Gila Mill
(Reveille Mill)
In January 1867, W.G. Blakely and J.S. French of the Rutland Reese River Mining Company began construction of a five-stamp mill to treat ore from the mines at Reveille. It was placed into operation in April, but almost immediately proved to be inefficient. It operated intermittently, pausing for repairs and adjustments, before closing in 1869.
Sometime between 1869 and 1871, the new ten-stamp Reveille Mill was erected to replace the Rutland. In 1875, the Gila Silver Mining Co. (which held the largest mine at Reveille) leased, then purchased, the mill, after which it underwent renovations and was known thereafter as the Gila Mill. A smelting furnace was added in 1877, and operations continued until 1879. Two years later it was restarted by the Continental Silver Mining Co., and operated for a few years thereafter. It was started once again in 1904, following discoveries at New Reveille, and continued to run - though inconsistently - until the mid-1940s.
