Final costs for the mill were estimated at $85,000. More claims were purchased to cover the distance from the mill to the tramway, which increased the area to 450 acres or 26 claims. A boarding house was built to house the workers and by October 27, 1907 the mill, with completed tram, began to operate. Twenty-one thousand board feet of lumber were required for the upper tramway terminal, 28,000 for the lower, and 25,000 were used for the intermediate towers. There were 13 towers in the tram and the longest span between them was 1,200 feet. The vertical fall from top to bottom was 1,500 feet. The mill produced well but not at full capacity because of an inadequate supply of water. In the summer temperatures reached 124 degrees by noon, and even eating was difficult as silverware was too hot to handle. The water was near boiling due to the temperature, which also made mill operations problematic.
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