Frisco Ghost Town & Cemetery

There's little left of Frisco so the site would be more aptly named a ghost mine. Silver was discovered in 1875 and by 1877 two smelters had been constructed to process the ore. Frisco grew rapidly to over 6000 people when a rail line was built in1880 to connect it to Murray, Utah where ore was sent for processing. The rail line also brought supplies to Frisco which was so isolated that all necessities even water had to be brought in from outside. Old ties can still be found along the road.

The five charcoal kilns are the most intact feature on the site. There are also ruins of buildings, cellar pits, a cemetery, and old machinery that was too large to cart away. The Horn Silver Mine, located about 1.5 miles from the kilns, was the most profitable of the numerous mines in the area and had sixteen levels and a 1,600 feet main shaft. In 1885, after the night shift had returned to the surface, the foreman noticed tremors and kept the day shift men from going down into the mine. A massive cave in closed the mine for almost a year. Even though it kept producing until the 1940s the mine and town never completely recovered. The town was mostly deserted by the late 1920s. Over its lifetime the mine produced 17 million ounces of silver, 25 thousand ounces of gold, 9 million pounds of copper, 196 thousand tons of lead, and 23 thousand tons of zinc. 

Due to the terrain and condition of the roads the kilns and ruins are not accessible to people with limited mobility but can be seen by driving a short distance on old Ely Highway. The road to the cemetery has a washed out area and can not be accessed by a vehicle without four wheel drive. 

 

We managed to push up the roads and get to the kilns and cemetery so even though it's tough it's doable with a strong helper and by going slow and resting a lot.. There's a fence around the kilns but we found an unlocked gate at the south side that gave us access. Do not go into the kilns as they are dangerous due to falling rocks. 

Most of the graves at the cemetery are young children - very sad.

 

We camped by a pull out near the largest stone ruin. This was a far as we felt we could safely drive. Four wheel drive trucks and ATVs can go farther but there are huge rough spots. The Frisco town site and Horn Silver Mine are privately owned. It's okay to explore the kiln area and the cemetery but the Horn Silver Mine is too dangerous with open mine shafts and poisonous gases. I zoomed in to get the photo of the tipple.

 

The road to our camp spot and the road to the washed out area before the cemetery are accessible by any vehicle.  Frisco  38.45984, -113.25907