Category: Destination4x4

El Dorado Canyon – Nevada State Historic Marker

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El Dorado Canyon NSHM is Nevada State Historical Marker number six and is located in Clark County, Nevada. The stone marker is located on the junction of State Route 165 and U.S. Highway 95 between Searchlight and Boulder and the Eastern side of the Highway.

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.

El Dorado Canyon NSHM looks down on Lake Mojave in Clark County Nevada
El Dorado Canyon looks down on Lake Mojave in Clark County Nevada

El Dorado Canyon has a long history of mining in Nevada. Early on in its history, the canyon operated as a Colorado River Steamship port which offload mining and settlement supplies into the surrounding desert. The towns of El Dorado and Nelson are founded within the canyon hosted miners, settlers and a strong criminal element. For a time, the settlements were some of the most violent in the region.

Today, the “ghost town” of Nelson is a semipopular tourist destination. The townsite is an easy drive from Las Vegas and offers visitors the chance to see some old mining artifacts, structures and mines. However the location is clearly reconstructed appear something that it never was. For those of us who love to visit ghost towns, you may be disappointed.

Regardless, the history of the location is storied and full of adventure.

Nevada State Historic Marker Text

Toward the Colorado River from this point runs El Dorado Canyon, where occurred one of the biggest mining booms in Nevada history. Gold and silver were discovered here about 1859 and soon mines were developed. In the 1860’s, the canyon was bursting with a rowdy population of nearly 500 men, many of these said to be deserters from the Civil War.

The river was navigable at the time, making it possible to bring in food and supplies by boat.

Notorious for its feuds and shootings, the canyon was equally well known for its three largest mines, the Techatticup, Wall Street and Savage which yielded five million dollars during 40 years of operations.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 6 – STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

Nevada State Historic Marker Map

Nevada Historic Marker Summary

ID6
NameEl Dorado Canyon
LocationClark County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude35.8281, -114.9369

References

Dinner Station

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Dinner Station Nevada is Nevada State Historical Marker number two hundred and forty four and is located in Elko County, Nevada.

Dinner Station, Elko County, Nevada
Dinner Station, Elko County, Nevada

The location stands as a reminder of Nevada’s stagecoach era. Established in the early 1870’s by William C. (Hill) Beachey as a meal stop for the Tuscarora and Mountain City stage lines, it was originally known as Weilands. The name was later changed to Oldham’s Station when a change of ownership took place. A frame structure originally accommodated the traffic, but a fine two-story stone station house, out-buildings and a corral were built following a fire in the 1800’s. Early in the Twentieth Century, both automobiles and hose-drawn stages stopped at and it became one of the most popular country inns of the time. After 1910, when automobiles become more common, the station ceased to be used.

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 the program became dormant in 2009.

Nevada State Historic Marker Text

Dinner Station stands as a reminder of Nevada’s stagecoach era. Established in the early 1870’s by William C. (Hill) Beachey as a meal stop for the Tuscarora and Mountain City stage lines, it was originally known as Weilands. The name was later changed to Oldham’s Station when a change of ownership took place. A frame structure originally accommodated the traffic, but a fine two-story stone station house, out-buildings and a corral were built following a fire in the 1800’s. Early in the Twentieth Century, both automobiles and hose-drawn stages stopped at and it became one of the most popular country inns of the time. After 1910, when automobiles become more common, the station ceased to be used.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 244 – STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

Currently, the Nevada Nevada State Historic Marker number 244 is missing.

Nevada State Historic Marker Map

Nevada Historic Marker Summary

ID244
NameDinner Station
LocationElko County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude41.09991, -115.86631

References

Diamond Valley Nevada

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Captain John C. Frémont, explorer first mapped Diamond Valley Nevada
Captain John C. Frémont, explorer first mapped Diamond Valley Nevada

Diamond Valley Nevada is Nevada State Historical Marker number eighty two and is located in Eureka County, Nevada. The location is a valley basin between the Sulphur Spring Range and the Diamond Mountains of Central Nevada.

The valley is almost entirely within Eureka County, but the northern end crosses into Elko County. The valley is up to 12 miles (19 km) wide and over 45 miles (72 km) long.

The town of Eureka lies at the southern end of Diamond Valley, while the northern end is home to an alkali flat. Several small lakes are located in the western part of the valley near Sadler Brown Road. Eureka Airport is also located towards the southern end of the valley.

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 the program became dormant in 2009.

The first known explorer of Diamond Valley was Captain John C. Frémont who mapped the area to aid western migration in 1845.  Before Frémont, Shoshone and Paiute Indians had gathered nature’s bounty here.

Colonel J.H. Simpson mapped a route through the valley in 1859.  The Simpson route, through the north end of the valley, immediately became the Pony Express route from 1860-1861.  The Overland Telegraph replaced the Pony Express and also crossed the valley.

Early freight toll roads were operated across the valley as lead and silver mining camps boomed in the 1860s.  Needs of the mining camps gave rise to a limited livestock and dairy industry.  In 1957, a large underground lake was tapped to supply water for irrigation.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 82 – STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE – EUREKA COUNTY COMMISSION

Nevada State Historic Marker Map

Nevada Historic Marker Summary

Marker ID82
NameDiamond Valley
LocationEureka County
Latitude, Longitude39.7402, -116.0748

References

Austin Nevada – Lander County

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Austin Nevada is a gold mining town located near Battle Mountain in Lander County, Nevada. The town boasts Nevada State Historic Marker number eight. Until the spring of 1862 the area was virtually unknown to all but Pony Express Riders and Overland Mail workers. This all changed with the discovery of Silver in Pony Canyon, 1862.

Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Austin, Nevada, 1868, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment,
Timothy H. O’Sullivan, Austin, Nevada, 1868, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment

While in search of some wandering horses, William Talcott, an employee of the Jacobs’ Springs stage station discovered a vein of quartz-bearing vein. Samples of this vein are sent to Virginia City, where they are assayed, and the results showed rich concentrations of silver. News of ore values at $6000 – $7000 per ton in Virginia City are reported and the Reese River District is organized in July. By January, 1863, a gold rush is in full swing with the cry of “Ho for the Reese River”. The area is flooded with miners, homemakers, and businessmen of all types and the camps of Clifton and Austin are founded.

Citizens of Austin in the spring of 1863 would find themselves living stone hunts with canvas roofs, tents or in just a few log cabins. Freight wagons feed the city with overpriced supplies including whiskey, food, clothing and routed to nearby Clifton. By the summer of 1863, mining companies were organizing and incorporating at a rate of ten companies per day. Mining claims dotted the valley on all sides of the fledging camp. One visitor reported that during this time two hundred and seventy four heavy freight teams are counted on route from Virginia City. In addition to freight, 19 passenger wagons, three pack trains, sixty nine horsemen and thirty one people on foot all make the trip to the mining camp.

Today, the town of Austin Nevada is home to a population of one hundred and sixty seven.

Nevada State Historic Marker #8

Austin sprang into being after William Talcott discovered silver at this spot on May 2, 1862.  Talcott came from Jacobsville, a stage stop six miles to the west on the Reese River. He was hauling wood out of Pony Canyon, directly below, when he made the strike that set off the famous “Rush to Reese.”

A town called Clifton flourished briefly in Pony Canyon but fast growing Austin soon took over and became the Lander County seat in 1863. Before the mines began to fail in the 1880s Austin was a substantial city of several thousand people.  From Austin, prospectors fanned out to open many other important mining camps in the Great Basin.

CENTENNIAL MARKER No. 8 – STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

Austin Historic Images

Austin, Nevada
Austin, Nevada
Stokes Castle - Julie Nicoletta, "Stokes Castle", [Austin, Nevada], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NV-01-CE10.
Stokes Castle – Julie Nicoletta, “Stokes Castle”, [Austin, Nevada], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NV-01-CE10.
Golden Club, Austin Nevada
Golden Club, Austin Nevada
Austin, Nevada - 1865
Austin, Nevada – 1865

Austin Nevada Map

Town Summary

NameAustin Nevada
LocationLander County, Nevada
Also Known AsJacobsville, Jacobs Station, Jacobs Springs
Latitude, Longitude39.4919, -117.0703
GNIS858766
Elevation2,025 meters / 6,644 feet
Population7,000
Nevada Historical Marker8
NewspaperReese River Reveille May 23, 1863 – 1993 (missing: June 27, July 1, 8, 11, 15, 18, Aug 12, 26, 29, Sept 9, 16, 23, 26,1863)
Daily Morning Democrat Aug 9, 1882 – July 8, 1883
Peoples Advocate Dec 3, 1890 – Jan 31, 1893
Nevada Progressive Dec 31, 1924 – Oct 2, 1926
Austin Sun Sept 2, 1933 – June 23, 1934

References

Ophir Canyon Nevada – Nye County Ghost Town

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Ophir Canyon is a ghost town from the 1880s and located about 3.5 miles west of State Route 8A north of State Route 92, in Nye County, Nevada. The town began life as Toiyabe City when silver is discovered by a French prospector Boulrand in 1863. Boulrand managed to keeps his find quiet for a year, secreting provisions into the site by night. His secret is finally exposed when he confided his good fortune to countryman on a trip to Austin.

Ophir Canyon in the mid 1880's
Ophir Canyon in the mid 1880’s

In 1864, R. B. Canfield purchased the principal ledge, also known as the Murphy ledge. Canfield utilized the Twin River Mining Company to secure financing. A wagon road is constructed, in 1865, to the site from the Big Smokey Valley for a cost of $8,000 for the two and a half mile road. The steep route suffered from grades of 10 degrees and nine creek crossings are made with wooden bridges.

A Growing Town

The newly founded Toiyabe City has a population of 400 citizens and a tri-weekly stage from Austin brought in people and supplies for the mines. In 1886, a twenty stamp mill is constructed at great costs, from the natural granite and shale sourced in the area. The mill produced over $750,000 in silver in the next two years. Despite this seemingly high rate of production, the mines did not produce a profit, due to the unusually dense rock which slowed operations considerably.

During its heyday, Ophir Canyon boasted saloons, stores and hotels. A post office operated at the site from June 18, 1867 to December 5, 1893.

Ophir NSHM #62 Text

Well up into the canyon out yonder, one can still see the massive stone foundations of a costly and splendid stamp mill, as well as the stone walls of an elegant office and mansion. Here was the scene of a once busy place, now a ghost town.

Ore was discovered there in 1865 by S. Boulerond and his compatriots. In 1864, the Murphy mine was discovered and became the leading producer; a mining district was organized. During 1865, a 20-stamp mill was completed costing over $200,000. Connected with it was the first experimental Stetefeldt furnace ever built. When the Murphy mill was built, a town was started and it grew to a population of 400, but work in the mines declined in the 1870’s, and Ophir became almost deserted. In the 1880’s, the mines were reactivated, and Ophir had another period of prosperity. By the 1890’s the town was deserted, but some mining activity at the Murphy mine continued sporadically into the 20th century.

Over $2 million worth of gold and silver were mined from the Murphy vein and from surrounding properties. Iron, copper and arsenic were also found in the area.

Ophir managed to have all the accouterments of a large community–school, church, various lodges and, of course, several saloons.

Nevada Historic Marker
The Murphy Mine and Shaft House in Ophir Canyon, Nevada
The Murphy Mine and Shaft House in Ophir Canyon, Nevada

Town Summary

NameOphir Nevada
Also Known AsTwin River, Toiyabe City
LocationNye County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude38.944444, -117.276667
Elevation2,479 meters / 8,134 feet
GNIS860839
Population400
Post Office June 18, 1867 – December 5, 1893

Town Map

Resources