Located 10 miles southeast of Tonopah, the camp was settled in the late 1890s when silver and gold was discovered in the area. In May, 1900, when Jim Butler picked up his first samples at the site that would become Tonopah, he was en route to Klondyke. He offered the local assayer, Frank Higgs, an interest in the find for an assay, but Higgs declared the samples worthless and threw them out. Fortunately, Butler retrieved more samples on this return trip to Belmont. The building on the right with the large smoke-stack was the assay office. None of the structures remain today.
From the C. A. Earle Rinker Papers (MS-00514) -- Series III: Maps, newspapers, souvenirs, and ephemera -- Newspapers from Goldfield, Nevada and various locations.
'U.S. Geological Survey, George Otis Smith, Director.' 'R.U. Goode, Geographer in charge. Triangulation by U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Topography by W.J. Peters. Surveyed in 1902-1903.' 'Edition of Mar. 1904, reprinted Apr. 1910.' Oriented with north toward the upper left. Relief shown by contours and hachures. Scale 1:12,000 (W 117°14´--W 117°12´/N 38°05´--N 38°03´)
The Harmill was being operated by Gerald B. Hartley, Sr. and was worked through the 1930s. (Gerald B. Hartley, Jr. Collection) There was an inscription on the image. "The Montezuma district was laid out after the discovery of ore in the area on May 24, 1867 by Thomas Nagle, Mat Plunkett, and a Mr. Carlyle. The district was active through the 1880s after which mining came to a standstill. Montezuma experienced a revival in the early 1900s on the heels of the Goldfield boom. Mining continued through the 1930s from operations such as the Harmill. Ore was chiefly silver accompanied by lead with some gold. Recorded production from the district was over $500,000."
From the C. A. Earle Rinker Papers (MS-00514) -- Series III: Maps, newspapers, souvenirs, and ephemera -- Newspapers from Goldfield, Nevada and various locations.