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
Featured Mining Town: Rawhide, Nevada
Rawhide was a mining town that exemplifies many of the towns which sprang up in Nevada during the silver and gold rushes in the state's history. Rawhide was less a town born on the actual finding of large silver or gold deposits, and more on the manipulation of greed and desire for "the next big thing". Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Silver Plume, Colorado
Silver Plume was founded in 1869 near the rich silver mines west of Georgetown. Today most of the town is part of the GeorgetownSilver Plume National Historic Landmark District. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Georgetown, Colorado
Georgetown, Colorado was settled after the discovery of gold in 1859. The town would ultimately become the center of a major silver district and Colorados most important mining town in the 1870s. Today, Georgetown is one of the best preserved Victorian-era mining towns in the West. Continue Reading
