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
Featured Mining Town: Telluride, Colorado
Telluride was the hub of one of Colorado's premier mining regions. The historic mining town is located in a magnificent box canyon and today has become a popular resort area. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Creede, Colorado
Creede, Colorado is one of the West's most notable silver camps. Famous for both it's stunning location and notorious outlaws, Creede remains a popular tourist destination today. Continue Reading
Miners Cabins: Bottles, Barrels, and Dugouts
While the miners and prospectors that opened the vast American West are known for the log cabins they often used for shelter, some of the more eccentric dwellings they built are lesser known but equally interesting. Desert regions often lacked easy access to the trees needed to build cabins so alternative materials had to be Continue Reading
An Engineering Marvel – Colorado’s Hanging Flume
The hanging flume is is a five mile section of wooden flume that was built on the sheer cliffs of the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers in the canyon country of western Colorado. Built over a three-year period from 1888 to 1891, the flume was 150 feet or more above the canyon floor and was Continue Reading
