WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEVADA GHOST TOWNS SITES
& Historic Cemeteries Part 2
Pinto Creek Station to Ward
Ghost Towns Part 1 Aurum to Pinto
Note:
Entry into most of the ghost towns is seasonal and limited due to their access roads and remote locations. Although these towns played a vital part in the history of Nevada, in most cases, little actually remains intact. In some instances crumbling foundations and old grave yards are all that is left due to vandalism, recycling of building materials and the elements. Many sites are located on private property and these ownership rights must be respected by visitors.
PINTO CREEK STATION - (1868-1870's) 2½ miles northwest of the Newark Valley road at a point 5 miles north of its junction with US 50. T19N R54E SE1/4 Section 36. It served travelers between Austin and Hamilton until the stage road was rerouted to the south of the site in the early 1870's. It is now the site of a ranch.
POGUE'S STATION - (1870's - ca 1915)
On SR 20, 16 miles south of its junction with US 50, at a point 67 miles west of Ely. In the early 1870's, a station was built here to exchange stock for Pritchard's Fast Freight route and to accommodate travelers between Palisade and Pioche because of a good well water supply.Eventually, a barn, adobe building, corral and other simple lodging structures were built. The station operated until around 1900. Jim Pogue, the stationmaster, was not known for his cleanliness. Travelers had to eat at his station or pay a high tariff to water their livestock. Only stone walls remain.
RAGDUMP - (1907-1914)
2 miles north of McGill in T18N R64E SE1/4 SW1/4 Section 15. One of McGill's three fringe "sin" towns, Ragdump, Steptoe City, and Smelterville, containing several saloons, dance halls, gambling dens and cribs for prostitutes. Ragdump was the most offensive of the three. Ragdump was shut down in 1914 because of public outcry against the immoral activities of the town. Nothing remains of Ragdump which is presently the location of an automobile salvage yard.
RIEPETOWN - (1907)
(REIPETOWN - this incorrect spelling of the name is often seen)
SR 44, 3 miles southwest of its junction with US 50; 5 miles northwest of Ely. Named for Richard A. Riepe, the original developer of the community that provided homes largely for foreign-born mine families and famous for its sinful reputation as an "open" community."By mid-1909 Riepetown had gained the distinction of being the wettest town in the county" and "thrived on liquor, gambling and prostitution, and knifings, robberies, and fist fights were regular occurrences. Numerous cribs and 16 saloons adequately served the district."
Louis Piscevich and wife Milka, the parents of Lucy Schulz and several other children, owned and operated a saloon and boarding house in Riepetown for many years until around 1953 when they retired and moved to Ely. All their children were raised in Riepetown. Schulz writes, "Riepetown was a mining town and had two grocery stores, a barber shop and 10 saloons... and gambling halls with prostitution. The post office, hospital, grammar school and sheriff were in Kimberly, about one mile away." She goes on to say, "There were a lot of different ethnic (people): Slavs, Greeks, Mexicans and Italians."
In the middle 1990's, the site contained only foundations and was located on private property. By 1995, even those were bulldozed and leveled by MAGMA for room for mine buildings. The MAGMA / BHP copper mill now stands on the site of Riepetown and is not available to be seen by the public. BHP has some artifacts recovered from the old townsite that it is planning on putting on display in the near future. Riepetown photos
ROBINSON CANYON -
A mining district named for Thomas Robinson, one of the locators of the mining district. The 1870 census shows a population of 67 in Robinson Canyon.
ROUND SPRING - (1870's-1880's)
1 miles west of US 50, 36 miles west of Ely. A wayside inn and toll station on the eastern access road to Hamilton. The spring and some ruins of foundations remain.RUBY HILL (or RUBYVILLE) - (1871)
7 miles east of US 93, 17 miles north of McGill; 33 miles north-northeast of Ely. A small short-lived mining camp with a mill. A few log ruins remain.RUTH - A Town on the Move - (1903 - 1954)
On SR 44, 2 miles southwest of its junction with US 50 at a point 5 miles northwest of Ely. Named for Ruth McDonald (Marcotte), the three-year-old daughter of D. C. (Dan) McDonald, locator of the original Ruth Mine that touched off the Ely area copper boom.Also dubbed the "traveling town," the town of Ruth has been literally moved three times between 1903 and the middle 1950's. In 1903, the first Ruth community was a conglomeration of tents and hastily built frame shacks. By 1910, the settlement had moved a short distance to a new nearby site which is referred to as Old Ruth.
Just before the depression started, Old Ruth's population was over 2,200 people.
Ca 1912 - Old Ruth Panorama View - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
Most all of the buildings were moved a short distance to New Ruth or to Ely around 1954 when mining operations were extended. The second Old Ruth site now lies beneath the huge tailings of the Ruth Mine's open pit. See populated towns for more Ruth history and pictures.
Ruth Copper mines map.
SCHELLBOURNE (FORT) -
Fort Schellbourne is located south of the Cherry Creek road at the junction of US 93 and C. R. 2, then 3 miles east; 39 miles north of Ely in Steptoe Valley. Named for Major A. J. Schell, a commander of the troops guarding the Mail line. It has a long history of Indian fighting, and first served as George Chorpenning's Jackass Mail and later as the Schell Creek Pony Express and Overland Stage Station; later as a fort for the US troops. Then, it served as a mining camp during the 1870's.The Schell Creek Station and corral was built by the Pony Express in the Spring of 1860. The Overland Stage Line also used the Schell Creek station for stock exchange and an inn for travelers until 1869.
Nearby "paydirt" discoveries led to the formation of a mining camp in 1871. By December of that year a post office was established for Schellbourne. The Schell Creek Prospect newspaper published a weekly edition by July of 1972 for the 300 residents. A Wells Fargo building or bank was erected with heavy steel doors which are still on the old building. Jerry Bowen's Schellbourne, NV pictures.
Photo Courtesy of Sunny MartinBetter ore discoveries were made across the valley at Cherry Creek in late 1872, and the majority of people headed over there. Mining machinery and many buildings were quickly moved to Cherry Creek. During the decade, a five-stamp mill was built, but population had declined by 1880 to only 50 people.
Schellbourne now serves as the headquarters for a ranch. One of two small cemeteries lies near the stone and log ruins of the town in Lot 9 Section 7, T22N R65E and is a Historical Monument under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
Schellbourne Ranch, White Pine County, Nevada (near Cherry Creek)
(Schellbourne is a ghost town on private property, but a few buildings remain in various states of disrepair. Permission is required to visit the site. The cemetery a short distance to the east of the buildings, has at least 6 graves. The three Burke markers on the right are made of cut steel wagon wheel sections riveted together in the shape of crosses. Three other graves to the left are marked by illegible wooden crosses.) The cemetery page has pictures.
SELIGMAN - (early 1880's-ca. 1895)
4 miles northeast of Monte Cristo; 3½ miles west of Hamilton. This camp was first called Leadville and is found on the west side of Mount Hamilton. By 1887, Seligman had a blacksmith shop, a Wells Fargo office, a boarding house, assay office, a general merchandise store, mill and post office. The town did not have any gambling dens. Rock ruins remain.SHERMANTOWN - (1868-1870)
5 miles down a steep canyon and southwest of Hamilton. First called Silver Springs and later named for General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1869, it was the mill town for the White Pine Mining District. This town had adequate water and timber to build stamp mills so it became the center for processing ore in the district. Shermantown was incorporated on March 27, 1869.In June 1869, George F. Bliss, a early town developer and a member of the original Board of Trustees was elected City Marshal and Street Commissioner. Less than six weeks later, Bliss was arrested for assaulting Edwin A. Sherman, another one of the town's founders and the past president of the Board of Trustees. Marshal Bliss had to pay a fine of $150.00.
The town had eight mills with 69 stamps, four furnaces and two sawmills. Business structures were built of light sandstone. The town had two newspapers, one named the "White Pine Evening Telegram" edited by E. F. McElwain that lasted 11 weeks in 1869, and the "Shermantown Reporter" published for a few issues in May 1870 before its editor, G. A. Brier, dropped dead in the Wells Fargo office.
Liquor was readily available in the 12 restaurants, 11 saloons and 9 lodging houses. Recreation consisted of 2 theaters, 2 ice-cream parlors, a nearby horse racing track, the Silver Springs Glee Club, a German Social Club, the Shermantown Guard of Mexican-American War Veterans. A three-story building was used for Masonic and Odd Fellow meetings.
The first school was a private school at the head of Main Street and operated by Mrs. Shoaf. A public school was built a few months later. There were 3 assay offices, 4 livery stables and 2 stage lines connected with nearby Hamilton. Francis B. Clark operated a drugstore here before moving the business to Taylor and then to Ely.
Only low-grade silver ore was available in the area and the costs to mine it exceeded its worth so the town quickly dwindled away. By 1875, only Dr. E. X. Willard, a mining man and his family remained in Shermantown. Many of the commercial buildings were torn down and used to rebuild after Hamilton's fires in 1872 and 1873. No mention of churches or a cemetery is found in the newspapers of the day. Stone mill ruins and walls can be seen.
(Sources: "Shermantown, Nevada 1868-1870", a manuscript by Thomas S. Reid)
SIEGEL - (1870's - 1880's)
4 miles west of the Spring Valley road 3 miles south of junction of CR 2; 38 miles east of Ely. Siegel was first called Centerville. The camp was built due to the discovery of silver mines on the east flank of the Schell Creek Range on Siegel Creek. Siegel had a post office 1907-1908. Stone ruins can be seen.Siegal Ranch, White Pine County, Nevada near Cherry Creek
Sources: White Pine County Recorder office, Old Book #1 Book 53, Deaths
Rice, Edward P. (or Adolph), ca 30, died 2 Feb 1908, of pneumonia and Bright’s Disease, buried at the Siegal Ranch, 2 Feb 1908.
SMELTERVILLE - (1907)
2 miles southwest of McGill. One of McGill's three fringe towns, Ragdump, Steptoe City, and Smelterville, contained saloons, dance halls, gambling dens and cribs. Smelterville, along with Ragdump, was shut down in 1914 because of public outcry against the immoral activities of the town. Tailings now cover the site of Smelterville.
STEPTOE CITY - (1907 - 1926)
½ mile east of US 93 at a point mile north of McGill. One of McGill's three fringe towns established by people that did not want to live in the segregated company town. Steptoe City never had electric service and the residents had to haul water from a single spigot provided by the copper company.A fire in 1926 destroyed most of Steptoe City. A few dilapidated buildings and foundations remain on the site but there is no public access available.
STEPTOE VALLEY -
Named for Col. E. J. Steptoe, one of the Indian fighters of the Old West.
SWANSEA - (1869-1869)
3¼ miles west of Hamilton in Sherman Canyon. Shermantown annexed this milling settlement and it did not have a separate development other than several smelting works. Some rock ruins remain.
TAMBERLAINE - (1873-?)
T15N R64E Section 10. The site of TAMBERLAINE is located on the west side of the Schell Creek Range, a little southeast across the Steptoe Valley from Ely. Discoveries of good manganese ore were made by a party of Reno explorers in 1869, but it was not until the spring of 1873 that a town was laid out and named TAMBERLAINE.
Mining here has always been intermittent. In 1880, a body of silver ore was discovered. Some mining occurred during WWI and WWII and during the 1950's the TAMBERLAINE Mine was said to be the largest producer of manganese in the County.
TAYLOR - (1880)
4 miles east of US 93,50 and 6 at a point 14 miles south of Ely. After Cherry Creek and Ward declined by 1883, buildings were moved to Taylor. Soon, the White Pine Reflex newspaper, butcher shops, restaurants, boarding houses, a drugstore, opera house, brewery, post office, a brass band and school were established. Several unmarked burials remain in the Taylor Cemetery. Click on photos below to see enlarged view of the town.
Taylor, NV 1882
WPH&AS Photo
Taylor School - Waldo E. Rose - Prin. Nov. 26, 1916. Photo sent to WP Hist. & Arch. Soc by James Taylor 1999.
Taylor, NV
WPH&AS Photo
TREASURE CITY - (1867-1880)
Treasure City is just south of Hamilton, located at the 9,000 foot level on Treasure Hill. Treasure City was the first business center of the White Pine Mining District. Here, the Eberhardt mine produced $3,000,000 from a single hole 70 by 40 by 25 feet in size.Albert J. Leathers organized the White Pine Mining District with other Reese River miners in 1865. A Piaute Indian called "Napias Jim" (Napias is an Indian word for silver) took Leathers, a blacksmith and prospector to a spot near the summit of Treasure Hill and showed him an outcropping of silver ore in 1867. Napias Jim had wanted to atone for stealing food from Leathers. This discovery became the Hidden Treasure Mine, the first major mining operation on Treasure Hill.
In 1869, Treasure City had the White Pine News, a post office, stock exchange, theater, Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges, 42 stores, a bank, Wells Fargo office and several saloons. Most of the buildings burned down in 1874. The ruins of the town extend over a mile along the former main road. They include some of the stone and brick McCormick Bank, parts of other structures, many shafts, tunnels and mine dumps in the area. At least one burial took place at Treasure City.
TUNGSTONIA - (1915)
22 miles southeast of CR 2, 21 miles east of its junction with US 93. and 47 miles northeast of Ely. In the early 1880's, a camp named Glencoe grew around the Glencoe mine. Glencoe had a post office from 1891 to 1894. Tungsten was discovered in 1910 and a mill was built in 1915. Tungstonia was a tent and wood town that died when the price of tungsten dropped after World War I. Some ruins of the mill and buildings are left.VETERAN - (1906-1914)
¼ mile west of Kimberly. The Cumberland-Ely Copper Co. owned the Veteran shaft and the town did not last long. Veteran became the western terminus of the Nevada Northern Railway. Once, the town had about fifty buildings including; a three-story office, boarding house, and several bunkhouses. The land the town was on was required to further mining exploration and the town was in the way. Most of the buildings were moved to Ruth in 1914 and in 1957, the few remaining buildings were moved to New Ruth.Type in "Vetren" (sic) - panoramic views. Library of Congress, American Memory "Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851 - 1991. (Nevada--Veteran)
WARD - (1876-1887) (Picture of Ward)
Ward lies in T14N, R63E, Sections 13 & 14, and 2 miles west of the Cave Valley - Charcoal Ovens State Historical Site road at a point 7 miles south of its junction with US 50, 6 and 93; 12 miles south of Ely.
Ward was named for Thomas F. Ward, who discovered silver, lead, copper, maganese and antimony in the area in March 1872.
The mining camp of Ward had two smelters, a twenty stamp mill with three furnaces, a tramway, two breweries, fraternal orders, stores, saloons, a hook and ladder company, school, post office, city hall and two newspapers. One newspaper was called the Ward Reflex. By 1877 the population reached 1,500. The town began to decline in 1880 as the lead content of the ore decreased.
A fire in 1883 that started in Roach's blacksmith shop destroyed one-third of the buildings in Ward, including the school house and city hall. Between 1883 and 1885 many building that were left were moved across the valley to Taylor. The post office was discontinued in 1887.
Short lived mining revivals took place in 1906, the late 1930"s, and the 1960's. The Silver King Mining Company tried its luck during the 1970's. More recently, Alta Gold Mining Company has worked the old area on a small scale.
Little remains of Ward due to flash floods except for a few foundations, smelter and mill foundations and a small fenced cemetery located approximately one mile east of the town.
Three miles south of Ward can be found the six unusually well-preserved 30' high beehive shaped Ward Charcoal Ovens situated in Steptoe Valley. The Ward Charcoal Ovens were designated as a State Historic Site in 1957. See Historical Markers
Ward Charcoal Ovens - PhotosIt is unknown who actually built the elegant and massive ovens in 1876, but, it is obvious to even an untrained eye that whomever built them was a master stone mason.
Wood was first hauled by wagons to a platform level with the windows at the back of the ovens. Then 35 cords of wood was packed in layers inside each of the ovens and the windows and lower openings were tightly closed with iron doors. Double doors were on the bottom openings.
The temperature of the fire was controlled by careful monitoring and opening and closing the small vent holes located in the base of the ovens. When the correct amount of charring of the wood had been reached, the fire was smothered out by closing all of the openings so no oxygen could continue to fuel the fire.
In 1972, a local story relates that Clarence Moorman said that one of the ovens was whitewashed and made suitable for a home for a gambler and his prospective bride, Addie Hacker, to live in after the nuptials were performed. But alas, the two lovers quarreled and the wedding never took place.
Ghost Towns Part 1 Aurum to Pinto
Compiled by June Shaputis 1998
