Bit Of History's Guide to NEVADA

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Click Above for Century 21 Tonopah, Central Nevada Real Estate.

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Nevada

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Nevada is one of the best states for wilderness and historical sightseeing. The name Nevada in Spanish means "snow clad" which aptly identifies the many mountain peaks during the winter. A state that geologically is known as basin and range country, it preserves much of the old west flavor while still providing all of the conveniences that anyone could desire. The state flower is the sagebrush and its often pungent odor may sometimes nearly overwhelm one's senses. There have been several nicknames given to the state including "The Sagebrush State", "The Silver State", and "The Battle Born State". The first two nicknames are obvious but the last one sometimes causes controversy since the slogan Battle Born refers to the battle of the Civil War of which little direct effort was contributed. That said, the great silver mines of the Comstock did provide money to the Union and the state was admitted on October 31, 1864 by President Lincoln.

For better or worse, most of the state (approximately 85%) is controlled by the federal government and is now closed to the public. This is a sad state of affairs because from what is open, the state is a wonderland of outdoor beauty. The highest point in the state is Boundary Peak in the White Mountains at 13,145 feet. It is on the border with California, just east of Bishop, CA on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This peak is usually snow capped in the winter and provides water from many streams that flow down its sides to replenish the valley aquifers and supply the many ranches in the area with much needed water.

In the mid-1800's the state was an obstacle to get across by the many people pouring into California during the gold rush. Some of the early prospectors had found some "color" while panning the streams throughout Nevada but the lure was still to the gold fields located across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It wasn't long before the realization that most of the gold mining claims in California were taken and the miners, remembering the color they had seen coming over, returned to Nevada to check the prospects there. These miners returned to the Dayton area and began panning the small gold deposits of Gold Canyon and Six Mile Canyon just north of Dayton. These early miners were plagued by a heavy blue material that clogged their rockers and needed to be constantly cleaned away in order to get to the gold. In early 1859, two prospectors named Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin set up their equipment in Six Mile Canyon to mine gold. In order to supply water to their rockers, they set about digging a reservoir. It was while digging this reservoir that they uncovered the top of one of the greatest lodes of the Comstock mines. What they had found would be called the Ophir bonanza. When they began working the gravel deposit they found they were recovering from $500 to $1000 worth of gold per day. Since this kind of news spreads like wildfire, in a very short time a rush ensued to the newly found bonanza. It was a rancher from Truckee Meadows that took a piece of ore back to California with him as a curiosity and started the great rush back over the Sierra Mountains. The ore was assayed in Grass Valley, CA (one of the riches's gold towns of the mother lode country) and the assay showed that the ore contained sulphurites of silver at the unbelievable value of $3000 per ton plus the gold values. The rush was on and the new state of Nevada was about to be born.

NEW! Searchable Map for Nevada

Searchable Map for Nevada

Towns and Ghost Towns:

Lost Mines, Mining, and Treasures:

Railroads:

Fossils, Gems, and Rock Collecting Sites:

A short story about finding significant fossils. It is illegal to dig up fossils of mammals and other significant species (check with local state and federal agencies for more information). That said, I was flying with a gentleman from the Minden, Nevada area and he told me an interesting story. It seems a couple of local kids found the fossilized remains of a mastedon while hiking in the nearby Pine Nut mountains. They did not disturb the find but they did "sell" the location information to a museum for something like $1 million. Personally, I would rather do that than try and dig the thing up. Needless to say, the locals ran all over the area but did not find anything else. Keep this in mind as those kinds of payments beat finding virtually any "lost mine" or "treasure".

Another book that is a must have for exploring Nevada is the book by Paher, Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps Atlas.

For more information on Railroads of Nevada checkout the 2-book set by David Myrick. This set is considered to be the definitive historical narrative for railroads in this area. It definitely belongs in everyone's library that professes an interest in historical Nevada.