Vanishing Communities #2 Taylor, Nevada April 2013

                                  One of the unreadable graves at Taylor

The second community I am going to highlight for this series is Taylor, Nevada, in eastern Nevada. It is located 18 miles south of Ely in the Schell Creek Range.

History: Silver mining occured in the Taylor District for 10 years from 1880 to 18889. Silver ore was descovered at the Monitor and Argus mines in 1880. The town would not become a boomtown until Cherry Creek and Ward, Nevada, declined in 1883. From 1883 to 1890 Taylor had saloons, butcher shops, restaurants, boarding house, Wells Fargo Office, drug store and school. Unlike Pioche to the south, Taylor was quiet with very little violence. Daily stage coach service transported people north and south.
                Similar to other mining communities mining declined because of lower metal prices. By 1889 most businesses at moved to Ely, Nevada. Today there are no remnants left of the original town except for a small cemetery. In the cemetery only one headstone is actually readable. The other headstones were made out of wood and they have long since decayed or have become unreadable. I have included in this blog a page from one of the directories at the cemetery with records of people who might be buried in the cemetery. Today the location of some of the graves is a mystery. Presently, there is mining going on near the cemetery so watch for trucks on the dirt road to the cemetery. (Information from Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps By Stanley Paher) 

                                          The only readable grave in the cemetery
 

                                    The cemetery which is slowly succumbing to the elements

                                   A page from the directory at the cemetery. What is interesting is Amos Horn who was killed by a Grizzly Bear in 1888.

Vanishing Communities #1 Bullionville, Nevada

                                               A headstone in the Bullionville Cemetery

Throughout Nevada are mining camps and communities which were important at some point in Nevada's history. The discovery of ore caused many of these communities to spring up over night as prospectors came rushing in to strike it rich. For many of these towns the boom would not last. Today, these communities are vanishing; succumbing to the desert landscape. My first post in this series is about the milling town of Bullionville, Nevada, 10 miles south of Pioche on US 93.

History: Pioche, Nevada, became the center of mining for all of Lincoln County. The town prospered because of the discovery of gold and silver ore; however, Pioche had a lack of water which made milling impossible. Because of plentiful water, Bullionville became the center of milling for Pioche mines. In 1873 Bullionville had five 110 stamp mills as well as a population of 500.  The creation of a waterworks in 1875, which supplied Pioche with water, hastened Bullionville's decline.
             Bullionville grew rapidly for a number of reasons. First, the completion of the Pioche and Bullionville Railroad facilitated the transport of ore from the mines to the mills. Second, from 1872-1875 workers build four more mills. As a result of the railroad and the mills the town had hotels, saloons, hay yards, blacksmith shop and school.
           As stated above the town declined when Pioche was finally supplied with water. Soon after the railroad ceased operations and residents left. Bullionville had small revivals throughout the years but nothing has been sustainable. Today all that is left is a small graveyard with many unmarked graves. (Information from Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley Paher)

                 Another pic of the cemetery. Notice some of the graves have no identification

                                     Mill at Bullionville

Another picture of Bullionville in its heyday