Re: Silveron Northern Now and Then - Silver Lake Mill

The fire was an act of arson that apparentley was never solved. The night watchman responded to the fire only to find that all the fire hoses, that were located throughout the mill complex, had been cut and were useless. And then later, the second mill structure was burned after WWII as a deliberate act to remove the structure, rather than dismantling it, with the additional purpose to remove it from the tax rolls. Some of the large tram house is still there and the timbers show a lot of burning took place. Until several years ago, the mill complex was still in the ownership of American Smelting and Refining (ASARCO) but as part of their bankruptcy, all the Silverton holdings were sold off. There was a complex system of flumes, ditches, and storage ponds to supply water to the mill.

A few pictures of the mill complex as it is today is here:

[www.flickr.com]

My office is about 1/2 mile down river from the Silver Lake Mill and our building is about 25 feet from the edge of the Animas River.