Tag: Nevada

Nevada, often referred to as the “Silver State,” is located in the western United States. Renowned for its vast deserts and striking mountain ranges, the state boasts a diverse landscape that includes the arid Mojave Desert in the south and the forested Sierra Nevada mountains in the west. The state is famously home to Las Vegas, a vibrant city known for its bustling casinos, entertainment venues, and nightlife. Beyond the glitz of Las Vegas, Nevada offers rich history in its ghost towns, a legacy of the 19th-century mining boom. The state also features significant natural attractions, such as Lake Tahoe and Great Basin National Park, offering a wide range of outdoor activities. Nevada’s economy is driven by tourism, mining, and, increasingly, technology, making it a dynamic state with a blend of natural beauty and modern attractions.

Ophir Nevada – Nye County Ghost Town

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Ophir is a classic central Nevada ghost town in Nye County, located high in Ophir Canyon on the eastern slope of the Toiyabe Range (elevation roughly 8,000+ feet), overlooking the Big Smoky Valley. It is sometimes called Toiyabe City or Twin River (after its post office). Access today requires a rough high-clearance or 4WD road off State Route 376 near Carvers/Millett. Nevada State Historical Marker No. 64 stands near the turnoff.

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

Mining History

Silver ore was discovered in early 1863 by a French prospector named S. Boulerond (sometimes spelled Boulrand), who reportedly kept the find secret for about a year. In 1864, further discoveries were made by a party that included John Murphy; the Murphy Mine (also called the Murphy ledge or Twin River Mine) quickly became the district’s leading producer. A mining district was organized, and the Twin River Mining Company developed the property. R. B. Canfield purchased the principal ledge and helped finance operations.

In 1865 a costly wagon road (about $8,000 for 2.5 miles) was built from Big Smoky Valley. The major infrastructure was the Murphy Mill: a 20-stamp mill completed around 1865–1866 at a cost of over $200,000. It featured eight roasting furnaces, amalgamating pans, and the first experimental Stetefeldt furnace ever built. Native granite was used for foundations and a smelter stack. Early production was strong—roughly $750,000 in the first couple of years—but the unusually hard, dense rock made extraction and milling expensive and labor-intensive. By 1869 the original company went bankrupt due to high costs and a shortage of millable ore. The Cambridge Silver Mining Company briefly took over and tried cheaper Chinese labor, but protests forced closure around 1870.

A revival began in the early 1870s after a new ore body was found. The Twin River Mining Company (later Chicago Mining and Reduction Company) restarted the mill, expanded to nearby claims (including Grizzly and Cinnamon), and even moved in the old Prussian Mill from Jefferson. Activity continued into the 1880s with another period of relative prosperity. By the 1890s operations largely ceased; the post office (Twin River) closed in December 1893. Total production from the Murphy vein and surrounding properties is estimated at more than $2–3 million in gold and silver (period dollars). Iron, copper, and arsenic were also present. Over 100 claims were staked in the canyon between 1863 and 1895.

Later intermittent activity included work by the Nevada Ophir Mining Company under Walter Trent starting in 1917 (small stamp mill, then a cyanide mill; operations suspended by the mid-1920s). A further short-lived effort under Trent’s Ophir Canyon Mining Company occurred in the mid-1930s. Mid-20th-century tungsten mining near the canyon mouth lasted into the 1960s until subsidies ended; little remains of those operations.

Historic Buildings and Remains

At its peak the town supported a full suite of frontier amenities: school, church, fraternal lodges, stores, hotels, and several saloons. A post office operated from June 1867 to December 1893. Stage service connected it tri-weekly to Austin.

Today the most impressive survivors are the massive stone foundations and walls of the 20-stamp Murphy Mill—among the better-preserved stone-masoned mill ruins in Nevada—along with the stone walls of what was an elegant office and mansion (or related substantial building). Roofless stone cabins, foundations of other structures (possibly including a store or mercantile of brick and stone), and the open portal of the Murphy Mine remain. Some buildings were later razed by the Forest Service as hazards. A historic cemetery lies near the canyon mouth; known markers include those for Jas. Conlon and John Phillips (d. 1900). The site is remote and atmospheric, with the ruins set against the canyon walls.

Citizens and Community

Peak population reached about 400 in the mid-to-late 1860s. Key figures associated with the town include:

  • S. Boulerond – French discoverer of the initial ore.
  • John Murphy – Associated with the major 1864 discoveries; the leading mine bears his name.
  • R. B. Canfield (and A. W. Canfield of the Twin River company) – Early financiers and operators.
  • Walter Trent – Led the early-20th-century revival companies.

The community was typical of remote Nevada mining camps: a mix of American, European (including French), and other miners, with the usual mix of skilled workers, laborers, merchants, and service providers. Labor tensions surfaced (notably resistance to Chinese labor in 1870). Life revolved around the hard-rock mines and mill; the dense ore required constant tool-sharpening and high manpower. After the main booms, only caretakers, small-scale operators, and occasional prospectors remained until the site was fully abandoned as a residential place.

Ophir exemplifies the boom-and-bust cycle of Nevada’s silver camps: rapid growth fueled by rich but technically difficult ore, ambitious capital investment in milling technology, short periods of prosperity, and eventual abandonment once costs outstripped returns. The substantial stone ruins that survive today stand as durable testimony to the scale of ambition in this isolated Toiyabe canyon.

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

McDonald Spring Road

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Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads
Death Valley National Park 4×4 and Back Country Roads

McDonald Spring Road is a roughly 12-mile one-way dirt 4WD route in the Nevada Triangle portion of Death Valley National Park (and adjacent public lands), starting near the Bullfrog turnoff on Rhyolite Road between Nevada Highway 374 and the Rhyolite ghost town. It runs through the western Bullfrog Hills into a large wash, then branches; the north fork leads to McDonald Spring (about 11.9 miles), while a south branch continues toward the Hooligan Mine area and Cave Rock Spring (about 12 miles). Four-wheel-drive is recommended due to sand in the wash.

The road does not connect through to other major routes. Vegetation along the final stretch is relatively sparse and dominated by Great Basin sagebrush and rabbitbrush, with stands of golden cholla. The last ~0.3 mile up a small canyon to the spring itself is closed to vehicles. The spring sits at roughly 5,590 feet elevation (GPS approx. 36°54.272′N 117°01.060′W).

Today the spring is little more than a seep that maintains a couple of shallow pools, often fouled by feral burros. There are no trees. Clear evidence of greater past flow remains in the form of at least three wooden watering troughs and a large metal tank, partially overgrown by dense desert broom.

History of McDonald Spring and Its Connection to Rhyolite

McDonald Spring lies on the east slope of the Grapevine Mountains / Bullfrog Hills area, historically described (early 1900s USGS water-supply data) as having a small supply of water and located roughly 10 miles a little north of west of Bullfrog. Nearby Mexican Camp was a wood-cutting camp serving the mining district.

Rhyolite itself (founded 1904–1905 after Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross’s gold discovery that launched the Bullfrog Mining District) grew explosively into a short-lived boomtown of several thousand people by 1907–1908, complete with banks, a stock exchange, railroads, electricity, and piped water. Water was the critical limiting resource in this arid country. Early on it was hauled by wagon at high cost ($2–5 per barrel); later, multiple competing companies piped water from various local springs (including Indian Springs and others) into town and stored it in tanks.

McDonald Spring was not one of the primary long-distance piped sources that supplied the main Rhyolite townsite, but it formed part of the broader network of small springs and seeps that supported mining, wood camps, travel, and livestock across the Bullfrog Hills and Nevada Triangle during the rush. The surviving troughs and tank show it was developed for watering stock or supporting temporary camps. After the boom collapsed (Montgomery-Shoshone Mine closed 1911; power turned off by 1916; the town essentially abandoned by the early 1920s), such remote springs continued to see intermittent use and later became watering points for wild burros.

The surrounding area contains other minor historic mining sites (Hooligan/Happy Hooligan Mine, Patootse Mine, etc.) and wood-camp remnants tied to the same early-20th-century activity that briefly made Rhyolite one of the largest towns in the region.

Practical notes: This is remote high-desert backcountry. High-clearance 4WD is essential; check current road conditions and any seasonal closures with Death Valley National Park or the BLM. Carry ample water, as the spring itself is not a reliable potable source. Respect historic artifacts and leave them in place. The route offers solitude, views of the Bullfrog Hills and Grapevine Mountains, and a tangible link to the water-scarce realities of the Rhyolite-era mining camps.

Phinney Canyon Road

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Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads
Death Valley National Park 4×4 and Back Country Roads

Phinney Canyon Road is a remote backcountry dirt road in the “Nevada Triangle” portion of Death Valley National Park, in the Grapevine Mountains north of Rhyolite and Beatty, Nevada.

History of Phinney Canyon and Its Connection to Rhyolite

Phinney Canyon lies in the Grapevine Mountains within the broader Bullfrog Mining District, the same district that produced the famous Rhyolite boomtown a few miles to the south.

Rhyolite itself exploded after prospectors Frank “Shorty” Harris and Ernest “Ed” Cross discovered rich gold ore (the “Bullfrog” rock) in August 1904. Within months, competing townsites (Rhyolite, Bullfrog, Beatty, etc.) sprang up, and the district saw thousands of claims, railroads, and a short-lived city of several thousand people before collapsing after the Panic of 1907 and the closure of major mines around 1911.

Phinney Canyon played a much smaller, later role in that mining landscape. The Phinney Mine (also associated with the July 4 and Happy Camp claims) was a modest two-person gold operation active mainly between 1930 and 1938 (well after Rhyolite’s boom-and-bust). The operators drove a tunnel several hundred feet into the mountain, installed track for an ore car, and built a cabin, but total recorded production was only about $850 — a tiny fraction of the district’s earlier output. The mine sits a short hike up a side canyon from the road.

The canyon and road also provided access to scattered prospects, springs, and woodcutting activity in the high country during and after the Rhyolite era. Nearby Strozzi Ranch (reached via the south fork of the same road system) was a small historic ranch with remaining buildings and dugouts. The area saw limited use for timber, water, and minor mining that supported the larger Bullfrog/Rhyolite camps, but it never developed into a significant townsite of its own.

Today the canyon is valued more for its solitude, pinyon woodland, and views than for mining remnants. The road and surrounding lands fall under Death Valley National Park management (with some BLM interface near the highway), and visitors are asked to stay on designated routes, practice Leave No Trace, and check current conditions due to frequent flood damage in the region.

Trail / Road Description

  • Start: Approximately 11.7–11.8 miles north of Beatty on U.S. Highway 95 (look for a gated dirt road on the left/west side; there is often a corresponding road on the opposite side of the highway as a landmark).
  • Length: Roughly 21–23 miles one-way to the high pass / end of vehicle access (sources vary slightly; older descriptions list ~20.8–23 miles).
  • Vehicle requirements (historical/normal conditions): High-clearance recommended for the first ~12–15 miles across Sarcobatus Flat and the lower alluvial fans. Four-wheel-drive (preferably with low-range) is needed beyond that, especially once the road enters the canyon and climbs through pinyon-juniper woodland. The upper section becomes steep, rocky, narrow, and rutted.
  • Route character: The road heads west across open desert flats, then forks after about 12 miles — left/south toward historic Strozzi Ranch, right/north into Phinney Canyon. It climbs into the Grapevine Mountains, transitions from washboard and sandy/rocky sections into denser pinyon pine woodlands, and ends near a high pass (~7,500 ft) with views of the Grapevine high country and distant Sierra Nevada. A short side hike leads to the Phinney Mine. Camping is allowed in designated or dispersed sites along the route (no facilities).
  • Difficulty: Intermediate overall; the upper canyon is more technical.
  • Current status (as of early November 2026): The final ~3 miles are significantly washed out and impassable to all vehicles due to flood damage. Always check the official NPS Death Valley conditions page before attempting the road, as desert conditions change rapidly with storms.

This is one of the least-visited corners of the park — quiet, scenic high-desert country with minimal traffic compared to more popular routes like Titus Canyon.

George Hearst

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George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, mining magnate, rancher, and politician who built one of the great Gilded Age fortunes through shrewd investments in gold, silver, and copper mines across the American West. He was the patriarch of the Hearst family dynasty and the father of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst.

George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891). Photograph by Charles Milton Bell
George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891). Photograph by Charles Milton Bell

Early Life and Entry into Mining

Hearst was born near present-day Sullivan in Franklin County, Missouri, to William G. Hearst and Elizabeth Collins, of Scots-Irish ancestry. He grew up on a modest family farm (his father operated several small mortgaged farms and a store) with limited formal schooling. From a young age he showed a strong interest in minerals and mining, reading about the subject and gaining practical experience with local lead deposits that had been worked in the region since the 18th century. Local lore later claimed Native Americans called him “the boy the earth talks to” because of his instinct for locating ore.

When his father died in 1846, leaving substantial debts, the 26-year-old George took responsibility for supporting his mother, sister, and disabled brother. He operated a store, leased lead and copper mines, and within a couple of years paid off the family’s obligations. By 1850, with his brother deceased and the family situation stabilized, he joined the California Gold Rush, traveling west with cousins and a small party.

Mining Interests in California

Hearst’s early California years were difficult. Placer mining near Sutter’s Mill and elsewhere yielded little, and a stint running a general store (with an unsuccessful Sacramento branch) left him short of funds. He shifted to quartz mining in the Nevada County area around Grass Valley and Nevada City. He developed the Merrimac Hill mine (named after a Missouri river) and the Potosi, selling them profitably, and in 1857 located the rich LeCompton (or Lecompton) Mine near Nevada City. These successes, combined with practical improvements in extraction methods drawn from his Missouri lead-mining experience, earned him the nickname “Quartz George” and a solid local reputation.

He continued to prospect, deal in claims, raise livestock, and farm in Nevada County while building capital. California remained a base for him throughout his life; he later acquired extensive ranch lands, including the large Piedras Blancas (or Piedra Blanca) Ranch at San Simeon in 1865 and adjoining properties (Santa Rosa and San Simeon ranches), which served as family retreats.

Mining Interests in Nevada (Comstock Lode)

In the summer of 1859, Hearst learned of promising silver assays of “blue stuff” from the Washoe district in what was then western Utah Territory (soon to become Nevada). He hurried across the Sierra, sold his California interests (including the LeCompton), and bought a one-sixth share in the Ophir Mine near present-day Virginia City for roughly $3,000 (accounts vary slightly on the exact figure and partners). He also acquired interests in other Comstock properties, including the Gould and Curry.

That winter he and partners mined high-grade ore, packed it over the mountains by mule, and had it smelted in San Francisco, realizing a large profit (reported around $91,000 after costs on the first major shipment). The Ophir success helped touch off the Washoe/Comstock rush. Hearst’s ability to judge ore and solve separation problems with gold-silver ore made him a millionaire relatively quickly. He constructed a superintendent’s house in Virginia City and expanded holdings on the Comstock Lode, one of the richest silver strikes in U.S. history.

These Nevada successes formed the foundation of his fortune and his later partnership with James Ben Ali Haggin and Lloyd Tevis. The firm of Hearst, Haggin, Tevis & Co. became one of the largest private mining companies in the United States, with interests spanning multiple states and beyond.

Mining Interests in Arizona

Hearst’s Arizona involvement was smaller in scale than his California, Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, or Montana holdings but still notable. He invested in properties in the Tombstone area (including a deal involving the Morning Star Mine around 1880 that reportedly cost him a substantial sum through sharp dealing by a local promoter) and had interests connected to the Tough Nut Lode outside Tombstone.

He also served as a trustee of the North Peer Gold and Silver Mining Company, organized in the mid-1880s to work claims in the Quijotoa District (Pima County, west of Tucson). That short-lived silver boom (peaking 1883–1885 after discoveries on Quijotoa/Ben Nevis Mountain) saw rapid development of camps and companies, though overall returns for many investors, including those in the Peer/Peerless area, proved limited relative to the capital poured in. Hearst’s Arizona activities reflected his pattern of evaluating and buying into promising western districts even as his major capital was deployed elsewhere.

Later Career, Other Mines, Politics, and Family

After the Comstock, Hearst expanded aggressively. Key later successes included the Ontario silver mine in Park City, Utah (backed with Marcus Daly in the early 1870s; it produced millions and helped him weather the Panic of 1873), the Homestake gold mine in Lead, South Dakota (purchased with partners from the Manuel brothers around 1877 for about $70,000 and developed into one of the largest and longest-producing gold mines in U.S. history), and a major interest in the Anaconda copper mine near Butte, Montana (financed with Daly; it became one of the world’s great copper producers). He also held interests in New Mexico (Pacific Mine at Pinos Altos), Mexico, Peru (Cerro de Pasco), and elsewhere.

In 1862, at age 41, he married 19-year-old Phoebe Apperson (against her parents’ initial wishes); they eloped and settled in San Francisco. Their only child, William Randolph Hearst, was born in 1863. Phoebe later became a major philanthropist and managed family interests after George’s death.

Hearst entered politics as a Democrat. He served in the California State Assembly (mid-1860s) and was appointed and then elected U.S. Senator from California, serving from 1887 until his death. He acquired the San Francisco Examiner (reportedly in settlement of a debt) and used it politically; his son later took control and built a vast publishing empire from it.

George Hearst died of stomach cancer in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 1891. Contemporary estimates of his wealth ranged into the hundreds of millions (in period dollars). He left a legacy as one of the most successful practical miners and judges of mining property in the American West, whose instincts and capital helped develop some of the era’s greatest mineral deposits in California, Nevada, Arizona, and far beyond.

Cave Rock Spring Road

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Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads
Death Valley National Park 4×4 and Back Country Roads

Cave Rock Spring Road is a remote, roughly 12-mile one-way dirt 4WD spur in the Nevada Triangle portion of Death Valley National Park (and adjacent public lands), near Rhyolite and the Bullfrog Hills.

Trail / Road Description

Access begins near the Bullfrog turnoff on Rhyolite Road (between Nevada Highway 374 and the Rhyolite ghost town). The route winds through the western Bullfrog Hills into a large wash, where it splits. The south fork is Cave Rock Spring Road; it continues past the Hooligan (Happy Hooligan) Mine area and ends about 0.25 mile below the spring itself.

  • Distance: Approximately 12 miles one-way to the end of the road near the spring (the final short stretch into the spring area is closed to vehicles).
  • Conditions: Unmaintained dirt road with sandy sections in the wash. High-clearance 4WD is strongly recommended. Road conditions change with weather and flash floods; check with Death Valley National Park or the BLM before travel.
  • Terrain & scenery: High-desert hills and washes with sparse Great Basin vegetation (sagebrush, rabbitbrush, golden cholla). The road offers solitude, views of the Bullfrog Hills and Grapevine Mountains, and a tangible sense of the remote mining landscape that surrounded Rhyolite. Elevation near the spring is roughly 5,100–5,200 feet.
  • Key stops: The Hooligan/Happy Hooligan Mine (about 10.9–11 miles in) has mine dumps, sparse wood ruins, and debris. Beyond it, stone foundations appear before the road ends short of the spring.
  • The spring: Cave Rock Spring is a small seep surrounded by a dense thicket of desert broom. It is not a reliable potable water source today and is often affected by wild burros. The name likely refers to the rocky setting of the seep.

This is remote backcountry. Carry ample water, be self-reliant, respect historic artifacts (leave them in place), and be prepared for changing conditions. It does not connect through to other major routes.

History of Cave Rock Spring and Its Connection to Rhyolite

Cave Rock Spring sits in the broader Bullfrog Mining District on the east slope of the Grapevine Mountains / Bullfrog Hills area, roughly 10–12 miles west of the Rhyolite / Bullfrog vicinity.

Rhyolite exploded into existence after prospectors Shorty Harris and E. L. Cross discovered gold in 1904, launching the Bullfrog rush. By 1907–1908 the town briefly supported several thousand people (estimates range up to ~5,000–10,000 in the district) with banks, a stock exchange, railroads, electricity, and other amenities. Water was the critical limiting resource in this arid country. Early on it was hauled by wagon at high cost ($2–5 per barrel). Multiple companies later piped water from various local springs into town.

Cave Rock Spring itself was a minor seep rather than a primary long-distance piped source for the main Rhyolite townsite (those came from springs such as Indian Springs and others). It formed part of the network of small springs and seeps that supported mining, wood camps (including nearby Mexican Camp), travel, and livestock across the Bullfrog Hills during the boom. Nearby, the Happy Hooligan (Hooligan) Mine was discovered in May 1905. By early 1906 it had its own camp with a boardinghouse, blacksmith shop, and store-saloon; a road was built and the property was heavily promoted. The high-grade surface ore was quickly worked out, and the mine was abandoned by the end of 1907. Only dumps, sparse ruins, and debris remain.

After the Rhyolite boom collapsed (Montgomery-Shoshone Mine closed in 1911; power cut by 1916; the town essentially abandoned by the early 1920s), remote springs like Cave Rock continued intermittent use and later became watering points for wild burros. The road and spring today preserve a quiet link to the water-scarce realities of the short-lived Rhyolite-era camps and minor mines that surrounded the famous ghost town.

Note: Rhyolite itself lies just outside the national park boundary on mixed federal and private land and is managed primarily by the BLM. The Nevada Triangle (including this road) is within Death Valley National Park. Always verify current access and conditions, as flash floods and other factors can affect remote dirt roads.