Milford Stamp Mill

Milford is a mill and a ford, joined. When silver was found in the mountains east of here, freighters hauling ore forded the Beaver River beside a new stamp mill — the mill by the ford, and so the town got its name. That mill, built in 1873 to crush the ore of the Old Hickory Mine, was a heavy thing of boilers and iron pans and stamps that pounded rock to powder. It ran only a few months before the ore ran thin. But the name stuck, and the railroad town that grew up here still carries it.

What the plaque says

The Milford stamp or A.G. Campbell mill was erected in the fall of 1873 at a cost of $45,000. It was designed to work the ores of the Old Hickory Mine. In 1873-74 the mill ran successfully for five months. They used a 60 horse power engine, two horizontal boilers, a Dodge rock-crusher, wooden pans, iron settlers, and a retort. Freighters, bringing ore from the east mountains, had to ford the river, hence, the name Milford. Arvin M. Stoddard was the first settler. Silver Desert Camp Beaver Co.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Beaver — 22 mi
  A charming main street town with surprisingly good food
• Cove Fort — 27 mi
  A beautifully restored 1867 pioneer fort at the crossroads of two interstates

More markers nearby

• Lincoln Mine — 13 mi
• Frisco Mine Town — 14 mi
• Fort Cameron — 22 mi
• Beaver Stake Tabernacle — 22 mi