Featured Mining Town: Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City, Nevada would be settled at the site of what was the single most valuable ore discovery in the West, the Comstock Lode. The city would quickly become one of the largest and most important in the western territories, and would prompt the federal government to rush Nevada into statehood. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Rhyolite, Nevada
Rhyolite, Nevada was the most dramatic example of the rise and fall of a mining boom town. In Just two years a city of up to 10,000 people rose out of the desert, only to be abandoned just a couple years later. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Ouray, Colorado
Ouray, Colorado is widely regarded as one of Americas most beautiful towns. Although the town was built by mining, it was the spectacular beauty of the area that gave Ouray long life as a tourist destination. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Aurora, Nevada
Aurora, Nevada is one of the West's most historically significant mining towns. Aurora is where a young Samuel Clemens tried his hand at mining. Clemens failed as a miner, but the letters he wrote in his dirt-floored cabin got him a job at a Virginia City newspaper, where he wrote under the name Mark Twain. Twain would go on to be one of the world's most famous figures. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Kingston, New Mexico
Kingston was founded in 1882 after a rich lode of silver ore was discovered by miner Jack Sheddon. At the height of its silver mining boom the population of Kingston topped 7,000, outstripping Albuquerque by at least 1,000 people. Continue Reading
Best Historical Photos: 1900s Nevada Boom Towns
The first decade of the 1900s was an exciting time for the state of Nevada. Most mining rushes were over in the West, but Nevada had numerous new discoveries during this time. Mining booms occurred that resembled the great excitements of the 1860s and 1870s, and mining camps quickly developed into fantastic cities. Continue Reading
