Athens, Nevada

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Athens
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Athens
Location in Nevada
Coordinates: 38°36′54″N117°50′0″W / 38.61500°N 117.83333°W / 38.61500; -117.83333
CountryUnited States
State Nevada
Counties Nye
Founded1910
Deserted1939
Elevation
[1]
6,160 ft (1,880 m)
Population
  Total0
GNIS feature ID 848269, 852989

Athens is a former mining settlement in Nye County, Nevada. It was established after a boom in 1910, but was deserted that same year. After the Warrior mine was founded, Athens revived and was inhabited until 1939, when the mining operations were ceased.

Nye County, Nevada County in Nevada

Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,946. Its county seat is Tonopah. At 18,159 square miles (47,030 km2), Nye is the largest county by area in the state and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States.

Contents

History

1910 boom

Athens was founded as a mining camp in 1910 after the previous year ore was found in the area by John Martinez, J.R. Stott, and James Herald. In July 1910, a rush to Athens started. In that month, the mining camp had around 75 inhabitants and the camp suffered from a water shortage. [2] [3] On July 9, the Athens Mining District was organized at a meeting with over fifty attendees. [4] Thereafter, thirty tents were set up. Land lots were sold in Athens for $50 and $75 by Lester Bell and businesses like a lodging house, a saloon, and a store arose. The mining camp Juniper Springs was established near Athens, but both settlements merged and the new place was given the name Athens. Back then, the mining settlement had fifteen framed buildings and was connected to Mina by a stagecoach, that went back and forth thrice a week. [2]

Juniper Springs, Nevada Ghost town in Nevada, United States

Juniper Springs is a former mining camp in Nye County, Nevada, that was inhabited in 1910. The mining camp was founded in the summer of 1910 on the location where N. E. Dyer had found ore. The camp was founded close to the competing camp Athens. Juniper Springs was owned by Dyer, who gave away free lots. In Athens, lots were sold for $50 and $75. The Juniper Lodging House and a store, that was owned by Guy Eckley, were the first businesses to open in Juniper Springs. On July 9, 1910, the Athens Mining District, that comprised Juniper Springs and Athens, was organized at a meeting with over fifty attendees. Juniper Springs and Athens merged in 1910 and the newly created mining camp was given the name Athens. Athens was populated until 1939.

Mina, Nevada Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Mina is a census-designated place in Mineral County in west-central Nevada, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 95 at an elevation of 4,560 feet (1,390 m). The 2010 population was 155.

A new ore deposit, of which the ore was worth $1,000 a ton, was found by Stott and Martinez. Six of their claims were optioned for $100,000 by John McGee, but the quality of the ore in the deposit turned out to be disappointing. This led to people leaving Athens in the end of 1910. [2] In December, the mining camp was totally deserted. [5]

Resurrection

Athens was resurrected after the Warrior mine was discovered, which was the most important gold mine in the district. The Warrior mine was sold to the Warrior Gold Mining Company. Because of the finding, permanent structures were built in the mining settlement. In 1913, a amalgamation mill was constructed by Harry McNamara, the owner of another productive mine in the district. The mines of Athens produced $20,000 of gold in their first few months. The Warrior mine was sold to the Aladdin Divide Mining Company, that thoroughly prospected the area, in 1921. This resulted in the discovery of some ore deposits. In July of the same year, the mine was sold to the Olympic Mines Company. That company sent the ore to its mill in Omco in Mineral County. [2]

Omco is an extinct town in Mineral County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place.

Mineral County, Nevada County in Nevada

Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,772, making it the fourth-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Hawthorne.

In 1922, a new company started mining. That company, the Lucky Boy Divide Mining Company, bought an area neighboring Athens. A few years later, the mines stopped producing ore, because the ore had become too rare. However, all the property of the Warrior Company was sold to J.J. McNeil, who reopened the mine in December 1931. The next year, the mine was bought by Warrior Consolidated Gold. The company was not successful and therefore the mine was auctioned by the sheriff in November 1933. L.B. Spencer and L.J. Smith bought it. The ore was brought to the Dayton Consolidated mill in Silver City, Nevada. Leasers were producing ore in Athens until 1939. The Warrior mine, the foundation of an amalgamation mill just east of the Warrior mine, a few other structures, and debris remain at the site. [2]

Silver City, Nevada Unincorporated community in Nevada, United States

Silver City is a near ghost town and a small residential community in Lyon County, Nevada, USA, near the Lyon/Carson border. The population as of the 2000 census was 170.

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References

  1. "Feature Detail Report for: Athens (historical)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hall, Shawn (1981). Preserving the Glory Days. Reno/Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press. pp. 2 and 3.
  3. "Rain Comes and Breaks a Long Drought". Reno Gazette-Journal. 18 July 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 2 March 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. "The Athens Mining District Formed Last Week". Reno Gazette-Journal. 18 July 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 2 March 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. "Athens' Glory Has Departed". Reno Gazette-Journal. 1 December 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg

Coordinates: 38°36′54″N117°50′0″W / 38.61500°N 117.83333°W / 38.61500; -117.83333

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.