| Deposit ID | 10067280 |
|---|---|
| MRDS ID | VA01771 |
| Record type | Site |
| Current site name | Francis Mill Mine |
| Alternate or previous names | Noble Mine |
| Geographic coordinates: | -81.0937, 36.79702 (WGS84) |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 732 |
| Relative position | EAST SIDE OF FRANCIS MILL CREEK, DUE WEST OF SHILOH. |
Political divisions (FIPS codes)
Wythe(county)
Virginia(state)
United States(country)
North America(continent)
Land(continent)
USGS map quadrangles
Cripple Creek(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)
Wytheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)
Winston-Salem(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)
Hydrologic units (watersheds)
Upper New(hydrologic unit)
Kanawha(hydrologic accounting unit)
Kanawha(hydrologic subregion)
Ohio(hydrologic region)
Federal lands
George Washington National Forest(National Forest)
National Forest FS(Type of land area)
FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)
Jefferson National Forest(National Forest)
National Forest FS(Type of land area)
FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)
George Washington and Jefferson National Forest(National Forest)
National Forest FS(Type of land area)
FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)
| Country | State | County |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Virginia | Wythe |
| Commodity | Importance |
|---|---|
| Iron | Primary |
| Zinc Critical | Secondary |
| Materials | Type of material |
|---|---|
| Iron | Ore |
| Host or associated | Host | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock type | Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite | ||||
| Rock unit name | Shady | ||||
| Rock description | Shady | ||||
| |||||
| (1) | -81.0937, 36.79702 |
|---|
| General form | IRREGULAR |
|---|
| Development status | Past Producer |
|---|---|
| Commodity type | Metallic |
| Deposit size | Small |
| Significant | No |
| Discovery year | 1775 |
| Discoverer | Henry Francis (?) |
| Year of first production | 1800 |
| Year of last production | 1935 |
| District name | Pulaski-Smythe Limonite District |
|---|
| Ownership category | National Forest |
|---|
| Type | Operator |
|---|---|
| Owner | Virginia Iron, Coal And Coke Co. |
| Type | Owner |
|---|---|
| Owner | U.S. Department Of Interior |
| Agency | Database name | Acronym | Record ID | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS | Mineral Resources Data System | MRDS | VA01771 |
WHITMAN, J.A., 1942, IRON IN WYTHE COUNTY FROM 1792: SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ENTERPRISES, WYTHEVILLE, VIRGINIA, PP 80-88.
PERSONAL COMMUNICATION (JULY 1987): S.P. MILLS (CRIPPLE CREEK)
KEGLEY, MARY B., 1986, GLIMPSES OF WYTHE COUNTY: CENTRAL VIRGINIA NEWSPAPERS, INC., 218 P.
| Subject category | Comment text |
|---|---|
| Deposit | AND COMPANY AND IS ASSUMED THE ORE CONTINUED TO COME FROM THE FRANCIS MILL MINE. ALSO BEFORE 1881 OTHER FURNACES IN THE CRIPPLE CREEK AREA WERE CONSTRUCTED (BEVERLY, EAGLE, AND RAVEN CLIFF), AND ALL FIVE FURNACES (BEVERLY, RAVENCLIFF, EAGLE, LITTLE WYTHE, AND NOBLE) WERE IN BLAST IN 1881. THE FRANCIS MILL MINE PROBABLY WAS PRODUCING ALONG WITH THE FRY, PULASKI IRON (OR DEVELOPMENT) COMPANY AND COVE BRANCH MINES IN 1881. SOMETIME IN THE 1800'S CROCKETT AND COMPANY WERE OPERATING ALL THE MINES AND FURNACES IN THE AREA AND DIFFERENT PROPERTIES WERE PURCHASED BY WYTHE-SPEEDWELL MINING AND MFG. COMPANY (1886), PULASKI DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (1890), CARTER COAL AND IRON COMPANY (1898) AND FINALLY ALL PROPERTIES WERE PURCHASED BY THE VIRGINIA IRON, COAL AND COKE COMPANTY IN 1899. BEFORE 1906, THE NORFORK AND WESTERN RAILWAY SERVICED THE CRIPPLE CREEK AREA AND "DINKY" RAILROADS SERVICED THE MAIN LINE FROM THE MINES. PUMPS WERE PLACED AT CRIPPLE CREEK AND THE ORE WAS WASHED BY WATER FROM |
| Deposit | THEM. ONE WASHER WAS LOCATED NEAR THE OLD FRANCIS MILL SITE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV; 5 PERS COMM |
| Deposit | MR. S.P. MILLS (CRIPPLE CREEK) SAYS ZINC WAS CONCENTRATED AND SHIPPED BY RAIL FROM THIS MINE. ONE CAR OF ZINC WAS WORTH SEVERAL OF IRON, BUT SHIPMENTS WERE DESCRIBED AS OCCASIONAL, INDICATING MINOR AMOUNTS OF ZINC. THIS AREA WAS PROBABLY THE SITE OF THE FIRST MINING OF IRON ORE IN THE CRIPPLE CREEK (TOWN) AREA. IN 1773, A PERMIT WAS GRANTED TO HENRY FRANCIS TO BUILD A MILL ON WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS FRANCIS MILL CREEK; THE MILL WAS A CORN GRINDING MILL. BUT BY 1800 THE NOBLE OR IRONDALE FURNACE WAS CONSTRUCTED BELOW FRANCIS' MILL BY NOBLE, ALLEN AND COMPANY AND PROBABLY OBTAINED THE ORE FROM THIS MINE SITE. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN DEMAND FOR IRON BECAUSE IN 1818 SAMUAL EWING PORTER BUILT A FURNACE AT THE SITE OF FRANCIS MILL, WHICH WAS BY THIS TIME BEGINNING TO RUIN. THIS FURNACE WAS CALLED THE LITTLE WYTHE OR PORTER FURNACE. SOMETIME BETWEEN 1818 AND 1881 (PROBABLY THE 1860'S) THE LITTLE WYTHE FURNACE WAS TORN DOWN AND A NEW FURNACE CONSTRUCTE3D AT THE SAME SITE BY SAYERS, OLGESBY |
| Deposit | Discovery Year: LATE 1700'S |
| Type | Date | Name | Affiliation | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reporter | 01-AUG-1987 | Wilkes, Gerald P. (Sweet, Palmer C.) | Virginia Division of Mineral Resources |
Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.