North Star Powerhouse Mining Museum
“One of The ‘Gems of Nevada County”
The North Star Powerhouse Mining Museum, a part of the Nevada County Historical Society, is one of the ‘gems’ of Nevada County and exists not only to preserve and protect our area’s mining heritage but also educates and informs people not only about the mining process, but also about the impact the industry had upon the humanity of the people who built the mines and those who toiled there during their operation.
Closed on Holidays
Summer Hours (May 1 – Oct. 31)
- Thursday – Sunday, 12pm – 4pm,
Winter Hours (Nov 1 – Apr 30)
- By appointment
- Phone: (530) 273-4255
Where: 933 Allison Ranch Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949
Contact: Jeffrey Boylan, Director
Making the North Star Powerhouse Into a Museum
by Gary Smith
How did the North Star Mine powerhouse go from a destroyed industrial building in 1959 to the beautiful restored rock building you see today? The powerhouse was built in 1895 to provide air for the machinery at the Massachusetts Hill and North Star Mines. This cutting edge, water powered, Pelton wheel driven, compressed air power plant ran until 1935.1 On July 5, 1956 the combined Empire and North Star Mine, owned by the Newmont Mining Corp. since 1929, was closed due to a workers’ strike. The mine was already operating at a loss and the strike was a death blow. Soon the dewatering pumps stopped and any underground equipment of value was hauled to the surface for sale. Gold processing on the surface continued, squeezing out every bit of gold from every crevice. Several thousand ounces of gold were retrieved from the stamp mills, concentrating table floor, cyanide plant and especially the piping connecting the stamp mill to the cyanide plant. Finally, on September 25, 1959 anything of value was auctioned off. Read More…
