Warm Springs, Nevada Ghost Town

Warm Springs was established in 1866 as a stage stop for travelers and freight wagons on the way to Elko and Eureka. The first structure was a stone house situated next to a stream created by a warm spring. In the early 1900s Warm Springs contained a boarding house and store.

With the transition from wagon to automobile travel, the Lincoln Highway was dedicated in 1913 and the Nevada State Highway Department was created in 1917 to oversee federal funding for road improvements. The Federal Road Aid Act specified funds must be spent on routes used for US postal service. The Midland Trail of the Lincoln Highway, State Route 4, linking Tonopah to Ely, was the first road to use federal funds for construction. Warm Springs was situated on the route and continued to be a resting and supply location for weary travelers.

The town remained small but a post office was opened on January 19, 1924. By the 1930s, Warm Springs was operated by a man named Wilson. He had a large bar located near the rock corrals. At the time, the town contained five or six homes and a swimming pool. With improvement in road conditions and automobiles, fewer stops were needed on the highway. Warm Springs, along with many other stations, could not sustain businesses and closed their doors. The post office was closed on June 29, 1929 and mail delivery was transferred to Tybo.

In August 1947, the Fellini brothers, Nye County ranchers, purchased Warm Springs. Thomas Hurt who had operated the springs for several years, remained on following the sale of the property. In the late 1970s, a trailer park operated along with a bar, saloon and gas station.

Ruins

Warm Springs lies at the intersection Highway 6 and State Route 375, known as the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Two stone structures, a corral and galvanized building are remnants from early Warm Springs.

Warm Springs has three modern structures: The Warm Springs Bar and Cafe, a trailer park and a swimming pool and pool house.

The pool and pool house are clearly marked “Keep Out”, yet I see photos online of people trespassing. I have friends in law enforcement in the area and they are are more than happy to escort trespassers off the property.

The Bar and Cafe and trailer park have some strange ET highway graffiti. “I want to believe being human blows…Leaving this earth 2021” and “Area 51 lab rat”.

Visited: 4-11-2021

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References

• Carlson, Helen S. Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press, 1974. Page 241.
• Gamett, James and Stan Paher. Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. Nevada Publications, 1863. Page 134.
• Hall, Shawn. Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada. University of Nevada Press, 1999. Page 120-121.
• Lincoln, Francis Church. Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Stanley Paher, 1982. Pages 134.
• Lincoln Highway Association: Origins of the Lincoln Highway
• Howerton, Jeanne Sharp. Skidoo: True story of a mail-order bride in the mining camp of Reveille, Nevada. Western Places, 2020. Pages 207-210.
• McCracken, Robert D. and Jeanne Sharm Howerton. Tybo, Nevada: Gem of the sagebrush frontier and other settlements in Hot Creek Valley. Central Nevada Historical Society, 2016. Page 237.
• Myhrer, Deith and Allen Metcher. Historic Places in Central Nevada Adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base. Air Force Civil Engineer Center, 2013. Pages 41-48.
• Nevada Expeditions: Warm Springs
• Newspapers.com: Fallini Bros. Bye Nye Hot Springs
• Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970.
• Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Desert Atlas. Nevada Publications, 2009. Page
• Wikipedia: Lincoln Highway
• Wikipedia: Warm Springs, Nevada

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