From Ely take Highway 93 North 13 miles to McGill
A post office established on April 28, 1891 was known as Monitor during the first months of operation. September 7, 1907, the post office was renamed Smelter. August 14, 1908 the name was again changed to McGill. The post office is still in operation at McGill. Power struggles evolved over the need for a smelter to process the ore from the mines in the Robinson district. Initial plans were to erect a smelter on the outskirts of Ely City (East Ely) at the Georgetown Ranch. Meanwhile, another company moved to obtain water rights and a site for a mill and smelter by optioning the McGill ranch in Steptoe Valley. They preempted various waters in Duck Creek Valley that had not previously been filed upon. This gave them control of the major part of the water of Duck Creek, perhaps the best single source of water in the district. The Georgetown Ranch and its rights to the water from Murry Creek were much closer to the mines in the Robinson district. Arguments developed back and forth until ultimately the McGill site was selected in 1907 over Ely City because Duck Creek was considered a better water supply. There were also eight square miles of land at McGill which was adequate for the building of a tailings pond.
The year 1908 was a banner one for the copper district. The reduction plant was completed and the first ore converted into blister copper. Suburban train service from Ely City to McGill and from Ely City to the mines was completed. By the middle of 1908 there were thirty-six scheduled suburban trains running between the communities.
The idea of a central city to house the employees began to form. The decision by the Nevada Northern Railroad to center its shops and head quarters at Ely City (renamed East Ely in September 1908) encouraged promoters to buy and sell lots. The intent was to have town lots for sale as soon as possible after the railroad entered the district. Unfortunately for Ely City, it was not destined to become the center of the district or the home of the smelter and the mine employees.
Overview of McGill, Nevada showing Kennecott Copper Company Smelter and Mill. A.L. Frederick collection
When the work on the smelter was started in 1906, a group of half-tent houses sprang up near the road that led from the McGill Ranch to Ely. The company soon erected office buildings, warehouses and boarding houses. Two general merchandise stores, a hotel and a saloon added to the town in 1907. In that same year, the Steptoe Valley Smelting and Milling Company completed fifty concrete houses skilled employees and their families. A number of very substantial homes were erected for company officials in what quickly came to be known as “The Circle.” During the construction phase of the reduction plant, the company felt there was little need for permanent housing. Before long the company realized that housing that is more substantial would be needed as they began to hire permanent employees. In 1908 the desire for more stable conditions of employment forced the company to make the decision in favor of company built and owned houses. Rrecreation programs were introduced and schools and other facilities provided. These houses were then rented at a very nominal rate to the workers. A newspaper, the Copper Ore, was founded February 11, 1909 by Austin Jackson. The weekly four-page paper was published every Thursday. The paper changed hands several times until D. M. McDonald purchased it February 5, 1914. McDonald went broke and was forced to close the paper down June 11, 1914.
The McGill concentrating plant and smelter were completed and the first ore was milled in May 1908. Although the Ruth ore body made the Robinson District famous, its ores were not the first to be milled. From 1908 until 1915, the McGill plant operated on ores from the Eureka, Liberty, and Hecla pits and the Veteran underground mine. Production from the Ruth ore body began in 1914.
An orderly development was insured with the decision of the company officials to build the houses and to control the type of business establishments allowed in the community. This was very different from the haphazard squatter locations, dugouts, tent shanties and overcrowded and unsanitary conditions that were so much a part of the normal boomtown. McGill was laid out in orderly rows of substantial and uniformly constructed homes. These were built to replace the original, equally orderly but temporary, rows of tents.
The Complete Official Road Guide to the Lincoln Highway, published in 1916, shows McGill with a population of 2,500 persons. There were no hotels in the town, but were several lodging and boarding houses. Information in the booklet stated the town was comprised of one bank, one railroad, twenty-five general business places, one express company, one telegraph company, telephone, one public school, electric lights, and water works. It stated that the smelting plant normally handled from 12,000 to 15,000 tons of copper ore per day. The 1924 Guide listed the same information. Mileage from McGill to East Ely was eleven miles.
By 1920, McGill had surpassed Ely as White Pine County’s largest town. In 1920, the census showed there were 2,850 permanent residents in McGill. Company officials found it to their advantage to incorporate the ethnic divisions into the overall plan of company control. According to Russell Elliott, Growing up in a Company town, six different “towns” made up the community of McGill: Jap Town, Austrian Town, Greek Town, Lower Town, Upper Town, and Middle Town. This depiction not only referred to racial and social distinctions, but to economic divisions as well. The company tried to match the housing with the position held in the company. Lower paying positions lived in Lower Town and Upper Town; white collar workers and craftsmen in Middle Town; the best housing was reserved for general manager and other supervisory personnel in an area commonly referred to as the Circle. As a person moved up to a better job he also moved to a better house, that is, with in the areas designated for the “whites.” The “foreign” communities were Jap, Austrian, and Greek Towns. Although economic movement occurred frequently at McGill, even for “foreigners,” racial and social barriers remained rather strong throughout the twenties and thirties.
The huge concentrator covering about nine acres completely burned July 9, 1922. The estimated loss was nearly $2 million. It was soon rebuilt. By 1930, McGill had about 3,000 people. Over half of the residents were employed at the mill and smelter. During the Depression, these facilities ran in regular cycles of two weeks of operations and then shut down for four weeks. Nevada Northern Railway continued regular shipment of immense tonnage’s of ore from Ruth and Kimberly to the smelter.
End of an era. Photo courtesy Margaret Knous taken when the final smokestack went down September 4, 1993.
World War II brought production to a high level. This level was maintained through the 1950’s. In the 1970's Kennecott Copper Company began slowing down operations. Environmental concerns combined with low metal prices would soon sound the death knoll for smelter operations in McGill. June 29, 1978 headlines in the Ely Daily Times read "KCC SHUTDOWN CONTINUED INDEFINITELY." The plant has been dismantled. The last smokestack was taken down September 4, 1993. Today, McGill is a pleasant town today with many retired workers still living there. There are several small businesses in McGill to accommodate both travelers and residents. Shawn Hall, Romancing Nevada's Past estimates the population at about 250 persons.
