SHOSHONE -
15 and one-half miles southeast of US 93, 4 miles south of its junction with US
50 and 6; 37 miles southeast of Ely.
A post office and school known as Shoshone were located about
1½ miles north of Minerva. Two old log cabins, a turn of the
century house and a newer home can be seen today on this private
ranch. The site is now called the Shoshone Ranch. During the
duration of nearby Minerva, miner's children
attended school at Shoshone.
The Swallow Brothers owned
the Ranch. Ranch buildings exist today besides the buildings
shown in the pictures below. This property raises large
amounts of hay and has an extensive watering system to water
the crop. The hay is then baled in ton rolls and stored in
various places on the ranch property.
Silver was discovered in
this area in 1869 but separating it from the gangue rock was
difficult because of an heavy white mineral which was
found within the silver ore. This substance was much later
identified as scheelite, an ore containing tungsten. World
War I created a demand for tungsten to harden steel.
When the war was over, demand disappeared and tungsten
mining in the area ceased until the 1930's. Some activity
took place in the 1950's.
During the depression,
Paul Sirkegian, Consolidated Copper Company's General
Superintendent at Kimberly, Nevada, organized the
incorporation of the Tungsten Metals Corporation to mine and
mill the tungsten in the Minerva Mining District. This
company built the townsite of Minerva on land sold to them
by the Swallow Brothers.
The large spring and pond
located in the stand of tall trees just to the west of the townsite
of Minerva owned by the Shoshone
Ranch provided the domestic and
mill water for that small village.
