In 1876 the Ute-Ulay began to undergo industrial-scale mining by the Crooke Brothers, and operated under a variety of owners through 1903, when complex ores were encountered that defied profitable separation. Once new technologies were developed in dealing with these complex ores, a new mill was completed in 1930 and the mine and mill operated on a commercial scale again into the middle 1940s. Thereafter, mining and milling was conducted sporadically in the early 1950s and the mid-1960s. The community of Henson grew up around the mine and mill beginning in 1876 and lasting until 1903. The prosperity of the mine and mill operation was the prime economic force that resulted in the establishment and growth of nearby Lake City.

The mine and mill district has an intact collection of buildings, equipment, and mining and milling elements indicative and representative of the adaptation of mining in Colorado’s mountains through historically state-of-the-art technologies. The district contains archaeological deposits that are likely to yield important information about the historic use of the property industrially and as a place of residence. Listed under Hinsdale County Metal Mining and Mining Industry in Colorado Multiple Property Submissions.