N 38.0962° W114.59475° Bristol Range SE, NV Quad

Go to Pioche, Nevada. You there yet? Outstanding!! Now head north on US 93 for 13.5 miles; turn left on Bristol Wells Rd. but take smaller dirt road on the left, and head west for 0.8 miles.

From Fallon: 357 miles

Jackrabbit District derived its name from the early settlers, who had very long ears.
-Pioche Weekly Record, June 8, 1882

The Jackrabbit mine is at the foot of the east slope of the Bristol Range. It has been known also as the Black Metals mine and as the Day mine. It is 15 miles north of Pioche, with which it is connected by a narrow-gage line, the Pioche Pacific, over which the ore from the Jackrabbit and Bristol mines is carried to the Union Pacific at Pioche. The mine is controlled by the Bristol Silver Mines Co. through ownership of a major part of the outstanding stock of the Black Metals Mines (Inc.). An aerial tram extends from the railroad terminus to the Bristol mine, on the west slope of the range. The power plant, which furnishes power to both the Jackrabbit and Bristol mines, is also located here; it is equipped with two Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engines of 240 horsepower each and supplies electricity at an operating cost of 4 cents a kilowatthour that is, this cost omits charges of interest on investment and depreciation. The oil used (1926) was of 27° Baume gravity and cost at the plant 7 cents a gallon. During the later part of 1926, when the Jackrabbit mine was again under operation by the company, shipments were being made at the rate of 1,900 tons of manganese ore a month
-GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PIOCHE DISTRICT, NEVADA 1932

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE
ROYAL CITY AND BRISTOL
We availed ourself of an opportunity last Tuesday, extended to us by our handsome young friend Ab. Polleys, of making a flying visit to Royal City and the old town of Bristol.
We found the first named camp quite dull; in fact, nearly as quiet as Picohe, but not quite. The citizens of Roay City are a little stuck up at present, all owing to a birth-- the first in jackrabbit District-- which occurred on Thursday, the 9th instant. This new addition to the population of ROyal City was born to the wife of Joseph Kerr, and according to the latest accounts, furnished to us by Postmaster Thomas Dimond, the "Muldoon" of the camp, father and boy were doing well.
Through the courtesy of Mr. Bray, Superintendent of the Day mine, we paid a visit to the property of this company, and found everything connected with the workings of the mine running along smoothly and works as economically as it possibly can. This tunnel is being run by contract, and Mr. Bray informed us that the ground is so hard that contractors, who took it at $12 per foot, are barely making salt.
-Pioche Record, May 18, 1878

Royal City now possesses a large population.
-Pioche Record, June 17, 1882

Royal City School Ball
The dance for the purpose of raising funds for the benefit of the school at Roayl City will take place on Thursday evening next, June 22d. The dance will be held at Dick's Hall, and every arrangement for the comfort and pleasure of cisitors have been made by the people of ROyal City. Tickets, admitting gentlement and liades, $2.50
-Pioche Record, June 17, 1882

A PIONEER GONE
WIlliam Howland, a pioneer of the Pacific Coast, having arrived in California in '48, died out at Royal City on Tuesday Morning, and his remains were brought to Pioche the following day and buried. The deceased died of pneumonia, having been sick but a couple of days. Howland was a native of County Wexford, Ireland, and was in the sixty-fifth year of age.
-Reno Evening Gazette, April 27, 1882

Orlando Evangelesta opened his saloon at Royal City yesterday. This is the first opening at the place in thirteen years, as that many years ago it was quite a lively place, but it shut down at that time and has remained so ever since, but with the work now being done by the Nevada-Utah mining company, evidences of propsperity arrises in the opening of business places.
-Pioche Weekly record, March 2, 1906

SHIPPING ORE DAILY
The Nevada-Utah Company receied a new locomotive Tuesday last, which will be used on their narrow guage between Pioche and Royal City. The engine seems to be especially constructed for good service on this road and facilitate shipment of ore from the latter point.
-Pioche Weekly Record, April 11, 1908

Jackrabbit may not have been very big, but it had its share of mayhem. A small sampling:

A LINCOLN COUNTY HOMICIDE
A Drunken Brute's Bloody Work at Royal City
The Pioche Record of the 9th inst. says: At Royal City Sunday morning about 4:30 a.m. Hank Parish stabbed and mortally wounded P.G. Thompson, aged 31, a native of New Jersey and lately from Aspen, Colorado. AS nearly as we can ascertain, the facts of the cutting are as follows: Bob Martin, H. Hill, P.G. Thompson, and a Chinaman were engaged in playing poker at Jimmy Curtis' salon on the morning in question. Hank Parish was present, and being intoxicated, persisted in leaning on the shoulder of Thompson, although the latter remonstrated with him, claiming that he could not play poker under the circumstances. Parish repeated the act a few times and returned to the bar, when the laughter of the poker party attracted his attention. It seems that the players were laughing at the Chinaman for passing out a "club flush" but Parish seemingly thought that they were laughing at him, and advancing to the table, he addressed some foul language to the party, mainly addressing himself to Thompson, the latter replying that he did not give a d--n for him. Upon this Parish struck him in the face with his right hand, and upon Thompson rising from the table, Parish struck out with his left hand and stabbed him with a large pocket knife a little above and to the right of the navel. Upon receiving the wound, Thompson cried out that he was hurt, and hurriedly left the saloon. Jimmy Curtis at once secured a team and brought the wounded man to town, arriving at McFadden's Hotel at 8 a.m. and Dr. Nesbitt was summon immediately. Sheriff Turner at once secured a team and repaired to Royal City, where he arrested Parish, unaided, and he lost no time in jailing him on his return to town. The wounded man did not seem to have a chance for recovery from the start, for previous to his death, Dr. Louder was called in and performed an operation at Thompson's request, the same having shown an advanced stage of decomposition and that the bowels were badly cut. The deceased
died Thursday evening about 9 o'clock, and although a stranger in the community, the citizens mourn him as an old resident, from the fact of his pleasing presence and fortitude under great bodily pain.
-Reno Evening Gazette, August 15, 1890

PARISH HUNG
He Dies Protesting His Innocence, But Claims To Have Killed THree Men
The White Pine News contains the following account of the hanging of Hank Parish at Ely on Friday last: Hank Parish, for the murder of P.G. Thompson at Royal City last July, was hung in front of the jail yesterday at noon. The death warrant was read by Sheriff Bassett in the jail, and at two minutes to 12 o'clock the solemn procession wended its way from the jail to the scaffold. Parish ascending the steps without the lease apparent fear. There were quite a number of spectators within the enclosure, and Parish stepped to the front railing and addressed them. He said:

"I have been charged with a great many crimes; I killed three men, and I was right doing it. The last man I killed (Thompson) he assisted in stringing me up three times. They say I have a wife and family that I have not treated right. My wife has been dead thirteen years; I have two children in Oregon, well fixed. I am an ignorant man, have always been persecuted, and am innocent of crime. All this will appear in Mr. Murphy's book of my life, and I want you to believe it."

Those words were spoken calmly, and with ordinary coolness. He made no reference whatever to the Unknown Realm into which he was about to be launched, nor expressed any regret for anything he had done. He then stepped back on the trap door, shook hands with the Sheriff and his attendants, the black cap was pulled over his head, the rope adjusted over his neck-- and the News reporter hurriedly walked into the Court House to prevent witnessing the final act in the dram of life and death. Sheriff Bassett spring the trap; the fall was a little over six feet, and the doomed man's neck was broken. There was not a move or a quiver of the body, and as soon as Dr. Campbell could get to feel the pulse he pronounced life extinct. The whole time occupied in the execution was but 12 minutes. Parish went on the scaffold at 2 minutes to 12 and was cut down at 10 minutes past 12. Dr. Campbell examined his pulse before he left the jail. It was beating at 99. When the black cap was pulled over his head it ran up to 142. That Parish was a bad man, and met the fate he deserved, is the general sentiment of this community.
-Reno Evening Gazette, December 16, 1890.

MURDER ON THE FOURTH
The Valley Tan Sold in Lincoln County Results in the Usual Manner
The Pioche Record of the 10th inst. says: Jackrabbit, or more properly speaking, Royal City, is becoming notorious for the size of its community on account of its murderous proclivities. To-day we have to record a rather brutal killing of an Italian named Luigi Clara by Fred Scheivele on the night of the Fourth. The coroner's jury returned a verdict that the deceased came to his death by being beaten with a revolver at the hands of Scheivele. Scheivele was on his way to give himself up, when he met SHeriff Turner, and while on the way informed the sheriff he was the guilty party. The Grand Jury met and the Rcord gives the result as follows: The investigation of the killing of the Italian Clara at Royal City on the 4th inst. occupied some time and it all ended in a finding no bill. Scheivele claimed to be defending his cabin partner from an attack by Clara and one Pete Pardola, both of whom were drunk.
-Reno Evening Gazette, July 15, 1891

"Valley Tan" refers to booze in this predominantly Mormon part of the state. In case you didn't know. The ZCMI referred to was the "Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution," the first department store in the United States.

One of the first industries introduced in the Salt Lake Valley was leather tanning. From that beginning the term, “valley tan” was coined to denote any article of home manufacture. According to Edward W. Tullidge in his History of Salt Lake City, “The term ‘valley-tan’ soon became, and is now, rather a derogatory expression, applied indiscriminately to any rough home-made article including whiskey.” A locally distilled whiskey bore the name Valley Tan. It was distilled from wheat and potatoes. George Latrop, a driver on the Cheyenne-Blackhills Stage, described it as being, “made of horned toads and Rocky Mountain rattlesnakes.”  Mark Twain was quoted as saying, “it is made of imported fire and brimstone.” It was sold in ZCMI along with other liquors to compete with “gentile” stores for much needed cash.
- http://www.utahstories.com/2013/08/valley-tan-a-short-history-of-this-utah-based-phrase/

October 15, 1878 - January 26, 1879 - (Royal City)

Jackrabbit is situated on the pleasant, eastern wooded slopes of the Bristol Range. Pleasant, unless you want to see where everything is and laid out. Then you realize you can't see a thing because of the damn trees. So there are plenty of hidden ruins dotting the countryside, and you could easily spend a day here checking everything out. We also visited the nearby Pioche-Bristol Mine, the Lucky Star Mine, and the Ida May Mine. Roads in the area are actually quite good.