Candelaria, Nevada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Candelaria was a town in Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 121 miles southeast of Fallon. Today the site of Candelaria is dominated by the Kinross Gold Candelaria Mine on Mt. Diablo, and security guards strictly enforce a "no tresspassing" policy in the town site.
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[edit] History
Candelaria was first recognized in 1864 when Mexican prospectors working the area near Mt. Diablo discovered silver deposits on the northern slopes of the mountain. However, word of the find was slow to spread, and Candelaria wasn’t truly a town, or even a camp, until a group of European prospectors, mainly German and Slovakian, came into the area in 1879 and established a camp, which soon became a boomtown. The earlier Mexican presence in the area had named the location Candelaria, and this name stuck.
As the population grew, the beginnings of what became one of Candelaria’s greatest difficulties became all too apparent; the two tiny springs located nearby were far too small to support the population, and water had to be brought in from outside. Candelaria was what was known as a “dry camp”. A larger spring in the next valley over (nine miles away) was used to supply water, and the costs for transporting this water to the camp drove the price to the princely sum (at the time) of $1.00 per gallon. Since the larger spring was itself just barely sufficient to supply the water needs of the towns populace, little to none could be spared for the use of milling and processing the ore from the mines. The stamp mill in Candelaria had to operate as a dry mill, which created toxic dust at the mill and nearby area. Unlike other camps where a wet milling process was used, Candelaria miners suffered from an extremely high incidence of “miners consumption” (respiratory disease). The fine particulate dust created by the dry stamping process was breathed in by the miners, settling into their lungs, and soon brought about respiratory tract infections and diseases which often ended in death.
The largest of the mines, the Northern Belle, produced and shipped approx. $15 million in silver from its shafts. It was this wealth that brought to the town two hotels, numerous stores, the ever-present saloons, three doctors (no doubt kept busy treating the suffering miners), and lawyers and other professionals. The completion of a spur of the Carson and Colorado Railroad to Candelaria in 1882 helped to ease the water problems, as large tanks of water moved by flatcar could now be brought to the town. With this difficulty somewhat resolved, although never completely, the town thrived for ten years. However, in 1893 a financial panic caused capital and development of the mines to cease, resulting in most of them closing down. Soon the town was drained of people, as they moved on to other areas where work could be found, and under more hospitable conditions.
A few die-hard souls remained, hoping for a recovery of the past times, working the area for another big strike, and a return to prosperous days. But new boomtowns, bigger finds, and the remote, desolate location of Candelaria all ensured that Candelaria never regained what it had once had. Occasional bursts of activity increased the population up a little, but mostly it was wildcat speculation, and the people left as quickly as they came. By the early 1920’s the number of people living in the area could be counted on two hands, in 1939 the post office was finally shuttered, and by 1941 Candelaria was truly a ghost town.
Because of its remote location, much of Candelaria remained somewhat undisturbed for many years. Although not completely immune to vandalism, much of the damage to remaining buildings was due to the harsh environment: bitter cold and snow in winter, and the dry, very hot, and often windy weather in the summer. In the mid- to late-1980’s an open pit mine on the south side of Mt. Diablo was started. As the mine expanded, the town site of Candelaria came under close guardianship of the mine’s operators. Visitors to Candelaria were turned away by security guards from the mine, and signs were posted along the road through the town stating that it was private property, and that tresspassing was prohibited. Because of this oversight, Candelaria was spared much of the destruction suffered by other ghost towns, and even today the remains of many of its buildings are easily seen and recognizable.
[edit] Location
The location of Candelaria is appoximately 121 miles from Fallon on US 95S; from there turn W on dirt road for 6 miles to the location of the town site. Candelaria was at , at an elevation of 5714 feet (1742m).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Stanley W. Paher (1999) The Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps Illustrated Atlas, Volume 1: Northern Nevada: Reno, Austin, Ely and Points North (Las Vegas: Nevada Publications).
