40° 18' 55 "N, 116° 40' 36 "W  USGS Tenabo Quad

Gold and silver were discovered here in 1906, and by the next year there were 1,000 people living here. The Little Gem and the Gold Quartz were two of the major mines in the area. A mill was built in Mill Gulch, which raises the question-- was it already named Mill Gulch, so they felt they had to build a mill there? Or did they build the mill and then name it Mill Gulch? Ha ha, I make joke.

By the end of the decade, though, expenses proved to be too much compared to the ore they were able to dig out and ship. The post office closed in 1912. Later, a new camp formed in Mill Gulch sometimes referred to as Raleigh, as it was formed by Mr. A.E. Raleigh around 1916 when he discovered placer gold. While the camp was not there long, the mining continued and in the 1930's they pumped water to the site and began dredging, an operation which lasted until the end of the 1930's. A couple of other companies tried their hand at dredging in the 1940's as well. Shawn Hall states that people were living here as late as 1994.

The camp starts to get active.

The Gold Quartz has paid its way by shipping ore. But few mines have such a record. John Brite of Goldfield has organized a company and taken over the Moose group at Tenabo and will immediately sink a 100-foot shaft. They now have shipping ore in sight. Joe Curry of Edgemont, who is one of the original locators of the Moose is here. An auto has been running between Tenabo and Beowawe, and the traffic has increased to such an extent that another auto has been ordered. These men state that an order has been made by the Southern Pacific for all fact trains to stop at Beowawe on account of so many men coming from Colorado and other places on their way to tenabo.
-Tonopah Bonanza, January 12, 1907

Bringing in the serious equipment now.

TRACTION ENGINE USED
The traction engine outfit is expected to arrive at Beowawe tomorrow, and will at once be put on the road between that place and the district. The telephone line has been completed and is now doing business. Two large automobiles will arrive this week, one of which will be placed on the road to Battle Mountain and the other on the Beowawe road. Both of the towns of the district, Lander and Tenabo, are growing rapidly, many new buildings being in the process of construction.
-Reno Evening Gazette, June 7, 1907

The camp continued to grow.

About two years ago others entered the district and soon discovered that the mineral possibilities were much greater that anyone supposed. No town had been established at that time; in fact, there was not much of anything there except W. S. Montgomery[discoverer] and the mineral. Since then, however, the town of Tenabo has sprung up and is growing, and various enterprises have been established.
-Nevada State Journal, July 17, 1907

Building is going ahead at a lively rate in both Lander and Tenabo, the two towns of the district. The population is now several hundred. The stages from Beowawe are loaded every day, while many are coming in from the south by private conveyance.
-Reno Evening Gazette, September 28, 1906

The Gold Quartz is one of the major mines in the area.

The Gold Quartz at Tenabo has sent an initial shipment to Salt Lake City. This rich material is being sent by express and will average more than $2,250 per ton.
-Nevada State Journal, February 19, 1907

Sometimes tempers flared.

HOMICIDE AT TENABO
Sheriff Murphy received a message Monday evening from Cortez stating that James McLeod had died that afternoon from injuries received last Saturday, said injuries being inflicted by Ed Weaver at Tenabo. As to the nature of the wounds that caused McLeod's death no one seemed to know here, as no particulars were given, but waiting until the man was dead before notifying the authorities is rather queer.
-Weekly Independent, May 22, 1908

But Ed paid the price.

Ed Weaver, who killed James McLeod at Tenabo last May, was found guilty of manslaughter at Austin last week. Judge Breen sentenced him to seven years in the penitentiary.
-Weekly Independent, December 4, 1908.

At least Waddy survived.

Waddy Hunt was shot and wounded by Lee Lakin at Tenabo, Lander county, last Thursday, and is now in a hospital at Battle Mountain. The Battle mountain Scout says Dr. Clark, the attending physician, found the upper part of Hunt's body covered with shot wounds, inflicted by No. 4 or 5 shot, fired at a distance of about thirty yards, they having entered the back of the neck, left arm, shoulder, back and side, several shot having perforated the left lung, from which he was spitting blood. The doctor does not consider the wounds serious and says that Hunt will be about soon. After the shooting Hunt went to his car and drove alone to Beowawe, a distance of thirty-five miles, and then to Battle mountain by train. Deputy Sheriff Phelps and Joe Jurey went to Tenabo on receipt of the news of the shooting and returned with Lakin, who is now in jail at Battle Mountain. He refused to make a statement about the affair.
-Daily Appeal, February 10, 1920

The placer mining begins.

At Tenabo, in the gulch just south of the ground of the Mill Gulch property, there are about fifty dry-washers at work, whom it is said are making better than wages. One of them, Tom George, recovered an eight ounce nugget Saturday.
-Reno Evening Gazette, August 20, 1938

And... the placer mining ends.

Operating at what is known as Camp Raleigh in the Tenabo district in Lander County, the plant was constructed for the Mill Gulch Placer Mining Co., headed by W. Keith Scott, automobile dealer of Reno. Starting in march 1937, and running on a three-shift basis with a crew of 16 men, it was said to have met with success in recovering alluvial gold. Difficulties were encountered, however, in part due to failure of the water supply which was brought 15,000 ft. through 8 inch iron pipe with an elevation of 500 feet. Sometime over a year ago the company was said to have become involved in litigation, the plant was closed down and reports stated the dredge broke in tow and that all the equipment was sold and dismantled.
-Nevada State Journal, December 2, 1940

Some web sites report a small population still living in Tenabo. We can report that the place is truly a ghost. Nobody has lived here for a while. Buildings still standing, with many signs of use within the last few decades. However, hair loss seems to still be an issue there. There is some mining activity of some sort going on in Mill Gulch which we did not check out.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2025. Recent reports from Nevada Ghost Towns suggest the site may now be inaccesible due to mining activity.