The company, which mined the region's silver, used charcoal to fuel its smelting furnace.

To acquire its fuel, it imported wood from nearby hills, which it then converted to charcoal in the kilns.

[2] The kilns were built during a mining boom in the area around Tybo.

Though the community had only been settled in 1870, by the end of the decade it had a post office, school, newspaper, and almost 1000 residents.

[2] The kilns were added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1974.