7/15/2011 Tonopah Cemetery 1901-1911

The entrance into the cemetery

Down the road from the Mizpah and next to the Clown Hotel is the original Tonopah Cemetery. It has graves of men and women who pioneered Tonopah and who worked inside the mines. After walking around the cemetery taking pictures I formulated a number of observations. First, many of the graves showed men who migrated from Italy and Ireland. Second, it shows how many citizens died from diseases which are rare today such as Pneumonia, Yellow Jaundice, Diptheria and Typhoid. Third, a section of the cemetery has 10 plus graves devoted to babies which shows the harsh realities of the eary 1900s. Last, it shows how dangerous mining could be. This is one of the most interesting cemeteries I have been to in the west and should be on anyone's list of places to see.



Inside the cemetery


One of the many graves for babies

Irish immigrant who died from Typhoid

If you look closely this man burned to death

One of the 17 victims of the Belmont Mine fire

Another victim of the fire. The following men died from a run away ore care in the mines

July 7, 2011 B-39 Russian Submarine San Diego Maritime Park

Tara inside the submarine looking through an opening

While in San Diego, Tara and I visited the Maritime Museum downtown. It is big with approximately eight ships that you can board. The ships you can see include: Star of India, Berkeley, Medea, Californian, HMS Surprise, Dolphin and Foxtrot B-39. Each ship has displays about its history complete with historical maps. For this blog I am going to talk about the B-39 attack Submarine because of my fascination with Russian history.

History: The Russian B-39 is a long-range Foxtrot Class attack sub. This ship was built in Leningrad, Russia, in 1974. This class of submarine was charged with surveillance and attacking shipping during the Coldwar.

Specifications: i. 299 feet in length

ii. Capable of diving to 985 feet

iii. Powered by three diesel engines each with 2000 horsepower; the ship has three propellers.

iiii. Crew of 74 highly trained sailors.

iv. Armed with torpedos and mines.

Some of the quarters for the enlisted men. They slept wherever.

One of the huge doors which could be used to seal off a part of the sub in case of emergency. Looking out of the Torpedo room.

Button controls inside sub with russian writing.

Inside the control room

Another pic inside the control room showing its complexity.

The Captain's quarters. The pic below shows the outside of the ship.

Osceola, Nevada July 1, 2011

Beat up truck in the old part of town

Tara and I continued driving south on 93/50 towards Pioche, Nevada. We wanted to stop at a ghost town called Osceola in the base of the Snake Mountains. To get to Osceola follow 93 until 50 turns off to go toward Great Basin National Park. Follow US 50 until the turnoff for the ghost town. The cemetery of the town is very interesting well worth a visit. Likewise, there are some historic building in what was the townsite. Watch for private property in the area.

History: Osceola produced gold from 1872 when it was discovered and off and on until 1952. The mining district had the distinction of producing the largest nugget in the state of Nevada valued at $6,000. Osceola also had electricity and the first telephone in White Pine County. Total production of the area mines was $3.3 million of which $1.9 million came from Placer Mining. The area had some of the longest running placer mines in the state.

Osceola had two major discoveries. The first one occured in September of 1872. The Osceola Mining District formed in October and soon 11 mines were working the area. In 1877 a new company called the Osceola Placer mining Company began to placer mine in the area. Because of the lack of water production remained small; however, the company built two water ditches to increase placer mining. With an increase in production, three mills of 5, 10, and 20 stamps began to operate.

Major mining activity declined for three reasons. A fire in April of 1890 destroyed buildings on mainstreet. The Placer Mining Company folded because of lower deposits and deterioration of water. A revival did occur in 1925 with seventeen claims being worked until 1952 but, the town's heyday had come and gone. (Info from Romancing Nevada's Past By: Shawn Hall).

Skeleton of original building on private property

Flower at cemetery
Headstone in cemetery

View from the cemetery. Headstone of young child in the cemetery.