This is a small but interesting modern mine camp with some equipment still left on-site. The mine was probably last worked in the 1980s but the majority of the work was done during the Depression-era.
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Category: Great Basin and Eastern Nevada (page 1 of 5)
Eastern Nevada including the Great Basin and Basin and Range regions
Most of the historical relics I find on my hikes are from the booming mining industries of the early 1900s which dominated the Nevada landscape but there were other activities going on at the time. Ranching was just as important as mining to the early settlers and sheepherding was a part of that effort. Basque sheepherders from the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain came to Nevada during this time and found good pasture.
Last summer, we visited a pair of petroglyph sites out in central Nevada collectively called Honeymoon Hill. They are close together on nearby hills and have fantastic views of the areas they overlook, which is probably why people were here; hunting and keeping watch over the surrounding terrain.
After visiting the Victorine Mine on a trip to Nevada a few years ago, our next big stop was the old camp of Prospect and the Diamond Tunnel. The mine was discovered in the 1860s like the others in the Eureka district but the camp wasn’t settled until around 1885. It served as a base of operations for a few of the local mines and had a saloon, boardinghouse, and school. The mine went into production in 1868 and was worked until 1930. A post office opened in 1893. Down below the mine, are the remains of a furnace.
After a few days of long drives in Nevada, we ended up at a remote mine that doesn’t see many visitors – my favorite kind of mine. We visited a few of the mines out there but most of them didn’t have much to offer outside of long cross-cuts and drifts. This one was a little different.
