Nevada Ghost Towns & Beyond

Masonic, California, is one of my favorite ghost towns to take friends and family. It is relatively easy to reach in summer and fall and combines well with the best ghost town anywhere, Bodie. Unlike Bodie State Park, Masonic is in "the wild," you will likely have the ghost town to yourself.Masonic, which started as three towns, has many ruins, including stone cabins, an aerial tram and a ... VIEW POST

In 1900 Stephen Kavanaugh was hired to excavate a gold vein that ran along a ridge 2.5 miles southwest of Masonic. The site overlooks Bridgeport Valley from an 8600' mountain perch. Stephen established the Chemung Mine in 1909, naming it after his hometown of Chemung, Illinois. As Stephen was an employee, he did not receive a share of the mine's profits. Chemung was a productive mine but ... VIEW POST

Once thriving, the only remnant of Empire City is the cemetery atop a hill overlooking Carson City. In 1855 Nicholaus Ambrose owned and operated a ranch, station stop and tavern named Dutch Nick's. The site was on the north bank of the Carson River and on a well traveled emigrant road. Nicholaus moved closer to Virginia City in 1857, opening a tent saloon and boarding house. Later he ... VIEW POST

In 1847 while traveling to Salt Lake City, Sam Brannan left supplies near a spring at the mouth of the Carson River Canyon. The location was situated on the Carson River Route of the emigrant trail where the mountainous road opened into the Carson Valley. Brannan Springs grew and became the first non-native settlement in the area. When a post office opened in 1858 the town's name was ... VIEW POST