The Lot Jumpers of Goldfield, Nevada

Although claim jumping is often associated with Western mining districts, another form of land speculation was also common: town lot jumping. In booming mining camps, town lots could be extraordinarily valuable, placing them beyond the reach of many newcomers. To secure housing, or in some cases simply to seize something of value, squatters occupied land belonging to mining companies, townsite developers, and even lots that had already been legally sold to private individuals. Continue Reading

The Valley View Mine

The Valley View Mine, also known historically as the Whiskey Hill Mine, Whiskey Diggings, and Harpending Mine, was one of the more unusual metal mines in the western foothills of Placer County, California. Unlike the region’s better-known quartz gold mines, Valley View produced primarily copper, with secondary gold, silver, lead, and zinc. Continue Reading

The Mines of Boulder County, Colorado: Photographs by Joseph Sturtevant

Joseph Sturtevant, also known as “Rocky Mountain Joe”, was a professional photographer based in Boulder, Colorado. During his time there, the mining industry in Boulder County was thriving, and he documented much of it in photographs throughout the 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century. Continue Reading

The Stonewall Mine

The Stonewall Mine, located approximately seven miles south of Julian, California, was the largest gold producer in San Diego County, with total production estimated at approximately two million dollars. Although mining activity at the site began in the 1870s, its most productive period occurred between 1886 and 1892. Continue Reading

The White Pine Silver Rush

Deep in what was a vast wilderness in eastern Nevada, the White Pine district experienced one of the most intense and short-lived mining excitements in the history of the American West. What began as a modest discovery in the mid-1860s escalated into a boom that drew thousands of miners, speculators, and investors to the heights of Treasure Hill. Continue Reading

The Farwell Ditch

This little-known history of the Farwell Ditch in the Hahn’s Peak Mining District (located approximately thirty miles north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado) was provided by author Nolan Farwell, a distant relative of John V. Farwell, for whom the ditch was named. Continue Reading

Seven Troughs, Nevada: The Long Tunnel

Seven Troughs was a well-known Nevada gold mining district that saw its most productive years from 1907 to 1917. By the 1920s the district was largely idle, until an ambitious tunnel project was proposed to make mining economical once more and revive the district. This is the story of the “Long Tunnel” at what is now known as the Tunnel Camp site. Continue Reading

The Belcher Mine: 1870s Mining Methods of the Comstock Lode

Using the fascinating ca. 1876 illustration of the Belcher mine workings by T. L. Dawes, this article examines some of the mining methods employed in the mines of Nevada’s Comstock Lode. Continue Reading

Historic Silver Ingots: 19th Century Treasures

The ingots produced by the mines of the West’s great silver districts are some of the only remaining artifacts from from a bygone era of Western mining. As some of the few surviving artifacts from these camps, they are now prized by collectors. This article takes a look at silver ingots that have sold at auction over the last couple decades. Continue Reading

The Nevada Belmont Mine and Mill

What is now known as the Belmont mine was previously referred to as the Nevada Belmont and was operated by the Tonopah-Belmont Exploration Company. The mine was a lead producer, and only recorded production in 1926. Continue Reading

Member Protected