From our AC News Blog:

Nitre Lands of California: A Report on the 1903 Building

Jan 10, 2000 | China Ranch Trail, Collaboration, Destinations

Prepared by
Carol A. Corbett
Great Basin Research
5036 N. Cimarron Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89149

For
U.S. Department of Interior
Bureau of Land Management
2800 Cottage Way
Sacramento, CA 95825
Order No. BAP990119
January, 2000

View the full 30-page report as a PDF

Introduction

This report was requested by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, California State Office, Sacramento, California, to:

Determine the record of ownership and uses of a stone building located approximately 1/2 mile below China Ranch in Willow Springs Canyon (also known as China Wash) near its confluence with the Amargosa River;
Provide copies of historical materials obtained during the research process;
Prepare a report of the research findings.

Speculation has existed among local residents and researchers as to the purpose of this building. It was sometimes referred to as the “1903 Building” due to this date being inscribed in the stone lintel of the building. It had also been called the “old saloon” in reference to the numerous broken beer and liquor bottles that were at one time found in the building and in the cellar behind it. Others thought that it had been used as a way station for the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad, a paymaster’s office, or a general store. Throughout this report, it will be referred to as the “1903 Building”.

The history of the building is somewhat tied to the history of neighboring China Ranch, a historic site in its own right, now a privately owned date farm and tourist attraction. China Ranch has also been known as the Evans Ranch, Willow Ranch, and Morrison Ranch. This report will include results of limited research involving this property, particularly as it relates to the history of the area in general, and will include a section about the ranch.

Primary and secondary materials were researched in person at the following locations:

1. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, James Dickinson Library, Special Collections Department: Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Death Valley National Park Museum: Death Valley, California
3. Shoshone Museum: Shoshone, California
4. Central Nevada Museum: Tonopah, Nevada
5. Eastern California Museum: Independence, California
6. Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association: Goffs, California
7. Inyo County Clerk’s Office: Independence, California
8. Inyo County Recorder’s Office: Independence, California
9. Inyo County Assessor’s Office: Independence, California
10. San Bernardino County Surveyor’s Office: San Bernardino, California

Additionally, interviews were conducted with several persons having knowledge of the building and the area — in person, on the telephone, and in writing.

Research was conducted from September through December, 1999 and the report was completed in January, 2000.

The 1903 Building – Early Years

In the 1800’s, the world’s major source of sodium nitrate (also known as nitre or niter), was in the Atacama Desert of Chile, hence the common name “Chile saltpeter”. Sodium nitrate was used as an essential ingredient of fertilizers and was a major source of nitric acid, upon which most early military explosives depended. In modern times, processes have been developed for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, thereby minimizing the need for mining nitrates. However, in the 1890’s it was the need to find domestic sources for nitre that led to extensive exploration in the Amargosa region of San Bernardino and Inyo Counties.

The Amargosa region was part of the Resting Springs Mining District and was the site of considerable traffic at this time. The Old Spanish Trail crossed through this area beginning in the early 1800’s. The trail certainly went down the main channel of the Amargosa River, and most likely down other corridors such as Willow Creek Canyon. This canyon is shown as China Wash on current maps, but historically it has been called Willow Creek Canyon, Willow Springs Canyon, or Clarke’s (Clark’s) Fork. This route would have been easier than the Amargosa River south of Tecopa where many fordings of the stream would have been necessary. Waring (1915) reports that John C. Fremont visited the springs at China Ranch in 1844, when returning eastward from his explorations.

In the 1870’s the Tecopa smelter was located at the head of Willow Creek Canyon. There was extensive silver-lead mining nearby at the Noonday and Gunsight mines. The townsite of Brownsville was located on Willow Creek in 1875. The mining activity almost certainly would have brought traffic down the canyon to its junction with the Amargosa Canyon, leading to points south.

Beginning in the 1890’s several areas of the Amargosa region were extensively explored for nitre and these sites were considered prime prospects for nitre mining. These areas all have the similar characteristic of rounded caliche hills as found in the vicinity of the 1903 Building. The richest deposits of sodium nitrate are traditionally found in caliche mixed with gravel. The sites included Zabriskie, Resting Springs, Tule Springs, Upper Canyon, Lower Canyon, Salt Spring, Saratoga, Round Mountain, Valley, Confidence, and Owl Spring.

According to Spears (1892), in the 1890’s the area was increasingly coming to the attention of miners as prospectors traveled between Calico and Daggett to Resting Springs. The Mining and Scientific Press (1890) described the “Chinese Ranch” on Clark’s Fork as a good location for running a smelter plant.

The 1903 Building lies in what came to be known as the Upper Canyon Nitre Beds, which were located on both sides of the Amargosa River and Willow Creek. The beds were located mainly in Inyo County, but extended south into San Bernardino County. The Upper Canyon fields were closely associated with the Lower Canyon fields, located to the south near Sperry, in San Bernardino County. Appendix C of this report contains a list of some of the property documents pertaining to the 1903 Building. Copies of some of the documents are also included.

Early Mining Locations

According to Noble, Mansfield et al. (1922), J. M. Forney’s 1892 report, The Niter Beds of the United States, described the Upper Canyon and Lower Canyon Nitre Beds, concentrating on the lower fields. The report was the result of a two-month evaluation of the beds. Forney recognized that the nitrate was located in the caliche layer of the strata, rather than in the surface soil above or the bedrock clay below.

Forney was also involved in staking a mining claim to the beds. Forney, Mrs. Mary A. Forney, W.A. & Mrs. J.C. Vandercook, J.M. and Mrs. Elizabeth Merrell, Lowry[?] Silver, and A.W. Unthank recorded a mining location notice for the Upper Canyon beds in Inyo County on June 11, 1892. J. J. and Samuel Evans, probable owners of Evans Ranch [today China Ranch], were shown as witnesses. A small map, drawn in the recorder’s book as part of the location notice, indicates that the land was surveyed by Unthank. This map shows the nitre beds and some physical features. There are no roads or man-made features shown on this small map. Presumably this group also filed location notices on the Lower Canyon beds near Sperry in San Bernardino County.

Unthank also prepared a large, more detailed map, dated 1892 in the legend, called Nitre Beds of California. Map A is a copy of this map. The map shows the Upper and Lower Nitre Bed claims, roads, and various physical features. More importantly, and oddly, it shows the 1903 Building labeled as “assay office” and China Ranch as the Morrison Ranch. If the 1903 Building was actually built in 1903 it could not have been shown on an 1892 map unless it was a different structure (such as a tent) at that time. Also, Morrison did not own China Ranch until 1900. This map was filed with the Inyo County Recorder; however, there is no recording information on the map with the exception of the Book and Page – Book 102, Page 76 2 – the second page of a similar map recorded in Book 102, Page 76.
.
This second similar map, also by Unthank, is dated 1896 in the legend and shows the Upper Nitre Beds. Map B is a copy of this map. The 1903 Building is not depicted on this map and China Ranch is shown as Evans Ranch. A recording endorsement is shown on this map, indicating that it was filed on January 3, 1896. An additional endorsement off to the side of the map indicates it was filed again on January 26, 1905. Both maps are physically stored in the Inyo County Recorder’s Office mounted back to back as one item.

The depiction of features and the dating of these maps present questions as to their accuracy. One scenario that may explain the discrepancies is that the 1892 map was prepared as a comprehensive map for both the Upper and Lower beds when the location work was done in 1892. This map could have served as the basis for the drawing of the much smaller map in the recorder’s book as part of the location notice. At that time, the comprehensive map probably did not depict either the building or the ranch. Later, in 1896, it became necessary to file the map, so details were added – the Evans Ranch and roads.

Then, in 1905, the map may have needed to be filed again, perhaps in prelude to the sale of the claims to Pacific Nitrate Co. The 1892 map may have been updated to show the now existing assay office and Morrison Ranch and then filed with the Inyo County Recorder. Because both maps are blueprints, it is not possible to tell if alterations were made; however, it would have been quite possible to alter the original maps and make new blueprints for filing, neglecting to update the dates originally set out in the legend of the maps.

On December 20, 1894, an Intent to Hold & Work the Upper Canyon beds was recorded by the same locators as in the 1892 location notice, with the exception that J. M. Forney and Lowry[?] Silver were shown with the notation “Estate of” preceding their names, indicating that they had died since the 1892 location.

On February 3, 1896 Sam & Mrs. Ina Evans; Egbert, Jennie, & Bessie Van Alen; Robert C. & Mrs. Robert C. Gillis; and W.T. Gillis recorded a location notice for the Upper Canyon beds. Witnesses were J. J. Evans and M. Barnes.

On May 18, 1896 Sam & Ina Evans (of Long Beach, California) deeded their interest in the Upper Canyon beds to John J. Evans (of Calico, California).

During 1899, Josiah E. Spurr (1903) conducted a geological reconnaissance of Nevada south of the 40th parallel and adjacent portions of California. His only references to the Amargosa region are taken from the notes of R.B. Rowe’s survey of 1900-01. The notes describe the area about a mile below China Ranch as having exposed metamorphic rock, but make no mention of nitre. The report also describes the waterfalls on the Amargosa River.

In 1902 a report by Gilbert Bailey, The Saline Deposits of California, claimed that the nitre beds in the south end of Death Valley could rival the famous deposits of Chile. Bailey noted the potential for nitre development and remarked on the great advantage nitre fields in California, with proper utilization of water supplies, would have over the extremely arid fields of Chile. He also briefly described irrigation and agriculture at Willow Ranch [today China Ranch], located on Willow Creek. His report was later described as lacking in detail about the method of sampling and was criticized for raising high expectations of the value of the nitrate fields.

According to Lingenfelter (1986), the Bailey report triggered a rush of nitre hunters to the region in the fall of 1902. The U.S. Geological Survey called the rush “a little short of insanity”, but several groups of speculators continued to explore and promote the claims.

A 1904 “Relief and Mineral Map of California” published by the California State Mining Bureau and reproduced by Preston (1988), shows nitre deposits in the Amargosa region; however, there is no value shown for 1903 production as there are for other minerals and salines.

On May 25, 1905 a Quitclaim Deed was recorded from H.L. Percy, Edward S. Cobb, J.R. Kline, A.E. & L.A. Elliott, George Hawk, H.S. McKee and R.I. Rogers to Pacific Nitrate Co. of Los Angeles, California for all nitre bed claims in the Upper and Lower Canyon.

In 1906 construction of Frances Marion “Borax” Smith’s Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad (T&T RR) began in the Amargosa Canyon. The railroad was constructed to move borax from Death Valley to Los Angeles, and to extend northward to serve the mining camps of Rhyolite, Bullfrog, Goldfield, and Tonopah. Construction through the Amargosa Canyon was very difficult, especially during the heat of the summer months. Large cuts and long fills were required, as well as three major trestles of up to 500 feet in length. Hiring and retaining laborers was extremely difficult. The stretch of the T&T RR through Amargosa Canyon was finally completed in the cooler months.

Around 1906, the old lead mining camp of Tecopa at the head of Willow Creek had resumed mining activities in anticipation of the construction of the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad through Amargosa Canyon. A road leading from the camp down Willow Creek, which would have passed directly in front of the 1903 Building, was used to transport minerals to the T&T RR at Acme siding. Mendenhall (1909) also comments on traffic from Daggett to Resting Springs via the Willow Creek road.

On December 14, 1907 Walter R. Fales filed an Affidavit of Assessment Work for the Upper Canyon nitre beds. Fales was president of Pacific Nitrate Company.