Four volunteers, after several months of training, recently received their official millmen certificates to run the historic Golden Reef Mine Stamp Mill at Cave Creek Museum. This brings the total number of millmen to 18 – the heaviest concentration of stamp mill-trained millmen at any facility in the United States.
The new millmen (pictured holding their certificates) are Paul Haueisen, Pete Peterson and Rory Alexander. Standing on top of the Stamp Mill are Hank Smith, Bob Flach, Steve Himmelberger, Tom Kelley, Wes Cooper and Charlie Connell. Missing from the photo are new millman Carl Haueisen, Paul Diefenderfer, Ric Parrish, Tom Rime, Al Zeman, Jim Reece, Reg Monachino, Rick Herrem and Evelyn Johnson.
Large and heavy stamp mills were used in the late 1800s and through the 1920s to crush hard rock ore so the gold could be separated and saved. The miner’s whole purpose was to make “little rocks out of big rocks” to remove the precious gold from the ore. At one time, many such mills were reported to exist in the Cave Creek Mining District.
In 2009, Cave Creek Museum volunteers began the process of transporting Cave Creek’s original 10 stamp mill and its associated parts from the Golden Reef Mine Millsite on Continental Mountain to the museum. Volunteers had to clean, repair, and lug more than 80,000 pounds of mining artifacts onto the museum property as they worked to restore and rebuild the historic stamp mill that dates back over 100 years.
Affectionately known as the “Dream Team,” this dedicated group of volunteers has logged in more than 7,740 initial hours with a monetary value of $154,800 to restore the historic stamp mill back to operation. An equal amount of hours has been spent to continuously upgrade it to its present status. The total number is more than 15,000 volunteer hours.
Volunteers go through a rigorous training that includes studying 1890s mining manuals and other written materials as well as several months of supervised “hands-on” operational training.
It’s pretty intimidating when you have a stamp that weighs 1,000 pounds, suspended over a 1,500-pound camshaft rotating at about 40 RPM, to insert the key between the two components and drop the stamp using a wooden key,” said Charlie Connell, a millwright who was instrumental in helping the museum restore the stamp mill and train volunteers. An expert in stamp mills, Connell has worked on bringing back to operation several of them in the U.S. and has traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Canada, Alaska and other remote locations to study them.
Volunteers learn how to drop the stamps, run the primary crusher, the shaker table, the feeders and other components essential for operation.
While the millmen are all volunteers, the museum needs funding for additional projects relating to the stamp mill and for general maintenance.
We’re always upgrading the stamp mill, and right now we need funding to help us build a tramway that will be a replica of the one on Continental Mountain,” millwright Charlie Connell said. “The tramway moved the material in buckets from the mine to the millsite. Ours will have two towers 50 feet apart and the cables will be tensioned for 6125 pounds.”
The Golden Reef Mine Stamp Mill was declared to be an Arizona State Historic Property by Arizona State Parks in 1986. Museum guests can view it along with several outside exhibits, including ranch implements and large tools, a gazebo, the first church of Cave Creek, and the last known original Tubercular Cabin in Arizona, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Year-end donations are welcome and can be made online at http://cavecreekmuseum.org/donate-2 or by mailing a check to Cave Creek Museum, P.O. Box 1, Cave Creek, AZ 85327. The Museum also welcomes new members. Individual membership is $50 per year and the cost for a couple is only $75.
The stamp mill is run at least once a month during the museum’s hours of operation, Wednesday through Sunday in October through May. The next free stamp mill demonstration takes place on Saturday, January 14 at 1:30 p.m. Cave Creek Museum is located at 6140 Skyline Drive. (480) 488-2764 or visit If you have a group that would like to see the mill run privately, please call to make special arrangements. The fee for a private group is $150.
