Out and About while Staying In

Staying home this weekend gave me a chance to do a couple of things.

I've been told for a year now about (and strongly encouraged to attend) the walking tours presented by the Historic Reno Preservation Society, and I've strongly regretted that my work schedule precluded my participation.  Saturday morning I gave it a go - totally worth it.

These tours are presented every Saturday morning at 10:AM, and every Tuesday evening at 6:PM; this weekend's theme was "Prohibition in Reno."  Of course most of the historical sites mentioned are long gone, but a few remain.  We started our trek at the Amtrak station on Commercial Row; I had been in there as a wee one, and it's a really neat building (described as Mediterranean Revival-style), but not since the addition was built during the RETRAC project.  There are a number of nice displays on the top floor chronicling RETRAC and a number of historical artifacts unearthed during the excavation.  The lower level, however, displays a good number of historic photographs and the old city drinking fountain, presented by the Women's Christian Temperance Union.  The fountain has been restored, much to my chagrin - it has been painted over to resemble weathered bronze, but in the process now almost looks fake.  Even so, it is still a priceless Reno treasure.  It includes an insignia for the 1st Nevada Cavalry, honoring their participation in the Spanish-American war, which is not only æsthetically pleasing but also adds a certain touch of class.

We stopped by the old, original Masonic Hall (later the Reno Mercantile) one of, if not the oldest remaining building in town (alas! we couldn't go inside), and from there walked by the Methodist Church, across the river to Trinity Episcopal, then down to the Riverside Hotel where the events concluded.  The information presented was spectacular and I highly recommend one of these tours when the opportunity presents itself. 

This morning a friend of my called me up and asked me to go out to Pyramid Lake, where he and a few other friends were camping, to jam for a little bit.  So I went and although I've been less than diligent with my cornet practicing lately we played for .  Still, I played slightly better and my chops held out slightly longer than I expected.  Three of the four of us help make up a small brass band that usually only comes out of hibernation for summer parades.  We've played many 4th of Julys in Virginia City, once in Austin, and every year in Goldfield for Goldfield Days.  So many a pelican was treated to the musical stylings of bygone eras.

And thus ended the Nevada-related musings for The Nevada Traveler, more or less, for this weekend.  The key take-away in this?  Participation in the Historic Reno Preservation Society's history walks is strongly encouraged and I play old-timey brass music on occasion.  Best wishes for a great week ahead to everyone!

Lane City

Lane City has possibly the easiest access of just about any true ghost town in Nevada...if you happen to be in the Ely area.  And not only is it conveniently located right on U.S. 95, but there are still plenty of interesting ruins remaining.

Of course some structures aren't as old as others.

The site, originally Mineral City, established circa 1870 (Shawn Hall, Romancing Nevada's Past, University of Nevada Press, Reno, 1994 pp. 163-164) experienced the usual bonanza-borasca periods counting some 600 residents in 1872 (and but 200 by 1874).  A major revival was experienced in 1896 after one Charles D. Lane invested heavily in the area, reopening many old claims, including one called the Chinaman, refurbishing the Chinaman's mill, and constructing a power plant and ditch.  The town was significant after the turn of the 20th century to warrant a post office, the measure by which most old mining towns are held, from October 21, 1902 through September 30, 1903, and again from May 12, 1906 through July 31, 1911 (Helen S. Carlson, Nevada Place Names, University of Nevada Press, Reno, 1974, p. 152).

For the road weary traveler, this is a great place to get out and stretch the legs as there are so many fascinating details awaiting little more than casual scrutiny.

The state of preservation (in ghost town terms) is none the less remarkable considering the site's proximity to the Robinson Mine, Civilization (Ely), and a not insignificant east-west US Highway.

And the area has so many interesting sites to see: Hamilton/Treasure City, Ward (and the charcoal ovens), Cave Lake State Park, Great Basin National Park, Tungstonia...to name just a few.  Lane City should certainly make the list of the traveler en route to or from White Pine County.

Comments

I regret I had to enable a CAPTCHA (or the Google equivalent) on this blog for comments.  I hope this won't discourage any actual well-meaning people from commenting, however for a blog that has existed for about 6 weeks I am getting too many spam comments.  I hope this will discourage the "ads" for generic Cialis and natural male enhancement and rip off Baconaise.

Onward We Journey

Candelaria is a sad sight - and that is exactly why it should be on the bucket list of any ghost town enthusiast, Nevada history buff, or just plain desert rat.  If I had to sum it up in one picture, it would probably be this...

Located just barely inside Mineral County, just North of the Esmeralda county line, this berg was an important trade center with a location within just a few miles of the Carson and Colorado Railroad.  And there are many stone reminders of this town's important place in Nevada history (albeit mostly ancillary to other great boomtowns).  From the façades of the business district...

...to the stone mill foundations...

...to the remnants of houses, shanties, and huts.

The casual visitor, driving through and taking a few snaps to show off to their friends back home, will be struck by this relative rarity - a genuine Nevada ghost town, more than just another abandoned mining camp, with beguiling ruins standing testament to their single, unique place in Western American history.  Those that stop and explore the remains, however will quickly notice a new history, having encroached and nearly set asunder.   Like a 1918 "Flying Jenny" inverted image postage stamp mailed and postmarked over, the stamp of 20th century mining has overlaid itself over much of the site.  That first photo, up there at the top, shows the massive pit on Mt. Diablo that consumed the historic townsite of Metallic City and left its indelible mark on our hamlet of Candelaria.

The pit is unmistakable when driving up to the site.  So, too, is the massive dump to the immediate North.  Less visible, until closer inspection, is the senseless carnage begot for no foreseeable purpose.  The bulldozed piles of rocks, for instance, once sites within sites of their own accord...

...as well as how clearly near to the site that dump encroaches obliterating most of the North side of town aside from those bits most immediately roadside or far enough to the East to avoid the nearly perpetual blanket of digested earth...

My intent is not to lambaste this mining operation per se, and definitely not the industry in general.  Certainly it is impossible to ascertain whether that senseless bulldozing of ruins was sanctioned or the actions of a thoughtless clown (although that dump is another matter).  Far from it; the actions of the mine ultimately helped preserve what remains are left.  But it serves as a reminder just how fragile our precious history is, and brings a certain circumspection to the visitor.

The visitor may also note the uniqueness of the building stone: basalt.  In mining areas it is most rare to see basalt in such quantities, and the black blocks add a color and a flavor to this town so different from the ruins of other Nevada camps.  Even Aurora, within a stone's throw of the andesite shields of Aurora Crater and Mud Springs Volcano, shows no volcanic stone remains from construction.  These dense, thick blocks form the vast, vast majority of masonry in Candelaria. 

But also striking is the amount of wood left among the ruined structures, wood and stone often still cohabitating together in a marriage of stark yet brilliant awe.

Other structures retain a striking level of (relative) preservation.

Some...not quite so much.

And some harbor little gems awaiting the less casual explorer, like the remains of a box of ice cream from Louisiana, reapportioned as ceiling material.

And some are just passively neat.

Candelaria is well worth the visit, a short, well marked jaunt off of U.S. 95 between Mina and Tonopah (much closer to Mina), and while the sad degradation is readily apparent, so to is the historical value, the picturesque beauty, and the remote serenity of the site.