Hamilton (White Pine County) | We Visited: 7-19,20,21-2006 |
||
39° 15' 11"N, 115° 29' 11"W USGS Hamilton Quad | Directions: East from Fallon on US-50 for 221.3 miles; right on County Road 11, generally south for 10.6 miles From Fallon: 231.09 miles |
||
![]() |
|||
What Was Silver was discovered at Treasure Hill in 1867, two years after the end of the Civil War, but the place was so inhospitable that another location was selected, and that location was named Hamilton. The location was also sometimes known as Cave City. In 1868 a rush resulted in over 10,000 people coming to the area. White Pine County was formed in 1869 with Hamilton as its seat. By 1869 there were almost 20,000 people living there, and the townsite was roughly two square miles. Besides the usual businesses and schools, there were theaters, skating rinks, auction houses, and breweries, according to Paher. A water company with steam pumping was added. By 1870, things had come to a screeching halt; a fire in 1873 sounded the death knell for Hamilton. After another fire in 1885, the county seat was moved to Ely. A spur of the Lincoln Highway went to Hamilton as late as 1913, but by the time 1924 rolled around, the highway bypassed the town completely. Some folks held on, but by the early 1930's the town was pretty much deserted. PRINTED FROM THE PACIFIC COAST BUSINESS DIRECTORY, 1871 : There were 9 assayers in Hamilton at this time, 29 Attorneys-at-Law, and at least 2 bars for each lawyer (there being over 50 bars in operation at this time) , the Bank of California Agency established a bank here, name any business and you would find it flourishing... The Withington Hotel boasted 17 rooms on the top floor with a fireplace in each room... In the following excerpt, I've inserted today's equivalents in blue: To ride from Hamilton to Treasure Hill costs from $2.00 ($27.72) to $3.00 ($41.58), and we saw $17.00 ($235.62) paid for hauling one ton of freight up the hill. Merchandise of all kinds is pouring into the district... By the time of the Tonopah-Goldfield boom, Hamilton was suffering terribly... Post Office: August 1868 - March 1931 |
|||
What is Hamilton is easy to get to by U.S. Forest Service road, and there are lots of things to see, both at the site and nearby. One of the first things you'll notice is a large steel building, left behind by a contemporary mining company. It's pretty much ransacked by vandals, but if you ever find yourself in the middle of some inclement weather, it will provide quite a bit of shelter. The town itself has deteriorated very much over the years, and there isn't much left, unfortunately. Still, there is plenty to see. As seems to be usual, the contemporary mining company left behind a bunch of stuff, including some tanks and some pieces of equipment, which takes away a bit from the historic atmosphere. Nevertheless, the same could be said in 1931, I suppose, of the mining companies who pulled out and left their garbage. So it's all relative. There is a great cemetery here, and the ruins are varied and widespread. There are many many cows roaming about, so if you go hightailing down the road you might frighten one. Bad idea. It's interesting in that the Lincoln Highway, as one time, passed through the area specifically to go to Hamilton, even though by then the town was well on its way to being deserted. We camped at the Illipah campground. When we got there is was windy and thunderstorms were threatening. There are two camping areas, one overlooking the reservoir, and the other in the pit. We chose the pit, since it cut down on the wind a bit. There is no potable water at the campground, although there is an outhouse. It's populated by swarms of flies that bounce up against your bum- nasty business. Otherwise, we were alone until Thursday night. I'm getting too old for camping. I like to sleep in a comfortable bed. I think I'll try one more time with an air mattress and blanket and if that doesn't work, I will leave Luis out there and stay at the Motel 6 in Ely. Some brain dead individual "tagged" the historical marker for Hamilton on Thursday night. I hope he or she got two flats, and is even now stumbling through the trackless hills and valleys between Ely and Eureka, the tips of their index finger blackened by paint, their painful and lingering demise eagerly anticipated by the local fauna. I saw how fast chipmunks could go through a bag of nacho cheese Doritoes; stripping the meat off the bones of a graffiti-painting dweeb will be no challenge. |
The remains of the J.B. Withington Hotel. It was a much grander ruin when the picture in Paher's book was taken. |
This is a view of the site taken from halfway up Treasure Hill, looking out at the Newark Valley and Diamond Mountains way in the background. |
A panorama looking west towards Babylon Ridge. There is a white trailer parked belonging to some friendly campers , partly hidden by the steel building. |