Seven Troughs History
The Seven Troughs district was established after gold discoveries in 1905. The district was reported to have 5,000 miners, prospectors, an business owners during the initial rush in early 1907. Four towns were established: Seven Troughs, Vernon, Mazuma, and Farrell. Plans were forming in 1907 for two possible railroad connections, but they never materialized.
Newspapers in April of 1907 reported "The rush from Goldfield to Seven Troughs, the mining camp northwest of Lovelock, has begun. Business men and miners are leaving the older district to seek their fortunes in the new. Automobile stage lines are being operated, hauling 800 people a day to Seven Troughs."
Vernon was initially the primary town, but as the initial boom faded the town of Seven Troughs, which was situated near the best mines, became the most stable community in the district. Not much was recorded about the town itself, but up to 350 people lived here and the community was served by a hotel, stores, and a post office.
The Kindergarten vein at Seven Troughs was the location of the most famous mines in the area. Several companies leased ground here, with some reporting occasional ore that ran as high as $100,000 in gold and silver to the ton. The mines of the district were idled by a month-long strike in the summer of 1907. The strike ended with the mine owners agreeing to pay $5 for an 8 hour day.
Additional rich ore discoveries were made in the district during 1908: "Specimens that have been shown from this treasure vault consist of a clear white quartz, literally peppered full of gold and apparently as rich as picture rock taken from the Seven Troughs mine. No amount of precaution has been able to keep the discovery from the public and the town of Seven Troughs has experienced a series of excitements and stories and samples of the ore have been circulated."
On July 12, 1912, a cloudburst partially destroyed the Seven Troughs camp, and completely destroyed the town of Mazuma which was down the hill from Seven Troughs. Twenty people were killed, all of them in Mazuma. One body was found three miles from town. Newspapers described the event:
...much property damage is reported in Seven Troughs. Seven Troughs is situated half way up the mountainside, with Mazuma at the base in a canyon three miles away. The wall of water swept down the canyon carrying buildings before it and overturning the Mazuma hotel. Those In the streets were carried down the gulch and many were cast to safety along the sides of the canyon.
Articles published in 1916 indicate that Seven Troughs was still producing significant gold nearly a decade after the first discoveries, however this is the last year that the district gets wide mention in newspapers. The post office closed in 1918, indicating that the town was in serious decline. By the early twenties the district was quiet and Seven Troughs became a ghost town. Two million dollars of gold was mined here between 1907 and 1921.
Tunnel Camp
The following 1931 map included a settlement between Seven Troughs and Vernon called Tunnel Camp (AKA Tunnel or New Seven Troughs.) Tunnel Camp was a company town established in 1927 by the Nevada State Mining Co. with the goal of driving a tunnel into the old works for drainage of water from the mine and to haul ore to a new 100-ton cyanide mill.
The camp had around thirty structures which included a store, bunkhouse, bathhouse, and powerhouse. Work here stopped in 1934 but resumed intermittently through the 1950s.
Nevada Mining Photos
A Collection of Nevada Mining Photos contains numerous examples of Nevada's best historic mining scenes.
Nevada Gold
Nevada has a total of 368 distinct gold districts. Of the of those, just 36 are major producers with production and/or reserves of over 1,000,000 ounces, 49 have production and/or reserves of over 100,000 ounces, with the rest having less than 100,000 ounces. Read more: Gold Districts of Nevada.
