Panaca Charcoal Kilns

The two stone charcoal kilns located high in the Cedar Range of southeastern Nevada are impressive structures. They cost money to build and required skill and experience to operate. They were major industrial producers—filling the demands of Bullionville and Pioche smelters for high quality charcoal. A third kiln originally existed also.

History:
The beehive-shaped kilns, built in the mid-1870’s, produced charcoal for the nearby silver mills of Pioche and Bullionville, Nevada. Masons quarried Rhyolitic tuff from nearby outcrops, dressed the blocks carefully and then joined them with mud and lime mortar. The kilns were used until the late 1890’s, when the mills at Bullionville closed.

Silver ore processing required large quantities of fuel. Charcoal burned nearly twice as hot as cordwood and cost much less to transport. Smelters preferred it as fuel. “Billets” or five foot lengths of wood were cut from the trunks and branches of near by pinon pine, juniper or mountain mahoghany forrests. Once transported to the kiln side they were stacked in two vertical tiers within the ovens. Grass and other kindling were stuffed into the central “chimney” in the wood stack and set on fire with live coals.

While the openings around the base of the kiln regulated the air flow which created a steady fire; the vent at the top of the kiln was plugged to slow and control the burning rate. The carbonari, kiln operator, would oversee the combustion of the stack. It could take up to 30 days to complete a burn. The charcoal was then allowed to cool for a week. Once cooled, the kiln would be carefully opened on a calm day. Any spontaneous fires during the opening could quickly destroy the contents of the kiln. A kiln could hold over 50 cords and it was possible to produce an average of 30 bushels of charcoal per cord.