Packard
In December 1912, gold ore was discovered 2½ miles south of Rochester and a camp called Packard came into being, named for the vehicle that transported its discoverers. Early the next year, the Rochester Packard Mines Company was organized, which in 1915 built a small company town and 100-ton cyanidation mill. By mid-1919, that mill was enlarged to 175 tons, but financial difficulties forced the Company into receivership and the mill closed in 1923. It was destroyed by fire three years later.
Meanwhile, in 1917, the Rochester Combined Mines Company began a promotional scheme at Packard. It laid out a sixteen-block townsite and erected a 100-ton mill of its own the next year. It was soon realized that there was insufficient ore for the operation, and the mill closed after only a few weeks. Ultimately, the property was taken over by the Rochester Silver Corporation in 1920, and the mill was dismantled and moved to Candelaria in 1921.
Up to 150 people lived in Packard during its peak, and between 1912 and 1923 about $5 million was produced. Ruins of the Rochester Combined Mines Company mill remain, but an extension of the large Coeur Rochester Mine looms overhead, having overtaken the older townsite and mill.
