Nevadaville

Ben Dugan
GCN Historical Writer

  Nevada City is one of the many ghost towns in Gilpin County. Nevada City came into existence three weeks after the discovery of gold in Colorado by John Gregory in May 1859. The town itself was founded by A.D. Gambell and Sam Link. Many mining discoveries were found in the broad valley between Quartz hill and Gunnell Hill southwest of Central City. During the summer of 1860 two miners wandered west over the hills and discovered silver in what would come to be known as the Union Mining District in a valley, which was named Empire City. Empire City was the site of sizable gold bearing fissure veins and became famous as a gold mining center early in Colorado’s history. Miners flooded into Empire City from Gilpin County until the easily obtained placer gold ran out. After the placer gold ran out in 1864 many miners left for the new silver discoveries in Georgetown.

  One of the primary mines, the Burroughs Lode, was discovered in 1859 and the Burroughs extension was discovered in 1860. This was a fissure vein and took years to develop. The mine was patented in 1878. From the depths of its 400-foot shaft it produced gold ore containing gold-bearing quartz and iron and copper pyrites. The gold assayed at the Burroughs extension was $20 per ton and by 1882 had a total production of $20,000. Nevada City population skyrocketed to almost 3,000 people and was the greatest concentration of mining in Gilpin County. In December 1860 this led to the dispensation of Colorado Masonic Lodge #4 as chartered by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Kansas. The membership was twenty-two. In these early days the mills at Nevada were experimenting with stamp mill procedures. This was before there was any Territorial organization. One resident stated, “There is no government for the advancement of our interests here.”

  The postal service shortened Nevada City to Nevada and this caused confusion for the U.S. Postal Service and another mining community of the same name in California. Residents again changed the name to Nevadaville to satisfy the post office. The post office officially changed the name to Bald Mountain in 1869. Local residents, however, continued to use Nevadaville to refer to their home. There were scores of businesses and a large concentration of Cornish and Irish miners. Nevadaville outdid all of the other mining camps in Gilpin County and built one of the first schools in the area with 150 students.

  The numerous mining operations in Nevadaville supported forty quartz mills and a saw mill. James Peck who later went to Empire City, worked for a short time as the manager of the Whitcomb Mill. James Peck built the Peck House, which became an important stage stop on the Berthoud Pass wagon road to Middle Park. A fire burned fifty houses early in its history. They were rebuilt and mining activities continued. In 1861 Territorial Governor William Gilpin sought volunteer soldiers to protect the Colorado gold fields from the Texas Confederates. Volunteers came from Nevadaville and Empire and formed Company G which was commanded by Captain Josiah W. Hambleton. Hambleton was cashiered by court martial for insubordination. After training at Camp Weld in Denver, these soldiers went on to turn back Confederates forces at Glorieta Pass in New Mexico in March 1862.

  Important mining operations at Nevadaville included the Ophir, California, Pat Casey, Hidden Treasure, Hubert, Indiana, Kent County, Kansas, and Prize Mines. The Prize Mine can be clearly seen on the way up to Nevadaville from Central City. The Argo Tunnel was constructed from Idaho Springs in 1905 to drain the Gilpin County mines and terminates at Nevadaville. By the turn of the century Nevadaville’s population was approximately 1,200. In its heyday Nevadaville had a brass band which played often at Cannon’s Hall and a baseball team. Cricket was a favorite of the Cornish as well. Mining continued to be prosperous but a lack of water spelled the decline of Nevadaville. The town survived until 1914 and it then became a virtual ghost town.

  In 1929 there was but one resident, Leonard Nichols, and rows upon rows of houses and blocks of stores that were deserted. In 1932 Muriel Sibell observed the high church stood atop the hill and crowned the city as the St. Aloysius Academy did in Central City. Then, one winter, in a heavy wind storm, the steeple blew off and lay rotting on the ground. The next year the interior of the church was one mass of buckled floor, velvet kneeling cushions, moldy and water soaked, and hymn books strewn about. Houses in town we in similar condition. Ruins in the houses included old furniture with broken upholstery, old newspapers, a few books with their pages gummed together, tin pans, wash basins, old bottles, flapping wallpaper, dropping plaster, and the rattle of corrugated iron. Muriel Sibell Wolle spent much time exploring and documenting many old abandoned mining camps around Colorado. The fine-arts building at the University of Colorado in Boulder is named after her. She was involved in that institutions arts program for many years. She also wrote Stampede to Timberline detailing her accounts of discovering these ghost towns.

  In 1947 there were 4 persons in Nevadaville. Today there are a few families living there. Remnants of the Pat Casey mine are still evident. Pat Casey was a tough Irishmen who arrived early in the history of Nevadaville and worked on a claim near the Burroughs Lode. He was illiterate but worked hard and his mine became a solid producer. The Masonic Lodge, City Hall, and old saloon are still standing. There are tailings and abandoned mines covering much of Quartz Hill as it extends to the west. Nevadaville remains as one of Colorado’s unique ghost towns rich with history.