Columbus was a borax mining boom town in

Esmeralda County Esmeralda County is a county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 729, making it the least populous county in Nevada. Esmeralda County does not have any incorporated communities. Its ...

. Its remnants are located on the edge of the Columbus Salt Marsh.

History

In 1863, a group of Spanish miners discovered silver in the area. The Columbus mining camp was established two years later, when American miners began to mine gold and silver nearby. A stamp mill was moved to town from

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

in 1866. Columbus was the ideal location for a mill, as it was the only stop for several miles with sufficient amounts of water for the operation of a mill. It wasn't until 1871 that

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

was discovered near the town's site, and as a result Columbus increased substantially in its importance. State Historical Marker No. 20. Borax was discovered at a

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

near town by William Troop in 1871. The site later became known as the

Columbus Marsh Columbus Marsh is a playa in Nevada, United States. William Troup (or Troop) discovered cottonball borax at the site in 1870 or 1871. Joseph Mosheimer and Emile K. Stevenot, who operated one of the borax concentrating plants at Columbus, hired Fr ...

. By 1873, four borax companies were actively working the deposits on the marsh. Columbus' zenith occurred around 1875 when there was around 1,000 people in the town. Borax plants were running continuously day and night, for eight months during the year. The town had a post office and local newspaper, ''The Borax Miner'', an adobe school, an iron foundry. Stage express offered daily service to

Fish Lake Valley The Fish Lake Valley is a longNevada, DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, c 2010, p. 58-59. endorheic valley in southwest Nevada, one of many contiguous inward-draining basins collectively called the Great Basin. The alluvial valley lies just northwest ...

, Candelaria, and after 1876,

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

. Columbus declined after 1875 when the Pacific Borax Company built a larger plant at Fish Lake, 30 miles south of town. By 1880, the town population had dwindled to 100 people. By the mid-1880s, mining and commercial activity had ceased in the area, and Columbus slowly became a ghost town.

Notes

William Caruthers, in his "Loafing Along Death Valley Trails" (Ontario: Death Valley Publishing Co., 1951) says that Francis M. "Borax" Smith discovered the borax at Columbus Marsh.

Gallery

File:Wcd0313b.jpg, William Groszenger, next to the Columbus coal field, 1896 File:Columbus_Nevada_late_1870s.jpg, Downtown Columbus, 1870s File:Columbus Nevada trator 1870s.jpg, Steam tractor, Columbus, 1890s File:Borax refining tanks, Columbus Nevada 1870s.jpg, Borax refining tanks, Columbus, 1870s

References

{{authority control 1865 establishments in Nevada Ghost towns in Esmeralda County, Nevada Ghost towns in Nevada Nevada historical markers Mining communities in Nevada Populated places established in 1865