In the early 1890's, Utah fell into a grave depression for funds after a decade-long attack by the Federal Government. After the confiscation and misuse of church property, the elders were in need of some profitable enterprises to recoup the lose of funds from the church. One of the financial undertakings was to purchase some mining claims in the Nye County Nevada region to the west. The facts that the Mormons did not have the experience to process gold ores and the lawless location of the claim caused some miss led aspirations among Mormons.

The first steps of this movement to increase funds were to provide work for unemployed Mormons and to tap some of the region resources. They were assuming they could sell stocks in the mining ventures for help in the processing. The first contacts made were G. A. Purbeck and company of Rhode Island who along with the Mormons organized the Utah Company to promote their enterprises. This partnership included the railroad from Utah south to California, a salt company, a Great Salt Lake resort, a coal mine and a hydroelectric power plant. These were the foundations leading to a Mormon financial empire in later days.

The Stirling Mine discovery was made in 1869, that being silver, and by the early 1890's a small mill was processing gold ore. The water needed for the mill was piped in from Big Timber springs some two miles south of Stirling. However, due to the shallow nature of ore the mining activity fell off and was soon abandoned. Some of the other mines in the area discovered around 1890 were the Chispa (later called the Congress) and the Johnnie mine. These two mines by the spring of 1891 had spurred a small but rough camp of about a hundred souls. However, neither was actively being worked by 1893. It was at this time that the Mormon surveyors became interested in the claims.