Candelaria is a ghost town in
Mineral County, Nevada
Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,554, making it the fourth-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Hawthorne.
History
Mineral County was carved out of Es ...
. Today the site of Candelaria is dominated by the
Kinross Gold Candelaria Mine on Mt. Diablo.
History
Candelaria was founded in 1864 when Mexican prospectors working the area discovered
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
deposits on the northern slopes of the mountain.
In 1873, the camp's most profitable mine, the Northern Belle, went into production. The success of the mine attracted people and business to the area, and by 1875, the Candelaria district became the most productive in southwestern Nevada.
![Main street Candelaria Nev c 1880](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Main_street_Candelaria_Nev_c_1880.jpg)
As the population grew, there was not enough water available to support mining and the populated settlement. "The
stamp mill in Candelaria had to operate as a dry mill, which spread toxic dust throughout the area. Unlike other camps where a wet milling process was used, Candelaria miners suffered from an extremely high incidence of “miners consumption” (respiratory disease). Inhabitants of the area breathed in the fine particulate dust created by the dry stamping process, which brought about respiratory tract infections and diseases which often ended in death".
The Northern Belle produced and shipped approximately $15 million in silver.
[ The town had two hotels, numerous stores, multiple saloons, doctors and lawyers and other businesses. The post office was named Candalara from August 1876 until November 1882 and then named Candelaria from November 1882.] In 1882, the completion of the Carson and Colorado Railroad
The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. narrow gauge railroad that ran from Mound House, Nevada, to Keeler, California below the Cerro Gordo Mines. It was incorporated on May 10, 1880 as the Carson and Colorado ''Railroad'', and constructio ...
to Candelaria helped to alleviate the water shortage. With available water, the town continued to thrive for ten years. In 1893 an economic depression in the U.S. halted investment in the mines and many of the mines closed. After that, the town was declined with the post office closing in January 1935.[
]
Notable person
* James E. Casey, founder of United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...
(UPS), was born in Pickhandle Gulch in 1888
References
External links
Candelaria
(forgottennevada.org)
(ghosttowns.com)
{{authority control
Ghost towns in Nevada
Ghost towns in Mineral County, Nevada
Populated places established in 1864
1864 establishments in Nevada