Tag: Esmeralda County

Esmeralda County, located in Nevada, is a sparsely populated region known for its rugged desert landscapes and historical mining sites. It is situated in the southwestern part of the state, characterized by vast expanses of arid terrain dotted with sparse vegetation and mountain ranges. The county’s history is deeply intertwined with mining, particularly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it experienced a boom due to discoveries of gold, silver, and other minerals. Today, Esmeralda County remains one of the least populated counties in Nevada, maintaining a sense of isolation and tranquility amidst its stark natural beauty. It attracts visitors interested in exploring its mining heritage, stargazing under clear desert skies, and enjoying the solitude of its remote landscapes.

Goldfield Nevada

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Goldfield is Nevada State Historical Marker number fourteen and is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Goldfield was a boomtown  between 1903 and 1940. Goldfield’s mines produced more than $86 million at then-current prices. Much of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1923, although several buildings survived and remain today, notably the Goldfield Hotel, the Consolidated Mines Building, the schoolhouse.

Photograph of half-tone print of a busy main street in Goldfield, Nevada, ca.1905. The dirt street is crowded with horse-drawn wagons, and pedestrians. Stores and other commercial ventures front most of the small buildings lining the street. A hill is in the background at the end of the street. - Photo Credit “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.
Photograph of half-tone print of a busy main street in Goldfield, Nevada, ca.1905. The dirt street is crowded with horse-drawn wagons, and pedestrians. Stores and other commercial ventures front most of the small buildings lining the street. A hill is in the background at the end of the street. – Photo Credit “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Goldfield was established in 1902 when gold was discovered in the surrounding hills. This discovery ignited a rush of prospectors, investors, and opportunists eager to capitalize on the newfound wealth. Unlike other mining towns in Nevada, which primarily focused on silver, Goldfield was notable for its rich gold deposits.

The town’s boom truly began in 1904 when the Consolidated Goldfield Company was formed, consolidating smaller claims and turning mining operations into a large-scale enterprise. By 1906, Goldfield’s population had swelled to over 20,000, making it Nevada’s largest city at the time.

During its heyday, Goldfield was a hub of wealth and activity. The mines produced an estimated $86 million in gold, a staggering amount for the era. The town boasted modern amenities, including electricity, telephones, and luxurious buildings such as the Goldfield Hotel, completed in 1908, which remains an iconic structure to this day.

The town also became a cultural center, hosting boxing matches, theatrical performances, and other events that attracted notable figures, including heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.

Goldfield’s prosperity was not without challenges. In 1907, the Panic of 1907 and declining ore quality began to affect mining profits. Labor disputes further disrupted operations, with a notable miners’ strike in 1907 escalating tensions between workers and mine owners.

A devastating fire in 1923 destroyed much of the town, including many of its iconic buildings. By this time, mining activity had significantly declined, and the town’s population dwindled as residents sought opportunities elsewhere.

Nevada State Historic Marker Text

Nevada State Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada’s history. The Nevada State Legislature started the program in 1967 to bring the state’s heritage to the public’s attention with on-site markers. Budget cuts to the program caused the program to become dormant in 2009. Many of the markers are lost of damaged.

For a 20-year period prior to 1900 the mining in Nevada fell into a slump that cast the entire state into a bleak depression and caused the loss of one-third of the population.

The picture brightened overnight following the spectacular strikes in Tonopah and, shortly afterwards, in Goldfield. Gold ore was discovered here in December, 1902, by two Nevada-born prospectors, Harry Stimler and Billy Marsh. From 1904 to 1918 Goldfield boomed furiously. The city had a railroad that connected into Las Vegas and a peak population of 20,000. Between 1903- 40 a total of $86,765,044 in metals was produced here.

Neada State Historic Marker #14

Summary

ID14
NameGoldfield Nevada State Historic Marker
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.7076, -117.2335
The Southern Nevada Consolidated Telephone- Telegraph Company Building is located in Goldfield, Nevada and Nevada State Historic Marker #242. Photo by James L Rathbun
The Southern Nevada Consolidated Telephone-
Telegraph Company Building is located in Goldfield, Nevada and Nevada State Historic Marker #242. Photo by James L Rathbun
The Goldfield Hotel located in Goldfield Nevada. Photo by James L Rathbun
The Goldfield Hotel located in Goldfield Nevada. Photo by James L Rathbun
The historic Goldfield Firehouse. Photo by James L Rathbun
The historic Goldfield Firehouse. Photo by James L Rathbun
The court house in Goldfield, Nevada is the Esmeralda County Courthouse and Nevada State Historic Marker #80. Photo by James L Rathbun
The court house in Goldfield, Nevada is the Esmeralda County Courthouse and Nevada State Historic Marker #80. Photo by James L Rathbun

Points of Interest

Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad in Rhyolite

Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad

The Bullfrog and Goldfield Railroad, often referred to as the B&G Railroad, played a significant role in the late 19th and early 20th-century mining boom…
The court house in Goldfield, Nevada is the Esmeralda County Courthouse and Nevada State Historic Marker #80. Photo by James L Rathbun

Esmeralda County Courthouse

The court house in Goldfield, Nevada is the Esmeralda County Courthouse and Nevada State Historic Marker #80. Photo by James L Rathbun The Esmeralda County…
The historic Goldfield Firehouse. Photo by James L Rathbun

Goldfield Fire Station

The Goldfield Historic Fire Station, located in Goldfield, Nevada, is a significant historical structure that stands as a testament to the town's vibrant past during…
The court house in Goldfield, Nevada is the Esmeralda County Courthouse and Nevada State Historic Marker #80. Photo by James L Rathbun

Goldfield Nevada

Goldfield is Nevada State Historical Marker number fourteen and is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Goldfield was a boomtown  between 1903 and 1940. Goldfield's mines produced…
The Goldfield Hotel located in Goldfield Nevada. Photo by James L Rathbun

The Goldfield Hotel

The Goldfield Hotel located in Goldfield Nevada. Photo by James L Rathbun The Goldfield Hotel, located at the southeast corner of Crook Avenue (U.S. Route…

References

Palmetto Nevada State Historic Marker #158

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Palmetto Nevada is Nevada State Historical Marker number one hundred and fifty eight and is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The ghost town is located just off of highway 168 about 30 miles west of Lida, in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The area was founded in 1866, three prospectors, H.W. Bunyard, Thomas Israel and T.W. McNutt worked the area north of the townsite and discovered silver deposits.

Palmetto HSHM

The camp was named Palmetto, when the miners assumed the Joshua Trees in the area were a relative of the Palmetto Tree. A 12-stamp mill was constructed on the site, however the miners could not produce enough the keep the mill in operation. Their fortunes failed and within one year the camp was abandoned.

The mines around Palmetto Nevada soon declined. The populations of these boom towns migrated from site to site looking for opportunity and profit. The next town down the line was Blair, Nevada.

Nevada State Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada’s history. The Nevada State Legislature started the program in 1967 to bring the state’s heritage to the public’s attention with on-site markers. Budget cuts to the program caused the program to become dormant in 2009. Many of the markers are lost of damaged.

Trail Map

NSHM Marker Text 158

Thinking that local joshua trees were related to palm trees, the 1866 prospectors named the mining camp Palmetto. The town “died” and revived three times.

New prospecting in 1903 caused Palmetto to grow to a town of 200 tents on a platted townsite. At its peak year, 1906, the commercial street, over 1/2 mile long, contained all the necessary mining camp businesses.

Local miners drifted away in autumn, 1906. Mining, on a lease basis, has been minimal since that time. An important talc deposit lies nearby.

Nevada State Historica Marker #158

Nevada State Historic Marker Summary

ID159
NamePalmetto, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.4443, -117.6952

References

Nivloc Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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In 1907, Gold was discovered at the town site which would be known as Nivloc Nevada by a Native American prospector. The town derived its name from for the former owners “Colvin” who operated the site in 1923. The name spelled backwards was Nivloc and such is the haste in the Nevadan desert.

Nivloc mine and camp - Tonopah Times-Bonanza - Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - Paher
Nivloc mine and camp – Tonopah Times-Bonanza – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps – Paher

The original mining operations were short lived. The town experienced a bit of a resurgence in the 1930s. The town never amounted to much boasting only one saloon. At its height of operation from 1940 to 1943 the town could claim a post office. Between 1937 and 1943 the small town produced between $2 and $3 million dollars of Gold and Silver. The 400,000 tons of ore was pulled from mines reaching depths 440 feet and 600 feet of below the surface. During this time, the mines of Nivloc ranked as Nevada’s number one silver producer.

Nivloc Today

We have not made a trip to Nivloc, however the townsite is very high on my ghost town “to do” list. There are several standing structures and buildings intact. The mine headframe is still standing at and a rail trestle bridge which is one hundred and twenty feet in length and forty feet tall.

Town Summary

TownNivloc, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.71583, -117.75722
Elevation6,170 feet
GNIS851592
Post OfficeOctober 1940 to November 1943

Nivloc Map

Resources

Weepah Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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The site of the last major gold rush in 1927, Weepah Nevada is a ghost town and gold mine site located in Esmeralda County. Named for the Shoshone word for “rain water”, the townsite was formed in 1902 when gold was discovered in shallow pockets by Indians. A modest rush of 200 people found their way to the small outpost, however the district would soon go dormant and stay that way for the next twenty five years.

Tents and autos parked along side during during the goldrush of 1927 - Leonard Trayner Collection - Paher
Tents and autos parked along side during during the goldrush of 1927 – Leonard Trayner Collection – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps – Paher

Gold was rediscovered in March 1927 by Leonard Trayner and Frank Horton, Jr. from Tonopah. Initial assay results valued the ore at $70,000 per ton. News of this strike could not be kept quiet and spread out like wildfire across the nearby mining communities of the desert and beyond.

"Mail order miners" did not look the part of the desert prospecots like Shorty Harris. - Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps - Paher
“Mail order miners” did not look the part of the desert prospecots like Shorty Harris. – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps – Paher

Twenty years prior would have seen an influx of wagons and horses bringing in the miners. Weepahs gold rush was powered by the newly available automobile. The auto powered the rush and the speed of the boom and within one week of the new of “gold” in Weepah, the town was bursting with over 1,000 people searching for their fortune in the hills. Many of these miners came via auto and were fully equipped and supplied well, often even driving new cars to the site an known as “mail order prospectors”. Soon, wooden frame houses rose above the older city which was comprised from a sea of tents. The town could be found from three roads, which were often jammed with autos as the towns population was between 1500 and 2000 people.

Regardless of production, reporters filed daily briefings and international newsreels informed the population of the ongoing modern gold rush. In April, the build boom continued with about 60 wooden framed buildings and over a dozen mining companies. Despite the promotion and news reels, interest in Weepah waned in July 1927. The last great gold rush in Nevada was over when the “mail order prospectors” broke camp and ran from the realities of the Nevadan desert.

Weepah Nevada Map

Town Summary

NameWeepah, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.931876389209,-117.5600734418
GNIS856169
Elevation6.165 Feet
Population1,500 – 2,000
Post Office

Resources

Lida Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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Now on private property, Lida Nevada is a ghost town and mining camp located in Esmeralda County, Nevada just off State Route 266. The area probably saw it first activity in the 1860’s when Mexican and Native Americans worked the surrounding hills for gold. Their efforts were limited by their ability to extract gold from the ore. In the spring of 1867, American prospects arrived in Lida Valley and took steps to organize a mining district.

Lida Tent City in 1905
Lida Tent City in 1905

The town of Lida Valley was organized and plotted in March 1872. The town experienced an influx people and soon supported common business for these mining towns including a livery, stables, shops, saloons and a Post Office. On March 17, 1873, the United States authorized a post office for the small community. There was some confusion caused by the remote region and the post office was authorized for Inyo County, California. This mistake was corrected the following month. April 31, 1873 saw the newly established post office operating as Lida, Nevada.

Freight was brought into Lida from the nearest rail station in Wadsworth. The supplies were hauled into Lida from Silverpeak using a newly build road for $100 per ton. Ore was processed at one of steam powered mills which were constructed and springs in the area. A five stamp mill and an eight stamp mill processed ore and higher quality ore with value of $500 to $1000 per ton was hauled to Belmont and Austin for processing. In the 1870’s mining declined and by the 1880s Lida only had 10 businesses in operation.

In 1905 the town of Goldfield experienced a gold boom. Lida formed a chamber of commerce to capitalize on the event. The weekly Lida Enterprise was published and stage service to Goldfield was established. The springs near Lida helped supply Goldfield utilizing a newly constructed pipe between the towns. An automobile stage was setup in 1905 to provide service between Lida and Big Pine, California.

Prospecting Parties in Lida, Nevada
Prospecting Parties in Lida, Nevada

Lida prospered for about three years until the camp started to decline once again. Important properties were tied up in litigation which hampered the towns growth. Just prior to World War I, schools, hotels and some ranches found operation until the town languished completed.

Today, Lida is on private property.

Nevada State Historic Marker Text

Known as a contact point for Shoshone and Northern Paiute Indians, Lida Valley was the site of early prospecting in 1860’s.

Later prospectors organized a mining district in 1867 and laid out the town in 1872. Soon stores, shops, stables and a post office were established. Some ore was milled locally, yet high-grade ore ($500-$1,000 per ton) was treated at Austin or Belmont. After 1880 mining declined.

Lida revived and thrived for three years during the Goldfield boom but declined again in 1907. Mining efforts resumed a few years later, and a small community existed here until World War I.

Lida Historical Plaque

Nevada State Historic Marker Summary

NameLida
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Nevada State Historic Marker157
Latitude, Longitude37.4580, -117.4985

Town Summary

NameLida
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.4582807,-117.5068931
Elevation6,810 Feet
GNIS841625
Population300
NewspaperLida Enterprise
Post Office1873 – 1932

Lida Nevada Map

Resources