It was time to start heading south as our journey entered the return phase, however there were still many ghost towns and old mines to search out. Hawthorne, Nevada, home of the U.S. Army’s ammunitions storage depot, became our next base camp. We had stayed here in the early days of our trip, and the familiarity with services and shops was a welcome feeling. Our ambitious plans included venturing west into the hills to explore Aurora and Fletcher, south to walk some of the old Pony Express and stagecoach route that led thousands to the gold fields of California, and then east to the towns of Ione and Berlin and visit the excavation site where the Nevada State Fossil – Ichthyosaurus – was first discovered. With temperatures still blasting into the 100’s, our explorations started early in the mornings with the goal to finish each day’s trip well before the afternoon’s scorching heat.
Hawthorne
From Verdi, California, we drove through wide open landscape of the Paiute Reservation to arrive at Hawthorne, Nevada. The origins of Hawthorne date back to the 1880’s when it was a railroad depot for the Carson and Colorado Railroad. Located in Mineral County, the area is abundant with mines and a spiderweb of old dirt roads leading from the town into the hills beyond. In the 1920’s, it became one of the country’s largest ammunitions depot, first for the Navy and then for the Army. At an elevation of 4300 ft., Hawthorne is a high-desert rural town known for its nearby access to several ghost towns. Our neighbor at the RV park turned out to be another ghost town enthusiast. We exchanged information on locations and conditions around the area and were asked to sign his travel log!
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Aurora & Fletcher
Aurora, Nevada was one of the richest mining towns of its time. It was the location of Mark Twain’s mining claim that he wrote about in his book, “Roughing It.” Nothing but a cemetery and the ruins of a kiln remain of this boomtown. Nonetheless, we drove along Lucky Boy Pass and reached an elevation of 8,000 ft west of Hawthorne to explore the abandoned “Golden City of the Dawn.”
A kiln still stands in Limekiln Canyon just at the edge of the former town. Beyond it are the remnants of foundations of the numerous buildings that comprised Aurora. By 1950, vandals had destroyed the buildings and even removed all the bricks. We walked among the ghostly outlines and bits of debris marveling at the way a town can vanish.
In addition to the mining camps, the area around the town is also part of the Aurora Crater. Part of an entire volcanic field on the border of Nevada and California, this 25,000 year old formation dates back to the Pleistocene age. We were seeing lava rocks and unusual rock formations on our approach into the backcountry and believe this to have been part of the ancient vent.
Our last stop of the day was Fletcher Station. Also known as Six Mile Station, this oasis stands at the crossroads between Aurora and Bodie. The Fletchers operated this supply center in the 1860’s and provided fresh produce for the miners as well as fresh horses for the teamsters delivering their gold and silver ore to the railroad depot and stagecoaches bringing prospectors and mail to the camps. The clear cool spring still produces an irresistible spot to escape the heat of the high desert.
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Whiskey Springs Station
Along an old stagecoach route, south of Hawthorne was the Whiskey Springs Station. We went in search of the ruins and found many old bottles, tin cans, splintered wood, lizards and a horned toad, but not much else. The view of the road stretching for miles in the high desert impressed with the sense of wide open spaces and dust.
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Berlin – Ichthyosaur State Park and Ione
One of Nevada’s newest state parks is the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. This unusual park combines two different eras of history and presents both mining artifacts and prehistoric fossils. Located about 80 miles southeast of Hawthorne, in the Shoshone Mountains, Nevada has preserved many buildings and structures from the thriving mining communities of Berlin and Union. The self guided tour gave a thorough look at life in a late 1800’s settlement comprised of both families and single workers. The 30-Stamp Berlin Mill provides a great reference to the size and scope of the processes needed to bring the ore to market.
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Further up the mountain is located the Ichthyosaur building and research cabin. Ichthyosaur is a gigantic prehistoric sea creature and the largest fossil found in Nevada. The building encloses an undisturbed fossil bed containing a large amount of Ichthyosaur fossils. Park Rangers provide tours of the fossil bed while artifacts and documents from the discovery teams are displayed around the building. A separate building which served as a research camp for the paleontologists has also been preserved.
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Ione
Nearby to Berlin but not part of the state park, is the almost-ghost town of Ione. Once the county seat, Ione may be down, but its not out, as proclaimed by their city motto: “The Town that Refused to Die”. Wood, log and rock structures from the 1860’s are interspersed among mid 1900’s style residences. With practically off-grid living and few amenities, this little mountain town is secluded and barely tolerant of visitors – probably the same vibe one would have had among most mining camps in the day.
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Our next base camp would be in the tiny town of Mina, Nevada which would place us close to some of the most exciting discoveries of our travels. Join us in the next post as we explore Belmont, Columbus, Candelaria, and find a modern day mining claim stake.
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Next up…Old Mines and Ghost Towns – Part 8
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