Featured Mining Town: Weaverville, California
Weaverville was the primary settlement in Trinity Alps region of Northern California. Settled in 1850, Weaverville was a significant placer mining town with thousands of residents, including over 1,000 Chinese. Today the town is home to numerous 1850s era historic buildings and California's oldest Chinese house of worship. Continue Reading
Introducing the WMH Mines Explorer Pro
The Western Mining History Mines Explorer Pro is an interactive map that displays over 116,000 mines from the USGS MRDS database, lode and placer claims by PLSS section centers, mining towns, and mining district information. The Mines Explorer Pro is available to Mines level premium members. Members: click here to access the Mines Explorer Pro Continue Reading
Best Historical Photos: Colorado Mining Scenes
Colorado is characterized by the most rugged and mountainous terrain of any state in the US, and those mountains were rich in minerals waiting to be discovered by prospectors as far back as 1859. Development of mines in Colorado was slow at first due to the extremes of terrain and weather, and the remoteness of Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Bannack, Montana
Bannack, Montana was the site of the first gold rush in the Montana Territory. The town had up to 5,000 residents by the summer of 1863 and briefly served as the territorial capitol in 1864. Today the ghost town of Bannack has been preserved as a state park. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Eureka, Nevada
Eureka was both Nevada's second largest city starting in the 1870s, and the state's second most valuable mining center after the Comstock Lode. Sometimes called the "Pittsburgh of the West", Eureka was the West's largest and most important smelting center. Sixteen smelters operated just outside town, treating ore from over 50 active mines. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Goldfield, Nevada
Goldfield, Nevada experienced one of the most dramatic rises and subsequent crashes of all the mining towns of the Old West. Once the largest city in Nevada, today Goldfield only has a few hundred residents. Continue Reading
