Lincoln County Ghost Towns

In November 2023, I explored ghost towns in Lincoln County and made a few stops along the way. Nevada Expeditions and I started the trip with hot springs, a pool filled with water from a mine, and the ghost town of Clifford in Nye County.

I had a wonderful time visiting Lincoln County. Summer and fall are the perfect times to explore this part of the state; the weather is beautiful, and the roads have dried out from the winter. We had most sites to ourselves, only seeing a handful of others.

Over two days in Lincoln County, we visited nine ghost towns, including one of Nevada’s best, Demamar. For variety, we visited one of Nevada’s largest petroglyph sites, Mt. Irish and the stunning Cathedral Gorge.

Tami’s Travels: More information to come on each site

Lee Springs

Until the 1990, Lee Hot Springs had minimal water flow. The flow increased, and temperatures ran between 180 and 200 degrees!

Victor Mine Pool

One of the stops in Tonpah I missed on previous trips was the Victor Mine. What interested me was what was at the bottom of the headframe.

Tonopah Extension Mining Company started in 1901. The mine was known for using underground electric trams and lots of hot water.

So what do you do with a flow of continuously hot water at a mine? Create a swimming pool! Locals referred to the pool as “Victor Park,” and used until the early 1950s.

Clifford/Helena

Prospectors Ed and James Clifford discovered gold west of Warm Springs in 1905. They sold their claim for $250,000. The rush was on; within weeks, the mining camp had 40 tents and a saloon. Clifford grew to 100 houses, stores, a stage line to Tonopah, and a dance hall.

A post office named Helena was opened on December 8, 1908. Residents thought that Clifford would develop into one of the biggest towns in southern Nevada, but the town declined rapidly. The post office closed less than a year after it opened on July 15, 1909. Mining at Clifford was sporadic into the 1930s, but the town never revived.

Crescent City

The Crescent Silver Mining Company built a 5-stamp mill in 1865. Ten days later, the Alameda Silver Mining Company took over the mill. Within a few years, the mill expanded to a 10-stamp mill with four furnaces.

With the decline in mining in the district, the mill closed in 1871. A brief revival occurred in 1873, but the mill was dismantled and relocated.

List Mine

We found this log cabin along the road. List was one of the earlier mines in the district.

This log is unusual in that it extends beyond the cabin. I wonder if it was used to hang items.

Rosey Mine

Rosario Arcuri took over the LIst Mine in 1925.

Logan City

Prospectors discovered silver deposits by Mt. Irish in 1865. They flocked to the area but left that spring following hostilities with Native Americans. The rich ore was too much of a lure, and prospectors returned that fall. Miners filed more than 100 claims.

By 1866, Logan City had a population of 300. The town included stores, a hotel, and stables. They were awarded a post office on July 2, 1867, named Logan Springs. The mining district declined in 1869 as the ore deposits were shallow. The Logan post office closed on August 1, 1871.

Some mining occurred before WWII. Ranchers repurposed Logan’s Cities buildings. The Scofields mined aluminum from the bluff and constructed Logan’s remaining buildings.

Petroglyphs

Mt. Irish petroglyphs are some of the best, if not the best, in Nevada. I usually don’t name petroglyph sites, but the BLM has a huge sign, book, interpretive trails, and the county has directions.
The petroglyphs cover over 600 acres and date to A.D. 1-1500.

Pioche

Many call Pioche a ghost town. But, just like Goldfield, it still has a thriving population and is the seat of Lincoln County. Pioche started in 1863-4, and an astounding 10,000 lived in Pioche by 1871, the year it became the seat of Lincoln County.

Pioche was known as a lawless town. Rumor has it that more than 75 men were buried in the cemetery before one died of natural causes. Between 1871 and 1872, 60% of murders in Nevada occurred in Pioche.

The town is filled with rich Nevada history, from the famous Boothill Cemetery to the Million Dollar Courthouse.

Bullionville

I have wanted to visit Bullionville in Lincoln County since last fall when I visited Bullionville, Douglas County. While this Bullionville was an active town with mills and a railroad connecting to Pioche, the only remaining evidence is the cemetery.

Milling started at Bullionville due to a continual water supply. Pioche shipped ore to the mills on the Pioche and Bullionville Railroad. The railroad was notable as it was Nevada’s second intrastate railroad.

The town soon had a population of 500. The town offered services, including stores, hotels, and of course, saloons. A post office opened on April 27, 1874.

After Pioche obtained a water supply in 1875 and could mill the ore, Bulinoville declined. In 1880, the last remaining mill closed and the post office closed in 1886. A few revivals occurred but the town became a ghost town with the office closed for good in July 1898.

Cathedral Gorge

All I can say about Cathedral Gorge is WOW! I had no idea this treasure was right off the highway. It was fun to see the CCC facilities but what was really fun was exploring the slot canyons. Photographing the scope is difficult, but we had fun exploring each slot.

After taking pictures of us in the canyons trying to show the size, I remembered our ET glasses in the Jeep.

Cathedral Gorge CCC projects

The CCC Completed several projects at Cathedral Gorge, including a water tower, bathrooms, and picnic facilities.

Helene

John Ferguson and Joseph Sharp discovered gold south of Caliente in 1889. Hartwig Cohen and Ferguson plotted a town below the Magnolia Mine two years later. They named the town after Cohen’s wife.

Helene grew, and a post office was awarded on June 30, 1892. The town soon had stone cabins, an assay office, hotels, restaurants, a Justice of the Peace and a newspaper, Ferguson Lode.

By winter, most businesses had closed. The post office operated until December 22, 1894.

Delamar

Delamar has been the #1 ghost town I wanted to visit for several years. Now, I want to go back and spend more time! The ghost town is huge and has so much to see.

Writing an entire article about Delamar is tempting, but I must finish a few projects before taking on something new. I know Delamar would be going down a big rabbit hole. There is so much history with the mining, mills and town. I can’t wait to see what stories I can uncover.

Captain John De Lamar purchased claims in 1893. Delamar’s production was over half the output from Nevada in 1895. A camp named Delamar started and had a post office by 1894. The town flourished until a fire destroyed half the buildings in 1900. Partially rebuilt, the town continued until 1914. There were revivals from 1929 and 1934.

Mill below Delamar

Cemeteries

Delamar has two cemeteries: the Demamar Catholic and the Delamar Helene Cemetery.

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