Gabbs Ghost Town Trip

Tami’s Travels, full posts on each site to follow

What to do?

As my little one is at camp, my schedule is open this month. Nevada Expeditions messaged on a Sunday evening and asked what I was doing the next day. Nothing. Likewise, Austin was off for the holiday and had no plans.
Hmmm, it sounded like a trip was in order! So, with no specific plans, I packed up and headed to Fallon early Monday morning.

Wind in the Forth Mile Desert had brought playa dust to the eastern Sierras, making the sky look like there was a fire. We knew we wanted to head east to blue skies. After debating where to go, we decided to hit some lesser-known ghost towns and stage stations outside of Gabbs.

Kaiser Mine

Our first stop of the day was Kaiser Mine. The site covers several miles. Kaiser was a fluorspar mine discovered in 1922. Fluorspar was used to construct the San Fransisco Bay Bridge, driving profit and production.

Unlike many mines, Kaiser continued production through WWII. Then, in the 1950s, it was sold to several companies, which shipped ore to Fallon for milling. Operations ceased in 1957.

Austin and I both took pics through the grate of the incline shaft. We both prayed that we didn’t drop our phones, there would be no recovery!

Not nice Austin, not nice!

One of the structures has concert stairs down to a dug-out structure. Austin told me about the ladder leading up at the back of the building.

I made sure to make lots of noise and said I was trying to make sure there wasn’t one in the building. I had just stepped in when Austin “rattled” behind me. I have no idea I could jump that high!

Broken Hills

Miners discovered silver-lead ore in 1913. Two miners primarily worked the claims as they staked the best ones. They worked in Broken Hills for a decade before selling to Broken Hills Silver Corporation. The company started work at the mine but had minimal success.
Broken Hills had a revival in 1926 due to the nearby Quartz Mountain. The most producing period was 1935-1940. The town had a population of several hundred, a hotel, a saloon, stores, and a school.

Mine and Headframe

Broken Hills Town Site

Very little remains of the town. A few foundations are all that marks the area.

Prospector’s Grave

Close to broken Hills is the grave of Matt Costello. He was born in 1866 and died in 1926. Matt was an elderly prospector who recently sold a claim for $1,500 and made plans on how to spend his money. After not being seen for several days, friends found him dead at a table in his cabin. They buried him close to the cabin, which is now gone.

Quartz Mountain

Miners discovered Quartz Mountain in 1920. Ore shipped in 1921, but the claim lay quiet for five years. Then, miners discovered a rich ore vein which caused a boom, including miners from northern Idaho and Mexico. Mining claims spread several miles, and a small settlement developed, including restaurants, stores, and a barber. Trucks arrived daily from Fallon, delivering water, mail, and supplies and returning to mills with ore.
Ore ran out in 1926, and the town was ghosted. The headframe is enormous and can be seen for miles across the valley.

Aspen

Aspen dates to 1907, when a prospector from Aspen, Colorado, discovered gold in an isolated corner of Churchill County. After he left and failed to return, several other miners worked the claim. However, production was minimal, and Aspen was abandoned in the early 1930s.

Chalk Wells

Beginning in 1865, Chalk Wells was a stage stop on the road between Westgate and Ione. In 1907, W.A. Tucker, a black man from Tonopah, took over the station. Tucker dug a well and sold water to cattlemen. He prospected without much luck. Chalk Wells was alternately known as Tucker’s Well or Nigger’s Well.

Old Chalk Wells

Chalk Wells is in into three sections. The oldest is likely the original station and has stone foundations against the rocks.

New Chalk Wells

The newer section has a cabin built into a hill.

Miner’s Cabin

Above the newer section of Clalk Wells, Austin spotted a cabin in the distance. Between the two was a collapsed corral and wagon.

Porter Station

Porter Station was another stop on the road between Ione and Westgate. In 1865, a man named O’Donnell operated the station. In the 1880s, the name was changed to Porter’s, and the station had a cabin and corral. Unfortunately, the cabin burnt down around 1900, and the nearby summit became known as “Burnt Cabin.”

Phonolite (Bruner)

Phonolite started with a bang following the discovery of silver and gold ore. By 1907, the town had plans for a water and electricity company. Unfortunately, the expansion did not come to fruition, and all residents but two abandoned the town by 1909.
One of the two remaining residents discovered new ore deposits in 1910, and the town now named Bruner grew enough to be awarded a post office. Unfortunately, this time, the town lasted only two years.
The town had its last revival in 1915 with a resurgence in mining activity. The mines were productive, and a 50-ton mill was constructed in 1919, but the mill only ran for two months before closing. The Bruner post office closed for the final time in 1920.
The mill was refitted in 1921 for custom milling for ore from Broken Hills but closed in 1924 following financial difficulty. The final attempt at milling was in 1926. A camp grew to include a boarding house and seven cabins. The mill operated until 1929 and burned down in 1930.

Town Site

Mill Site

Duluth

How many people have been to two Duluths within a week?

I had heard of the ghost town of Duluth but wasn’t sure where it was. Then, mid-trip, it hit Austin that we would be nearby, so we decided we needed to visit.

This Duluth was founded in 1906 as an off-shoot of Phonolite. The isolated location had a post office in 1907, but the town was abandoned by 1908.

The famous Duluth aerial lift bridge was built just the year before, in 1905. It was converted into a lift bridge in 1929-1930. The only other one in the country was the Sky Ride in Chicago.

Penelas

Spaniard Silverino Penelas worked his claim for twenty years while living in poverty. Following his death from pneumonia due to mining conditions, $100,000 in mine profits were found stashed in his cabin.
The Penelas Mining Company was formed and built a 50-ton cyanide mill and thirty buildings to support mining operations. As a result, Penelas became one of the most modern mines in Nevada.
The mine was the largest producer in the Bruner district, totaling $900,000. However, the mill closed in 1940, and the structures were moved to other locations.

Ione: “The town that refused to die”

Ione was settled in 1863 and became the first county seat of Nye. The town site was moved to its current location in 1864 to allow for a commercial street and more growth.

The town grew quickly to contain river one hundred houses. Several mills operated in the area, but ore supplies and legal issues forced them to close. Ione lost the county seat to Berlin in 1867.

Ione had several revivals but never regained its former glory. Today, a small population continues to reside in Ione.

Nevada Quicksilver/Nevada Cinnabar

Mill

Town

The Mercury Mining Company built a mill in 1911 to process mercury outside of Ione. The mill produced eight flasks per day.
The mill was active until 1918, then again during WWII.

Moments that make you use your potty words

After a long day of ghost towning we packed up, ready to head home. We were below the Nevada Cinnabar mill, the most remote spot of our day. I jumped into the Jeep to start the engine, only to find Honey Badger was dead. Nothing, nada, zip.
No cell service, of course, but I had my Garmin, which I can message via satellite. I was debating who was within several hours of help and who had a vehicle that could navigate the narrow and rocky road. In the background, my mind was thinking of what emergency supplies we would need to get through a night camping out. I had a tent, a sleeping pad, one sleeping bag, and blankets. In addition, three Mountain House freeze-dried meals and five gallons of water on the tailgate.
Thankfully Austin figured out the battery connector came loose. However, once it was running, we didn’t want to stop. We made it with some issues to Middlegate, where we tightened the cables more.

Josh messaged, wondering when we would be back to Fallon. We walked in, and he already had wine paired with dinner. His trip to Europe this week might have influenced him, he made chicken schnitzel, gnocchi, and a white pepper lemon sauce. It was amazing, and we all stuffed ourselves.

Honey Badger Upgrades

Thank you, thank you, Steve, Bo, and John for helping with the Jeep. Steve added front and rear diff covers which repaired the damage from sliding off a rock. Oops. I keep in mind this sage advice…

If you don’t have damage your not doing it right 😜

Mojito Adventures

The guys put on my new bumper. They found the reason I took off the rear bumper coming out of Lagomarisono Petroglpys was the bumper was not fully attached to the frame. I feel a little better about the damage. The new bumper is steel, will support my upcoming 35″ tires, and will carry two 5-gallon containers. For smaller trips, I will carry one can of gas and one of water. As a bonus, Steve replaced my license plate holder which I also knocked off.

Steve replaced my front and rear diff covers which I had damaged sliding off a rock. The ARB ones are so much stronger than the previous ones.

The biggest upgrades are coming in August, Metalcloak lift, new shocks, re-gearing, and 35″ tires.

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