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Location: From U.S. 50 highway between Fallon and Austin, take the Dixie Valley road north for approximately 28 miles. Turn left on the dirt road heading west (there is a fairly interesting old dump located at the turnoff here-watch out for snakes). Turn Southwest at GPS location 39º 41.3' x 118º 10.07'. Take this road to the base of the mountains and park. This area has been disturbed by grading. The camp itself was located at 39º 40.71' x 118º 12.25' from the best indications.
| The approximate location of Silver Hill. No evidence of mining could be found directly at this location. The mining could have been located further up the canyon. The green trees seen in the background are probably located at a spring. |  |
Silver Hill was the name given to a small settlement located here. In 1860, a group of prospectors located a rich silver ledge that supposedly ran as high as $1800 a ton in silver. By 1861 a townsite had been located and some 200 people were in the area. There was even a stage line to Virginia City.
In June of that year, Dan De Quille of the Territorial Enterprise visited the area and found it mostly deserted. Another discovery made in 1878 in what would become known as the I.X.L. district, revived the camp for a short period. The camp was active again in the early 1900's.
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One of the few indications of a camp at this location. |
The site of the camp is not easy to locate and if you do not have a GPS with you, you will probably never find it. The only way I could determine that I was there was by figuring out the GPS coordinates from the Nevada Atlas and Gazetteer and then stopping when my GPS unit said that I was at the proper location. Nothing remains but a few rusted cans. The trail to the camp continues up the canyon and disappears under the brush. There does appear to be a small spring somewhere up that trail as cottonwood trees can be seen further up.
| An interesting piece of military hardware located just off of Dixie Valley road, north of Hwy. 50. |  |
An interesting site can be seen as you drive north on Dixie Valley road. A few miles north of Hwy. 50 you can see a military tank parked on a dirt road to the east. I walked down to it (not posted at the time of the visit) to take some pictures. The original gun barrel had been removed and a pipe welded in place of it. Otherwise, the tank looked to be intact. I assume that it is used by the Navy for some type of aerial shooting practice.
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It looks complete minus the gun barrel. |
References: Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley W. Paher
Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps Ilustrated Atlasby Stanley W. Paher
