desert. But it had water.
Belleville came into existence in 1873 when the Northern Belle choose this site. Building the mill and developing a road system in the desert between mine and mill gave the town a jump start on population.
By 1876 it had reached a population of 500. The population was down in 1880 to 350, but the two mills kept the entire town alive which contained four stores, two hotels, seven saloons, two restaurants, livery stable, two blacksmith shops, telegraph office, express office, assay office and school.
But things were not looking so good for the little town. The Candelaria Water Works and Milling Company was building a large mill in Candelaria proper. And the city had a new water supply to run this mill. Then the Holmes Mine and the Northern Belle were locked in a court battle that the Holmes Mine won. The Northern Belle was shut down.
But two things happened to reverse the bad luck. First, the Homes Mill reopened the Northern Belle. Second the new Carson and Colorado Railroad was going to pass through the two cities.
But slowly after 1882 the city lost population and in 1894 the post office closed after the Holmes Mine (Northern Belle) shut down.
As stated above the mining camp of Candelaria had a problem. They did not have a water source to run a decent mill. The Northern Belle Mine started looking for a likely spot. They choose Belleville. At the time is was a spot in the desert. But it had water.
Belleville came into existence in 1873 when the Northern Belle choose this site. Building the mill and developing a road system in the desert between mine and mill gave the town a jump start on population.
By 1876 it had reached a population of 500. The population was down in 1880 to 350, but the two mills kept the entire town alive which contained four stores, two hotels, seven saloons, two restaurants, livery stable, two blacksmith shops, telegraph office, express office, assay office and school.
But things were not looking so good for the little town. The Candelaria Water Works and Milling Company was building a large mill in Candelaria proper. And the city had a new water supply to run this mill. Then the Holmes Mine and the Northern Belle were locked in a court battle that the Holmes Mine won. The Northern Belle was shut down.
But two things happened to reverse the bad luck. First, the Homes Mill reopened the Northern Belle. Second the new Carson and Colorado Railroad was going to pass through the two cities.
But slowly after 1882 the city lost population and in 1894 the post office closed after the Holmes Mine (Northern Belle) shut down.
These photographs show the upper mill. These came from the Shamberger collection, but none were used in his book. These (copies) of photographs were all taken in 1889 just before the upper mill closed down for good. They may be, therefore, unpublished.
Belleville Lower Mill:
The first mill at Belleville was built by the Northern Belle Mine of Candelaria. It is commonly called the lower mill. It began operating on March 15, 1875. It was a twenty stamp dry crusher mill. It was capable of turning out 100 pound bricks of silver. But almost immediately the Northern Belle realized this wasn’t big enough.
Belleville Upper Mill:
So on August 30, 1876 the iconic second mill or upper mill was built. This twenty stamp mill with a Stetefeldt Furnace was described as the largest ever constructed and had all of the latest improvements!
Horse drawn wagons would climb the rock walled road above the mill and dump their contents into the milling process. Starting in 1882 the Carson and Colorado would back ore cars up that same ramp.
In 1877 the Borax Miner reported that 112 to 115 tons of ore was being processed daily.
In 1881 the True Fissure reported that 25 men were employed working the upper mill and another twenty at the lower mill.
The two mills ran steadily until 1883 when the Holmes Mining Company won their court battle with the Northern Belle. They remained mostly silent through 1884 except for small loads of ore from other mining camps along the Carson & Colorado Railroad.
In 1885 the Holmes Mining Company had officially received ownership of the Northern Belle and began refurbishing the mills. By February they were up and running. But the second largest mine had already built their own mill in Sodaville. The Candelaria Water Works and Milling Company had their mill up and running in September.
This spelled the end for the two mills. They ran on a small scale until 1891 when they were shut down permanently!
1. The Story of Candelaria and its Neighbors” by Shamberger
The first mill at Belleville was built by the Northern Belle Mine of Candelaria. It is commonly called the lower mill. It began operating on March 15, 1875. It was a twenty stamp dry crusher mill. It was capable of turning out 100 pound bricks of silver. But almost immediately the Northern Belle realized this wasn’t big enough.
Belleville Upper Mill:
So on August 30, 1876 the iconic second mill or upper mill was built. This twenty stamp mill with a Stetefeldt Furnace was described as the largest ever constructed and had all of the latest improvements!
Horse drawn wagons would climb the rock walled road above the mill and dump their contents into the milling process. Starting in 1882 the Carson and Colorado would back ore cars up that same ramp.
In 1877 the Borax Miner reported that 112 to 115 tons of ore was being processed daily.
In 1881 the True Fissure reported that 25 men were employed working the upper mill and another twenty at the lower mill.
The two mills ran steadily until 1883 when the Holmes Mining Company won their court battle with the Northern Belle. They remained mostly silent through 1884 except for small loads of ore from other mining camps along the Carson & Colorado Railroad.
In 1885 the Holmes Mining Company had officially received ownership of the Northern Belle and began refurbishing the mills. By February they were up and running. But the second largest mine had already built their own mill in Sodaville. The Candelaria Water Works and Milling Company had their mill up and running in September.
This spelled the end for the two mills. They ran on a small scale until 1891 when they were shut down permanently!
1. The Story of Candelaria and its Neighbors” by Shamberger
These two photographs were taken in 2014. They show the ruins of the upper mill. One can clearly see where the old wagon road and then railroad spur that went above the mill.