Mine near the “Engagement” Mine

We recently returned to Nevada to do some mine exploring. We found a couple of new sites and made some discoveries at some old favorites. This was a new discovery near the “Engagement” Mine.  I haven’t come across any of the history on this place but it is clear that it dates back to the late 1880s. I suspect it was a small silver prospect.

The camp has an old cabin and a few pieces of equipment laying around. The mine itself is a short vertical shaft with a wooden tripod style headframe over it. These headframes were cheap and easy to erect. A simple tramway drops down from the mine back to camp.

This is a neat little remote spot and made a fun hike.

Mine near the "Engagement" Mine

25 photos

This appears to be the remains of a small forge.

You can see the blacksmith stump next to the forge.

We head up the canyon.

Our intrepid crew.

Aiden did great climbing some of the dry falls.

We continue up the wash.

We come across some wood debris. We must be getting closer to an old mining camp.

Wire spool.

Then we spot a miner's cabin.

A few jars of beans, rice and coffee still sit on the counter.

Window panes fell out of the frame. Wallpaper still hangs on the wall.

They might be passed their expiration date.

Outside the cabin, the walls still look good.

Northside of the cabin.

A tramline leads up to the mine.

Tram cable.

Micah discusses vernacular engineering design to an attentive audience.

We decide to investigate the mine workings.

Up at the mine, we find a simple wooden headframe.

The shaft isn't deep but the ladder looked pretty rotten.

The view however was very nice.

We find broken pieces of an old green bottle. The neck was hand-blown and suggests a date from the late 1800s.

We walk over to the top of the tram.

The miners built this winch for hauling whatever they needed up and down the mountain.

Gasoline powered straight six cylinder engine. One wonders how they got it up here in the first place.