Coppereid was love at first site for me and is now one of my favorite ghost towns to visit. It combines a beautiful drive, isolation, a stream, wildlife and beautiful rock remains of buildings and a smelter.
Copper was discovered in White Cloud Canyon in 1868 by Major B.B. Bee (wow, that is a mouthful to say!) and Frederick Smith. Due to conflict with Native Americans the mining district was not organized until 1869 when White Cloud Canyon Mining District which was created.
To support the mine, a small settlement was established at the mouth of the canyon. The camp grew to include forty residents, a general store and of course the compulsory saloon. To draw more interest and more importantly investors, White Cloud City was placed at the mouth of the canyon. The plan didn’t come to fruition and White Cloud City never developed beyond the small camp.
John Fall from Unionville, north of White Cloud Canyon, worked the copper claim in the 1870s. A smaller smelter was constructed at the base of the mountain in 1893. Small amounts of ore were shipped over the next three years until the smelter closed for production in 1896.
The mine and town clung to life until 1907 when the Nevada United Mining Company, under the management of John T. Reid, expanded operations in White Cloud Canyon. A new town was laid out in the location of the original camp and named Coppereid in honor of the Reid. The rebirth brought new interest and growth and soon the town grew to include boarding houses, general stores and saloons. A post office opened in 1907.
Production was minimal between 1907 and 1912 and totaled a few carloads of ore. A railroad spur was planned across the Carson Sink to Parran but production didn’t warrant construction costs. The post office closed 1914 and the town was soon abandoned.
The remnants of Coppereid are divided into two sections. The lower section which I visited consisted of the smelter, a large stone multi room structure and a second smaller rock structure. I was not able to visit upper Coppereid this visit, it requires access from the east side of the Stillwater Range.
I visited Coppereid with friends Shonna and Austin of Nevada Expeditions, a walking encyclopedia of all things Churchill County.
We started the morning at Green and Wonderstone mountains for rock hounding. Green mountain is amazing. The peak is naturally green, like someone covered it my favorite Baskin Robbins ice cream, Mint Chocolate Chip. Wonderstone is bright orange and has amazing striated rocks.
Part of my collection!
We then drove up the length of Lahontan Valley from Highway 50 and back down the other side. We also visited Cox Canyon and Clemens/Rockwell Station. There are no roads across Carson Sink (the end of the Carson River) due to water, the playa and oh yeah, it’s an active Navy bombing range.
Thank you Shonna for bringing the strangest lunch I have eaten on the trail: shrimp cocktail and a huge fruit bowl. Who knew, it totally worked and was much better than jerky, canned soup or MRE’s!
We all took showers as soon as we got home. We looked like we had been rolling in chalk after the drive around the playa. Everything in Honey Badger is covered with white dust. I can’t wait for my next trip to Coppereid!
Visited: 3-7-2021
References
- The Diggins: Coppereid Copper Mine
- Forgotten Nevada: Coppereid
- Gamett, James and Stan Paher. Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. Nevada Publications, 1863. Page 52.
- Ghost Towns: White Cloud City (Coppereid)
- Lincoln, Francis Church. Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Stanley Paher, 1982. Pages 13-14.
- Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology: Mineral Resource Inventory
- Nevada Expeditions: Coppereid
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 93.
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps: Volume 1 North. Nevada Publications, 2020. Page 24-27.
- UDSA: Coppereid Series
- USGS: Coppereid
- Vanderburg, William. Mines of Churchill and Mineral Counties. Nevada Publications, 1988. Page 51-52.
- Western Mining History: Coppereid
- Western Mining History: White Cloud District (Churchill County)
- Wikipedia: Coppereid
Pat Patterson says
Great photos and loved the story!
Tami says
Thank you, Coppereid is still one of my favorite ghost towns.
Roger Peterson says
Great pictures and stories.
Back in the 70’s I went to some stamp mills and ball mills in California with a friend who knew the places. Great time. The stamp mill had 4-6 stamps and each about 10″ i’m guessing. I remember a big metal boiler. Steam power I suppose. The caretaker said you could fell the ground shake 1/4 mile away. I’ll have to look for those old pictures.
Thanks for doing what you do!
Tami says
Thank you, it is an amazing ghost town.
There are still stamp and ball mills in the wild. Unfortunately, some like Golden Gate have been destroyed by fire. I also find some boilers. A lot of equipment was salvaged during WWII for the war effort.
It would have been amazing to see them in the 70s!
terry says
the green rock in the green and wonderstone mountain pictures is the same color i saw, for the first time, on the north side of the titus canyon road. good article.
Tami says
I have since seen it in several places, I love the green.