About Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns
Historic Architecture, Architecture, Interesting Places, Destroyed Objects
3D Model of Coal Kilns created by Chris Baker
The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns are a group of beehive-shaped clay charcoal kilns near Leadore, Idaho, built in 1886. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The kilns were built in 1886 to produce charcoal to fuel the smelter at Nicholia, which smelted lead and silver ore from the Viola Mine located about 10 miles east of the kilns. The Viola ore deposit was discovered in 1881 and was mined until 1888, when the ore was depleted and the price of lead had fallen. The Nicholia smelter, located about 3 miles west of the mines, had two blast furnaces, each with a daily capacity of 40 short tons (36 t) of ore.