Cave Creek Museum completes Golden Reef Stamp Mill exhibit

Cave Creek Museum is pleased to introduce its Golden Reef Stamp Mill exhibit.

Guests will enjoy the newly completed diorama of Cave Creek Museum’s Golden Reef Stamp Mill in the history section of the museum. The model shows what the stamp mill looked like when it was on one side of Continental Mountain (see the real stamp mill after relocation and now fully operational at the museum each month during season). The clever, amazingly detailed and accurate model is the works of long-time museum volunteer Jay F. Williams. Williams is better known as Grandpa Jay by the hundreds of students he has guided through the museum over the years. Members and visitors can see the stamp mill come alive on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Registrations required; call 480.488.2764.

The amazing Golden Reef Stamp Mill and Tramway is Arizona’s only fully operational ten-stamp ore crushing mill. The real 10, 1,000-lb. stamps slam down in synchronized motion to pound ore removed from the mine into fine gravel. The stamp mill was brought from its former location at the Golden Reef Mine on Continental Mountain to Cave Creek Museum, which has the only fully operational mining stamp mill in its original mining district in Arizona; it is located and located just five miles from its site on the mountain. The Golden Reef stamp mill runs the second Saturday of every month through May. The giant stamp mill also is connected to a working tramway and ore carts that carry the ore to be pulverized by the stamp mill. In addition, the Arizona Gold Mining Experience features blacksmithing, gold panning and more.

The 52-year-old museum’s mission is to preserve the artifacts of the prehistory, history, culture and legacy of the Cave Creek Mining District and the Cave Creek/Carefree foothills area through education, research and interpretive exhibits.

The Cave Creek Museum is located at 6140 E. Skyline Drive in Cave Creek, Ariz. Open October through May. The museum can be reached at 480.488.2764 or cavecreekmuseum.org. Where History Comes Alive.