Empire and Carson River mills is an historic area in Carson City, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. The mills were established along the Carson River

Carson River

The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long....

 near Empire, now part of Carson City, not to be confused with Empire

Gerlach-Empire, Nevada

Gerlach-Empire is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The combined population was 499 at the 2000 census. A former company town for United States Gypsum Corporation, Empire was once home to more than 750 people. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan...

 in Washoe County. "The Mexican" was the first of these and was established in 1860 to process the ore

Ore

An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....

 from the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...

. One estimate had the total number of mills operating as 186, with names like "Brunswick", "Merrimac", "Santiago", "Vivian" and "Yellow Jacket".

The area is listed as Nevada Historical Marker 1.