Abandoned 
Overview
Six years of silver
McMillenville sat in the juniper hills about 15 miles north of Globe, beside what is now US 60. In March 1876 two prospectors, Theodore Harris and Charles McMillen, found a silver ledge here on their way to the White Mountains. They named the mine the Stonewall Jackson, and the camp that grew up beside it took McMillen's name.
For a few years it outshone Globe. By 1880 about 1,000 people lived here, with boarding houses, dance halls, gambling halls and saloons, and a 20-stamp mill crushed the ore. Supplies came over a hard wagon road from Globe, and silver went back the other way. Reports of the mine's output run from $500,000 to $2 million.
It didn't last. In the early 1880s the miners lost the vein at the 600-foot level, and water flooded the workings faster than the pumps could clear it. Apaches attacked the camp in July 1882. The settlers held out, but the post office closed that October, and by about 1886 the camp was empty. A later company tried again during World War I and gave up. Today scattered ruins sit in the brush beside the highway, and the old roadside marker has lost its plaque.
Timeline
What we know
- Theodore H. Harris and Charles McMillen, prospecting toward the White Mountains, find a silver ledge northeast of Globe. The old highway marker gave 1874.
- The claim becomes the Stonewall Jackson mine, named for the Confederate general. McMillen takes out about $60,000 in rich ore, then sells the mine to a Santa Rosa, California, company for $160,000.
- A post office opens, named for McMillen. One history dates it to December 12, ten days ahead of Globe's.
- The camp's peak, with about 1,000 people. A 20-stamp mill replaces the first five stamps, and a new hoist goes in. Two men kill each other in a street fight over a claim.
- Miners lose the silver vein at the 600-foot level, and the pumps can't keep the water out.
- Apaches attack the camp. Women and children shelter in the mine tunnel while men hold a two-story adobe until troops arrive from Fort Apache. One settler is wounded.
- The post office closes. The mine is abandoned the same year.
- The camp is empty.
- A new company diamond-drills the property, but the broken ground defeats it. No significant production follows.
- The USGS Chrysotile sheet still labels McMillanville.
- The USGS Chrome Butte sheet marks "McMillanville (Site)" beside US 60.
- ADOT reports that the roadside marker's plaque is gone and nobody knows when it disappeared.
- A visitor photographs the marker base on US 60, still empty.
Legend and record
A hangover, a pick and an attack
The discovery. The best-known story says the silver was found by accident. Harris and McMillen, the story goes, had been drinking and stopped on the trail to sleep it off, and one of them struck the ledge with a pick. Tellings disagree on which man was resting and which swung the pick. Treat the details as legend. The find itself, and the partners' names, are on record.
The date. Most sources give 1876, and Wikipedia gives March 26. The state's roadside marker said 1874. The post office opening is given as November 12, 1877, in some sources and December 12 in another.
On July 7, 1882, women and children took cover in the Stonewall Jackson tunnel while the men fortified Pat Shanley's two-story adobe and held off the raiders until cavalry came from Fort Apache.
The attackers. Wikipedia describes them as Geronimo's warriors who had left the San Carlos reservation after the Battle of Cibecue Creek. The Arizona Daily Star's history says only that the town was attacked by Apaches. We haven't confirmed which band it was.
Site map
Where the camp stood
The site lies just west of US 60, the Globe–Show Low Highway. One history puts the town half a mile east of the mine. The 1922 Chrysotile sheet in the historic maps below labels McMillanville on a wagon road, with Sanders to the north, Seven Mile Creek to the east and the Apache Peaks to the southwest. The 1966 Chrome Butte sheet marks "McMillanville (Site)" with two small buildings just west of the highway, the Old Owen McMillan Mine a little to the southwest, and a borrow pit across the road. Today's USGS topo still labels McMillianville, inside the outline of a private parcel.
Wikipedia says almost nothing is left of the mines and mill, and that scattered adobe ruins mark the town. An undated listing places foundations on both sides of the highway, about half a mile north of the old marker, in very thick brush. The mine had a 300-foot shaft and a 600-foot shaft. We don't know whether either is open.
The highway marker stood at milepost 265.1. Its plaque is gone, and a January 2026 photo shows the base empty.
- Scattered adobe ruins
- Foundations in thick brush
- Mine dumps (Stonewall Jackson)
- Empty marker base, US 60 milepost 265.1
Historic maps
McMillenville on USGS maps, 1922–2004
Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.
Map & directions
Getting there
Globe is the nearest city, about 15 miles south. Both routes are paved to the site, ending on US 60, the Globe–Show Low Highway. The computed route then turns onto an unnamed track for the last 0.3 mile, onto what appears to be private land, so stop at the highway. The empty marker base is at milepost 265.1, on the southbound side.
Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.
- From downtown Globe, take Broad, Sycamore and Hill streets to Ash Street, which is US 60, and turn left.0.5 mi
- Follow Ash Street (US 60) east.1.1 mi
- Turn left onto the Globe–Show Low Highway (US 60 and AZ 77) and follow it north.13.6 mi
- The route turns left onto an unnamed track to the townsite. It appears to cross private land, so stop at the highway.0.3 mi
- From downtown Phoenix, take 7th Street south to the Maricopa Freeway (I-17) and head east.2.1 mi
- Stay on the freeway, signed for US 60.6.5 mi
- Take exit 154 onto US 60 east.27.9 mi
- Continue on US 60, the Phoenix–Globe Highway, past Superior and through Miami into Globe.50.4 mi
- In Globe, take Broad, Oak and Hill streets to Ash Street (US 60).0.9 mi
- Follow Ash Street east, then turn left onto the Globe–Show Low Highway (US 60 and AZ 77) and follow it north.14.7 mi
- The route turns left onto an unnamed track to the townsite. Stop at the highway.0.3 mi
Road and safety notes
- US 60 is a paved highway. Pull well off the road if you stop.
- Federal land-status maps show the townsite as private land surrounded by Tonto National Forest. We haven't confirmed the owner or whether visitors are allowed.
- An undated listing rates the ground beyond the highway 4WD and describes very thick brush at the site.
- Old mine shafts may be open and hidden by brush. Stay out of mine workings.
Photos
Have photos of McMillenville?
We haven’t added more photographs of McMillenville yet. If you’ve visited, share your photos and a field report below.
The Historical Marker Database has photographs of the empty marker base.
Visitor reports
Been to McMillenville?
Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.
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Nearby
Other sites near McMillenville
Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Arizona index.
- Copper Hill10.0 mi SW · Gila
- Chrysotile14.2 mi NE · Gila
- Inspiration15.4 mi SW · Gila
- Seneca16.8 mi NE · Gila
- Bellevue21.8 mi SW · Gila
- Rice28.1 mi SE · Gila
- Silver King28.3 mi SW · Pinal
- Silver King Mine28.3 mi SW · Pinal
Sources
Sources and credits
- ghosttowns.com, "McMillenville": fact sheet fields (roads, legal description, climate, best time, remains and their location, post office dates).
- Wikipedia, "McMillenville, Arizona", retrieved October 2026: the discovery date and partners, population, mills, the 1880 duel, the July 7, 1882 attack, abandonment by about 1886, remains. Its map point matches the old marker, not the townsite.
- William Ascarza, "Mine Tales: Globe-area silver found during boozy stop", Arizona Daily Star: the mine's shafts and mill, output estimates, the sale, the December 1877 post office date, the town's layout and supply road, the lost vein and flooding, the attack, the World War I revival.
- Historical Marker Database, "McMillenville", revised January 6, 2026: the marker's location at milepost 265.1, its missing plaque and recorded text, a January 3, 2026 photo of the empty base.
- ADOT, "Missing: McMillanville Historical Marker" (October 5, 2024): the plaque is gone, and when it went up and came down are unknown.
- Coordinates: USGS Geographic Names Information System, "McMillianville" (feature 31681). Mine location: USGS Mineral Resources Data System, "Stonewall Jackson Mine". Land status: BLM national Surface Management Agency data, queried October 2026.
- Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Not field-checked.
Photo and map credits
- The 1966 USGS Chrome Butte sheet, with McMillanville (Site) beside US 60: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
- Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
- Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Chrysotile 1922, 1:125,000; Mesa 1954, 1:250,000; Chrome Butte 1966, 1:24,000; Seneca 1992, 1:100,000; Chrome Butte 2004, 1:24,000.