Etna
Etna, sometimes called Aetnaville, was a milling settlement that developed on the eastern side of the Humboldt River in 1865. Two mills were constructed to treat ore from Arabia, Dun Glen, Lima, and other mining camps nearby. Etna soon grew to be a town replete with a post office, the Big Meadows Hotel (owned by George Lovelock), store, livery stable, and ferry service across the Humboldt. Unfortunately, competition from other milling camps like Oreana and Torreytown soon led to Etna's decline. The Chrysopolis Mill was dismantled and moved to the former in 1866, and the ten-stamp Etna Mill was temporarily shuttered.
Midian Torrey, namesake of nearby Torreytown, brought a brief breath of life back to Etna when he repaired and reopened the Etna Mill in 1870. Torrey outfitted the mill with an undershot water wheel for power from the Humboldt River as opposed to the earlier, more expensive steam boiler. Dwindling ore coupled with antimony fumes making mill workers sick led to Etna's final abandonment in 1872.
