Mixsell Dam and the Jackson Concentrating Works in Idaho Springs

Abstract

Photograph showing the Mixsell Dam and adjacent buildings including the Jackson Concentrating Works and the State Ore Sampling Company, which were located along the confluence of Clear Creek and Chicago Creek in Idaho Springs. Most of the mills located up and down Clear Creek and tributaries were stamp mills. The Jackson Concentrating Works was built in 1896 by John G. Roberts and named for George Jackson, who made the first discovery of gold in Idaho Springs near the location of this mill. Roberts, a Welshman, arrived in Idaho Springs in 1873 and built a number of concentrators in the area. Philip Mixsell started his own telegraph company, bringing the first telegraph lines to many of the area's mountain mining towns. Mixsell also became active in the mining industry, and his concerns included the Mixsell tunnel, the Mixsell dam, and the ten-stamp Mixsell mill, which may have been one of the five mills located in the area of the photograph.