38° 20' 18"N, 118° 11' 51"W - GOLDYKE quad

In 1893 gold and silver veins were discovered and there was considerable activity up until 1903- almost half a million dollars worth of ore was extracted. The boom at Tonapah drew many people away from the area. There were several small mills built but most ore was shipped out for processing. (Mines of Churchill and Mineral County)

The site was in Esmeralda County, but later border shifting placed it inside Mineral County. A 1911 USGS map places a town caled "Silver Star" in the location of Camp Douglas.

Camp Douglas (also known as Douglass and Camp Douglass) is now owned by Mr. James Pauley, who was kind enough to alow us on the property and show us around. Mr. Pauley and his wife own the Miner's Saloon in Manhattan, Nevada, should you ever find your way over thataway. He is living on the site, just in case you have any ideas.

Mr. Pauley- who, by the way, is selling the site if you're interested- relates that several people have come by and stolen or destroyed various artifacts and equipment. Keep this in mind should you decide to sneak onto the property- there are several choice holes in the ground you might find yourself in.

The good news is that we found an answer to the Mystery Wheel we discovered in Omco. Turns out, it's part of what's called an "Oliver Filter." The glossary over at Hacettepe Univsersity School of Mining defines an Oliver filter as:

A continuous-type filter made in the form of a cylindrical drum with filter cloth stretched over the convex surface of the drum. The drum rotates slowly about a horizontal axis, and the lower part is immersed in a tank containing the pulp to be filtered. Arrangement of pressure and suction pipes on the interior of the drum permits the application of suction to the filtering surface. As the filter passes through the tank, it picks up a layer of solid material and emerges carrying a layer of filter cake.

The Oliver Company begain, I believe, in Grass Valley California, but now is part of the Canadian firm GLV. They confirm to me by email that "...12F1 is a type of Precoat Drum Filter with V-shaped tank bottom and probably having paddle agitator... "

There are many ruins on the property along with mining equipment old and new- there is mining activity presently. Ruins range from wooden frame buildings to the rock foundations of buildings long gone.