Nevada Mining Towns and Their Founders Quiz

Answer: Jim Butler

Jim Butler discovered the rich silver lode in 1901 allegedly when he picked up a rock to throw at his ornery mule. It turned out to be a rich piece silver ore. It proved to be one of the richest discoveries ever, second only to the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, and led to the boom town of Tonopah forming.

The town still exists although on a much smaller scale and retains the county seat for Nye County. The mines shut down for good in the late 1930s after producing $121 million.

Answer: Shorty Harris

Frank "Shorty" Harris discovered silver during the summer of 1904 which led to the town of Rhyolite springing from the desert sand and within a few years, it was one of the largest towns in Nevada. But the mines ran out almost as quickly and the town of almost 12,000 faded into obscurity by the end of the 1910s.

Answer: William Talcott

In May of 1862, William Talcott, a former Pony Express agent in nearby Jacobsville discovered silver and by the following spring, a town of 500 had sprung up. Mining continues even today in the area. Austin was the county seat until 1979 when it was moved to Battle Mountain. It is a quaint small town now and features the highest concentration of vintage churches in the state.

Answer: Henry Comstock

Henry Comstock was instrumental in the discovery of the rich lode that was named for him, the Comstock Lode, in 1859. While that lode became one of the richest ever anywhere, Comstock sold out his interest early and for a minimal profit. His life turned miserable after that and he later committed suicide in Bozeman, Montana in 1870 after continually failing business adventures.

Answer: W. H. Hamilton

Hamilton was the largest town in the incredibly rich Treasure Hill area, site of the great White Pine Fever silver rush during the late 1860s. W. H. Hamilton, whose first two names have been lost to history, established the townsite and named it for himself. By 1869, the town had a population of around 12,000 and was named the county seat.

However, due to uncertainty about the longevity of the mines, the population had shrunk to 3900 by the end of 1870. The county seat was taken away in 1887 and the town faded away quickly after that.

Answer: George Wingfield

George Wingfield was instrumental in the rapid growth of Goldfield after the initial discoveries were made in 1902. He built the still standing Goldfield Hotel and was a partner in the largest mining company, the Goldfield Consolidated, with George Nixon, later a U. S. Senator. By 1906, both were worth $30 million each. Goldfield's population peaked the same year at 20,000, making it the largest city in Nevada. Today, the town has a population of around 300 and still serves as the county seat. Some mining is still going on and total production is around $90 million.

Answer: William Hamblin

Mormon rancher and frontiersman William "Gunlock Bill" Hamblin discovered the first rich silver in what would become Pioche in 1863. The town grew quickly and by 1870, was one of the most important mining towns in the state and had a population of close to 10,000.

It also gained a reputation of lawlessness and violence. Pioche still has about 1000 residents and is the county seat for Lincoln County. The mines produced more than $40 million over their history.

Answer: Daniel McDonald

Daniel McDonald made the discovery of copper in 1903 and a mining camp formed near that mine, which was named for his daughter Ruth. This simple discovery would end up being the richest and largest open pit copper mine ever in Nevada. The mining property was later purchased by the Kennecott Copper Corporation and Ruth continued to grow until its population reached 2200. Mining was discontinued recently but once the price of copper rebounds, could be running again.

The town of Ruth is now abandoned.

The mines have produced over $1 billion in copper.

Answer: John Livermore

While Carlin was established in 1867 when it was built as a railroad station on the Central Pacific Railroad, its biggest claim to fame came about in 1965 when John Livermore found that the mountains in the area had large amounts of microscopic gold. However, there wasn't a method devised yet to recover that gold.

He and a partner developed this revolutionary process, using electroplates to pull the gold out. The mines became known as the Carlin Trend and have produced well over $85 million in gold so far and it is still going strong. Three of the top ten producing gold mines in the world are located on the Carlin Trend.

Answer: James Cory

James Cory established the town of Aurora in 1860 after striking a rich gold strike which he named after the Roman goddess of dawn. The town soon grew to 10,000. The town was so close to the Nevada/California border that it was claim by both states. A re-survey of the state line established the town as being in Nevada.

In its first nine years of existence, the mines produced $27 million. However, the tenth year saw the mines running out of quality ore and the town emptied quickly. During the boom, Mark Twain lived here and wrote some newspaper articles.

This led to him being hired by the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City where he wrote "Roughing It" and the rest is history. The once substantial town was stripped bare after World War II for the bricks the buildings contained, leaving only rubble to mark the once bustling town.