The discovery of lode bearing ore in the area led to the development of mines in the late 1870s but it wasn’t until innovations made ore reduction processes more efficient that the Bayhorse Mining District began to produce profitably. The biggest years of production were from about 1882 to the 1890s. At the beginning of the big production years in 1882, nine stone kilns were built to produce charcoal to operate the smelter. The kilns are the only knows stone built charcoal kilns in the state. The town of Bayhorse is in the National Register of Historic Places.