Diamondfield Nevada. The mining district of Diamondfield was looking to be a very promising mining district in 1907. Diamondfield Jack Davis discovered Quartz ledges on McMahon Ridge. As the Diamondfield Daisy Mines production increased, Iron stained Quartz veins laced with Gold were discovered at the 150’ level. After about a year of mining, the ore petered out to the 300’ level. The specimen shown below was found decades ago in an abandoned backfill in the Diamondfield Daisy Mine. The rich specimen appears unattractive in its natural state, but when cut and polished, it unveils its spectacular beauty. I made it into a cab and inserted the specimen into this antique setting.
Goldfield Nevada. A fresh find this morning!! Bonanza Ore. High Grade Epithermal Gold Specimen. This exceedingly rich piece of high grade was found this morning, (4-15-2019). It shows Native Gold layered all through the specimen, it also contains Goldfieldite, Milltown Andesite, Alunite, Famatinite, Quartz, Bismuthinite and Cryptocrystalline Quartz. Size: 5/8” x 1 1/4” x 1 3/4”...
Goldfield Nevada. The greatest mining camp in the world !! Worthy was Goldfield to receive such praise in 1905, new high grade pockets of Gold ore were being discovered almost on a weekly basis. In the next ten years, over 85 million dollars would be produced by Goldfield’s chief mines, that is when Gold was $20.67 an ounce !! So much Gold was being produced at Goldfield in a short period of time that economists were worried that Gold may lose its value..
Goldfield Nevada. This is the house that Tom Lockhart had built in 1906. Lockhart was the owner of the Florence Mine at Goldfield. During the same time, Goldfield Consolidated Mines offered Lockhart 4.5 million for the Florence, Lockhart turned it down. It’s amazing to think that almost two years before that offer , Lockhart bought the Florence for $25,000 !! Which in 1904 was big money.. The photographs show the before and after of the house restoration that was done in 2018 .
Goldfield Nevada. Bonanza Ore. High Grade Epithermal Gold Specimen. This fabulous exceedingly rich Gold specimen was mined at the famous Engineers Lease of the Florence Mine. This mine was extraordinary because most of the ore was high Grade, with very little shipping grade ore. Another fascinating thing about this property is that it was leased by three mining engineers that were partners. This rare specimen would assay at well over 1,000 ounces of Gold per ton !!
Seven Troughs Nevada. Gold was discovered in Seven Troughs Canyon in 1905, in 1906, two mines were producing good milling ore and some high grade ore as well. The mines worked consistently until 1917 when the ore was exhausted. The advertisement paperweight was probably a bonus gift to a stockholder, the specimen that is in the paperweight is specimen of Gold in Quartz. The paperweight is turning purple as there was manganese oxide in the glass that through years of sun light, (ultraviolet rays) would turn purple. Circa 1907. The medicine bottle was found deep in a mine years ago in the Seven Troughs district.
Goldfield Nevada. This photograph shows one of a two compartment shaft of the Little Florence Lease, this compartment was used to transport men. The Little Florence Lease was the scene of some fabulous Gold Discoveries, within eight months, between 1907-1908, over 1.7 million dollars of Gold ore was produced at the Little Florence, when Gold was $20.67 an ounce. Several tons of rich ore assayed at over 2,800 ounces of Gold per ton. This shaft has a depth of 555 feet. The exceedingly rich Gold specimen was from this famous Lease.
DeLamar Nevada. Around 1895, a rich ledge of Gold Quartz was discovered, since this district was very remote and sitting on a mountain, excitement was suppressed until Joseph DeLamar bought a good portion of the mining interests there. Water was very scarce in the district and was sold by the gallon to the townspeople by the Delamar Mining Company. The mining company could not get enough water to operate a standard Quartz crushing mill, so a mill that processed the ore “dry” was installed. DeLamar was often referred to the name of “widow Maker” as mill tenders and miners were becoming ill and dying from the condensed dust of Silica. Many people in town would complain as clouds of Silica dust would generally lay over the town as the mill was only a block away. Today, stone buildings, mill ruins, large waste piles and a Cemetery out side of town are all that remain.
Rhyolite Nevada. The first photograph shows the impressive John S. Cook & Co. bank. This building Became the most impressive structure in Rhyolite and held one of the most powerful banks in Nevada. When outcrops of high grade ore were discovered in 1905, a rush of miners came to see the excitement. By late 1907, a population of over 4,000 called Rhyolite their home. The district seemed to have the excitement of another Goldfield, which was 75 miles to the North, but when promised ore reserves by the engineers proved to be inaccurate, the mines dried up almost as quick as they started, by 1911, the town was virtually a ghost.
Goldfield Nevada. Restoration of the famous Rustler #2 Mine at Goldfield Nevada. The mine was in its last stages of disrepair, it is estimated that the buildings had two more years before the walls of the Hoist and Compressor house would have totally collapsed. It is now restored and used for Mine tours...
Gold Mountain Nevada. This $5 Gold piece was found with a metal detector near the old townsite of Gold Mountain, a remote district located about 28 miles South of Goldfield. It was minted at Carson City in 1880. Chances are that most of the Gold that is in this coin came from the famous Comstock Mines, the silver mines also produced millions in Gold.
DeLamar Nevada. This historic mining district is in a remote part of Nevada, during its peak, it had the nick name of “Widow Maker” Nevada, as water was scarce and the large mill processed ore dry, producing huge solids of fine Silica dust. For years, it caused Silicosis with mill tenders and miners. When my son was 5 years old at the time of these photos, we dug a couple miners privies, (out houses), miners camps and found 100+ year old bottles.... If you are in the area by Caliente Nevada, it’s worth the trip to see this true ghost camp...
Goldfield Nevada. This rare souvenir vase shows the famous Combination Mill at the mining district of Goldfield. The mill was one of the earliest and it was the most efficient, it’s recovery of the complex ore was 94-96%. It was one of the properties of the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company. In 1909, the Combination mine had mined out what was called the Hampton Stope, it was large and about 250’ below the Mill. In late 1909, the stope collapsed, causing a large portion of the mill to be devoured by the huge cave in. 3 mill tenders died in the mill. Vase circa 1907.
Goldfield Nevada. This rare corporate stamp was from the May Queen Mining Company. This property was one of the three claims that were first located by Harry Stimler and William Marsh in December of 1902. George Wingfield and George S. Nixon purchased the May Queen in 1904, it was later absorbed into the huge Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company in November of 1906 in which Nixon & Wingfield Consolidated six lucrative mines at Goldfield.
Goldfield Nevada. During the boom period of Goldfield, there have been many sharks that took advantage of people for their money, the biggest was George Graham Rice. In 1906, he started selling Goldfield mining stocks all over the U.S. the problem was, the mines didn’t exist, they were worthless pieces of paper, backed by the fancy certificates. Since the boom was red hot and money flowed like water, It was easy for Rice to sell his stocks to corporations or just the older woman that wanted to make a few more dollars. Two of the Goldfield Banks also took Rices mining stocks as security!! Rice also helped co promote the Gans / Nelson fight in 1906, Rice and Tex Rickard, ( the promoters ) had to raise a record $35,000 in price money within a week, it took them only a day and a half to raise it in town !! The purse was made up of 1,500 $20 Gold Pieces and displayed at the John S. Cook & Co. Bank. Rice also used a friend to form a trust company called L.M. Sullivan, which was his name, for the next year, Rice was milking hundreds of thousands of dollars from anyone that he could sell his worthless stocks to, he finally was charged with mail fraud and was sent to Prison.
Goldfield Nevada. These three photographs are of Tom Lockhart, the house that he had built at Goldfield in 1906 and the original high grade ore that was found in the Sweeney Lease. In late 1903, after selling off his mining interests in Tonopah for $25,000, Lockhart left for Goldfield, hoping that he could invest in the new strike there. It didn’t take long as the majority interest in the Florence Mine was up for sale. At the time, the Florence property country rock was in Milltown Andesite, Mining Engineers at Goldfield thought that the area that had this Andesite was out of the Alaskite zone, which at the time was where the six other mines were producing ore. Lockhart was told that Columbia Mountain fault that ran through the other mines also was in the Florence property. Lockhart inquired about the Florence and was offered the majority interest for $35,000, Lockhart, only having the $25,000 from Tonopah, offered this amount to the owner, which he accepted. Through early leasing of the Florence, rich ore was struck on the Nixon, Wingfield & Sweeney Lease, and just as quick, extremely rich ore was discovered on the Little Florence, Rogers and Engineers Leases. In 1905-1906, the Florence was the leader in production, aided greatly by the extremely rich ore that was uncovered. In September 1906, just two years of having paid $25,000 for the property, Nixon and Wingfield of Goldfield Consolidated Mines offered Lockhart 4.5 million for the property, he kindly turned down their offer !!! By 1912, the Florence produced almost 9 million dollars in Gold, when the precious metal was a little over $20 an ounce...
Goldfield Nevada. This original statement shows a three year production of the rich mines of the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company. It shows an amazing 1.2 million ounces of Gold produced from 455,000 tons of ore, that would average out to almost three ounces of Gold per ton !! Man, drill, powder, shovel, pick and ore car, this type of underground production and value will probably never be repeated in the U.S..
Goldfield Nevada. This miners pick has laid untouched for over 100 years, the sage brush has almost covered it. A miner probably laid it against a bush and forgot about it. By looking at the pick ends, they still have points and are sharp, it probably wasn’t used much. There is a name stamped on the head of the pick, “Comstock”, a brand of the pick. This was found on the Pan Handle Mine property, just above the Rustler #2 Mine...
Goldfield Nevada. This original photograph shows miners and businessmen celebrating together in the Mohawk Saloon as the New Year of 1908 is hoping to be as prosperous as the last. Goldfield’s ore production for the year of 1907 was almost 8 million dollars. At the time this photograph was taken, Goldfield had 49 saloons!! I’m sure that every saloon there was elbow to elbow also...
Goldfield Nevada. This Miners Candle box was found in a drift in the Mohawk / Florence Mine near the lease shaft many years ago. The box is stamped: Palace H (Hardware) Goldfield Nevada. Via Mina & T (Tonopah). The Palace Hardware Company was a very popular store that had a full line of mining supplies. Box Circa 1906.
Goldfield Nevada. This is the original Assay scale that was used by the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company. It was housed in the large assay building, (30’ x 60’) on the Clermont mining property. Dozens of assay’s were performed each day as tests were run not only on Goldfield ores but other districts as well, since Goldfield Consolidated had numerous interests . This original photograph shows the Assay office under construction in 1907, it was hard to take a clear photograph as the original photograph is under glass and a white streak is present from the shadow of the day. The Assay scale is now on loan for display at the Goldfield Visitors Center in Goldfield Nevada.
Tonopah Nevada. This original 14” in diameter cast iron fire insurance plaque came from the five story State Bank and Trust Company of Tonopah. Supposedly, if the owner of a building had one of these plaques, they would get preferential treatment in case of a multi structure fire. Construction of the building started in 1905, the bank commenced business the following year. Through the decades, the building was used for numerous businesses. In the 1950s, the second through fifth floors were turned into apartments. For a few decades, the building was called the Belvada, or Belvada Apartments until it was closed down by the Fire Marshall in the mid 1980s. Today, the building is being restored.
Fairview Nevada. This original blue print shows the mining district of Fairview in Humboldt County Nevada. A rich silver outcrop was discovered here in 1905. It wasn’t until George S. Nixon and George Wingfield of Goldfield started buying up several claims that a small rush started. Around 1907, there was about 3,000 people that called Fairview their home. The high grade ore was shipped out of the district as piles of milling grade ore lay inactive, since shipping the ore was expensive, Nixon & Wingfield stocked up enough lower grade ore by 1910, in 1911, Their Nevada Hills Mining Company built a 20 stamp mill that could process 200 tons of Gold and Silver ore a day. The mill stayed profitable until 1917, when the major ore body was exhausted. Today, the mill foundations mark the site of Fairview. The photograph of the mill was taken a year after it was completed. The other photograph is an original blue print of the mill just showing the corner of it.
Goldfield Nevada. This very rare vase was sold in the store of Liebes & Goodfriend in the city of Goldfield as a souvenir. It shows the famous Combination Mill. Owned by the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company, the Combination Mill was the largest and most efficient mill in Goldfield at the time. In 1909, the Combination mill collapsed into the famous Hampton Stope, the stope was very large and was 250’ below the mill. Engineers have thought that the large stamps that crushed the ore transmitted enough vibration to collapse the stope. Three mill tenders died in the collapse. Vase Circa 1907.
Tonopah & Goldfield Nevada. This item is a very rare sterling silver souvenir badge, celebrating “Railroad Day” at Goldfield in September 1905. During this celebration, a silver spike was driven by U.S. Senator and mine owner George S. Nixon. Drilling contests and parades went on for two days at Goldfield, marking a very important period in Goldfield’s prominence and history.
Manhattan Nevada. This rare original panorama Photograph shows the main town of Manhattan. Originally, Silver was discovered in Manhattan Nevada in 1867. A year later, the district was abandoned for decades until 1905, when Gold was discovered there. In around 1906, about 4,000 people lived in Manhattan, but the Gold production declined a year afterward and so did the population. In 1909, another deposit was discovered and Manhattan intermittently produced Gold into the 1940s. Today, about 140 people live in this high elevation (7,000 feet) remote mining town.
Gold Mountain Nevada. The Gold Mountain Mine is located about four miles south of GoldPoint. This Gold mine was active during the 1870s. The timbering in the mine is mostly Pinion Pine. Square nails are abundant there. The shaft has caved and is now impassable. The miners candlestick that is shown was found on the waste pile....
Goldfield Nevada. This original blueprint from 1907 shows the two large forges that were installed at the Mohawk and Clermont Mines. The shop buildings at these two properties were owned by The Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company, they were larger than the Jumbo, Laguna, Combination and Red Top Mines that were also under the control of the company. All of the drill steel was trimmed, sharpened and hardened in these two shops for the entire operating mines of Consolidated.
Goldfield Nevada. This original hand drawn on Vellum print from 1907, shows the famous Little Florence Lease on the Florence mining property. This lease was made famous because of the extraordinarily rich high grade Gold that was found there. In 1907, over 1.8 million dollars in Gold was taken out of the stopes, that is when Gold was $20.67 an ounce.... that was 90,000 ounces of Gold with a today’s value of 117 million dollars !!
Goldfield Nevada. This is a trade token from the Red Top Bar, it was named after a famous mine at Goldfield. The Red Top Bar was a favorite among miners and businessmen. During 1907 and 1908, 49 saloons operated in the mining metropolis of Goldfield. This token was good “For A Drink”, this piece of history was found on top of the ground, just below a waste dump of the famous Rustler #2 Mine. Circa 1907.
Goldfield Nevada. An original Assay bag from the California Assay Office out of Goldfield Nevada. This company was popular among prospectors and mining companies. During the early years of Goldfield, (1905 - 1908), some miners working the rich mines would steal pieces of high grade Gold ore worth $5 - 20 a pound and sell it to the less respectable Assayer’s in town, generally for 50 cents on the dollar, at least that is what the miner was supposed to get.
Virginia City Nevada. This very rare candle lantern was made by a master Blacksmith and store owner by the name of John Gillig, As candles were the primary use of light in the mines of the 1870s, a lantern was needed to transport light in the deep shafts of the Comstock mines. Gillig experimented on making a durable candle lantern that would be suitable in the Comstock Mines. During the years of 1877 and 1878, he made some lanterns in his Blacksmith shop. The design of his lanterns were being copied by other Blacksmiths during that time, so on May 20th, 1879, Gillig patented his lantern. These lanterns became known as the “Grant Lantern” as President Ulysses S. Grant visited the Comstock mines and is photographed with him and his wife holding these lanterns. Today, about four lanterns that were made for the Virginia City mines exist, this one shown is the only lantern known that shows the name and patent date of John Gillig. The original underground photograph shows women and shirtless miners with some of these lanterns. Photograph circa 1880.
Goldfield Nevada. This original 1910 photograph shows a remarkable “Loving Cup” that was made for John H. Mackenzie, the manager of The Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company. In 1910, Mackenzie told George Wingfield, the president of the company, that he was resigning from the company to get into government services. Wingfield did what he could to talk him out of resigning but, Mackenzie had his mind made up. The original manager at the formation of the large mining company in November of 1906, Mackenzie was a well liked person, not only with the office staff, but even with mill tenders and miners. Wingfield had conversed with directors of the company and wanted to make Mackenzie’s departure a special occasion. Wingfield contacted Shreve, of San Francisco, a top jewelry store that made anything out of Gold and Silver, Shreve had some of the best Silversmiths in the country. Wingfield asked Shreve if they could make a nice trophy style cup out of solid Gold and how much Gold they would need, the jewelry company told Wingfield that an impressive Loving Cup would need 75 ounces of Gold for it, Wingfield agreed !! The Gold was produced at Goldfield, from the Mohawk, Combination, Red Top and Jumbo Mines, all of these rich mines were controlled by the Consolidated Mines. The Gold was smelted to purity in the Consolidated Mill and sent to Shreve. The Loving Cup was made and sent back to Wingfield, an evening celebration was held in honor of Mackenzie in the beautiful Goldfield Hotel to where the former manager was given this amazing cup !! An interesting note: 1910 was the best year of Gold production for the Goldfield Consolidated Mines, 11.4 million dollars was produced when Gold was $20.67 an ounce !! That Loving Cup today would have a scrap value of around $90,000 !! What other trophy or presentation piece would have had that much Gold? it may even hold a record today ....
Goldfield Nevada. This original invoice from 1908 shows the cost for the steel framed Goldfield Consolidated Mill. This custom 100 stamp mill would have a total cost of over $750,000. From 1908 -1918, the mill processed over six million tons of ore with a value of over 50 million dollars. The Consolidated was one of the finest Quartz crushing mills in the world, with a recovery between 94% - 96% of Gold, processing Telluride, Oxide, Sulfide and free milling ore. Around 1928, the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company had the mill dismantled.
Winnemucca Nevada. This original statement was from the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada. In 1900, George S. Nixon was Cashier and part owner of this bank. On September 20th, 1900, the infamous Butch Cassidy and the (Hole In The Wall Gang) came into the bank and held Nixon at gun point, they told him to open the safe, he refused, Cassidy then pulled out a knife and threatened Nixon by slashing his throat, Nixon then opened the safe, the bandits took out over $32,000 in Gold Coin and left the bank. In 1905, Nixon became U.S. Senator of Nevada, in 1906, he formed the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company, within a year, it became the 17th largest corporation in the U.S. . In 1910, he won re-election to the senate, only to die in office in 1912. At the time of his death, his estimated worth was around 31 million dollars...
Seven Troughs Nevada. This very rare whiskey flask was from one of Seven Troughs famous Saloons, “ The Owl Club”. Seven Troughs is now a ghost town in Pershing County Nevada. Gold and Silver was discovered there in 1906 and in 1907, the Kindergarten Mine was the main producer. This whiskey flask was found in that mine, keeping it protected from the outside elements that would have surly destroyed the label. Bottle circa 1908.
Goldfield Nevada. Bonanza Ore. High Grade Epithermal Gold Specimen. This great specimen was mined during the early leasing period of the Goldfield boom period, (1906-1907). It is from the famous Rustler #2 Mine. Many tons of this 300+ ounces per ton of high grade Gold ore was mined, and very little of it exists today. The specimen contains Quartz, Bismuthinite, Milltown Andesite, Cryptocrystalline Quartz, Alunite, Famatinite, Goldfieldite and Native Gold.
Goldfield Nevada. This rare master clock was used in the famous Goldfield High School. It hung in the Principal’s office and governed all of the “slave” clocks that were in each classroom. The master clock was electric, (invented in the 1890s) and had a battery inside. At every sixty seconds, by wire, the master clock would give an electric impulse, changing all slave clock minute hands accordingly. Wires were either surface mounted in the wall or were installed during construction of the school. The Goldfield High School was built in 1907, it opened in 1908 and continually operated until 1952.
Rawhide Nevada. I will be putting out great original photographs of the mines of Rawhide in the next several days. Rawhide was a colorful mining district that was advertised world wide in 1907, there were many lucrative deposits all around the Rawhide mining district that the first deposit was originally located in 1906 in Mineral County Nevada, about 55 miles southeast of Fallon. The depth of the rich veins only went down a few hundred feet deep, so the peak of the districts population grew to 5,000 by 1908 and plummeted to 500 by 1910. Since the mining district was heavily promoted back in 1907, nice leasing and company signs were made and installed on mining buildings and head frames for advertisement. A lot of money was lost on (dirty) mining promotions in Rawhide as slick Con Artists were selling mining stock with fancy looking certificates that were from worthless mining properties. Today, the original mining district is gone, due to major open pit mining operations in the 1980s - 2000s, nothing is left of the old district.
Goldfield Nevada. Bonanza Ore. High Grade Epithermal Gold Specimen. This very rich Gold specimen was found on July 3rd, 2019. It was mined during the early leasing period of Goldfield’s rich mines. It is from the famous Little Florence Mine. The interior photograph is of the Rustler #2 Hoist House built in 1906.
Milltown Nevada. This Merchant Token was from a suburb town just east of Goldfield, located on the Florence group of claims. It consisted of several small wood structures. It is believed that the small area was built for a stopping point for the Bullfrog Goldfield and Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad, as the line passed through Milltown. Today, nothing exists on the site, only some rare tokens and a couple photographs are all that are left of this true ghost.
Weepah Nevada. Weepah was the last great Gold Rush in the United States. A specimen of Gold that was assayed at thousands of dollars per ton was found. A small rush of prospectors assembled on the future Weepah mining district. In 1927, Frank Horton found Gold in a Quartz ledge, this caused a Gold frenzy that brought hundreds of Gold seekers to the district. As other finds were being discovered, George Wingfield of Goldfield fame came in to the district with his top mining engineer, this attracted business men with money to invest in the districts mines and thousands of men eager to make money. As Wingfield’s engineer made his assessments, it was clear to Wingfield that the veins were shallow. With Wingfield not willing to purchase or invest in the mines, a drop in interest soon developed. As the shallow high grade pockets of Gold ore were mined out, it was hard to produce enough good ore to make a decent profit as most of the ore was at a low milling grade. It didn’t take long for the last great Gold rush to fade into memory.
Goldfield Nevada. This impressive building was built by George S. Nixon in 1905 at Goldfield Nevada. At the time, it was the first large substantial building that was erected, built of white Rhyolite and Basalt stone, it was very impressive. It housed many businesses including Lawyers and mining companies. The first floor housed Nixon’s John S Cook & Co. Bank. In 1923, a huge fire destroyed 42 city blocks of the town, including this grand building. The rare souvenir dish showing the Nixon block is from around 1907.
Goldfield Nevada. These bottles and cans were uncovered on July 13th, 2019 while restoring an old house in the mining town of Goldfield. The two whiskey bottles still have their original corks and labels, due to being under the 1908 house. One of the last residents to live in the house was Earl Niesser, a miner that lived in Goldfield for most of his life. Bottles circa 1908.
George Wingfield. A rare original hand tinted photograph of the “King of Nevada”, standing on the running board of his 1924 Hudson “Big Six” Sedan. The photograph was probably taken in a remote part of Nevada as the group came upon this abandoned buggy with a mummified body of a horse attached to it !! It was very common for the millionaire to visit his mining properties and remote discoveries made by prospectors that would first contact Wingfield of their discovery. This original photograph was George Wingfield’s and hung in his house in Reno Nevada.
