Averill is unknown to most people, even avid ghost towners. It is noted in Stan Paher’s atlas but not in his book, Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. My friend Austin of Nevada Expeditions discovered the location after extensive research and was kind enough to share this rare treasure with me.
Silver was discovered on the east side of Stillwater Range in 1862 and the Mountain Wells Mining District was formed. The town of La Plata developed and soon became the county seat for Churchill County.
In 1864 the Connecticut & Nevada Silver Mining Company constructed a ten-stamp mill south of La Plata to process ore from the Mountain Wells Mining District. A small town of Averill developed, named after Roger Averill. The town was never large enough to support a post office, mail was likely delivered to La Plata.
Ore deposits played out in 1867. With strikes in White Pine county at Monet Cristo, many miners relocated. La Plata post office closed on November 25 and service was transferred to Stillwater. Averill was abandoned in 1869 and enjoyed a brief revival in 1906 but the mines had been exhausted.
The main remaining structure is rock walls on a hill over the town site. Hiking above the site, we noticed the foundations of several structures, likely part of the mill. If you spend time wandering the site you can locate several building foundations, brick and debris.
Averill was part of a GGTT, Girl Ghost Town Trip. Our route included stops in Stillwater, Mountain Well, La Plata, Averill and Dixie Valley. Averill was intended to be a brief stop but once we discovered the extensive foundations we spent more time hiking the area.
Visited: 2-28-2021
References
- Gamett, James and Paher, Stanley. Nevada Post Officer: An Illustrated History. Nevada Publications, 1983.
- Lincoln, Francis Church. Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Stanley Paher, 1982. Pages 8-10.
- Nevada Expeditions: Averill
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Pages 89-95.
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Desert Atlas: Volume One, North. Nevada Publications, 2020. Page 24-25.
- Western Mining History: Churchill County Nevada Gold Production
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