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Delamar, Nevada, nicknamed ''
In 1889, prospectors John Ferguson and Joseph Sharp discovered gold around Monkeywrench Wash. A mining camp was established west of the Monkeywrench Mine. It was called ''Ferguson''. In April 1894, Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar bought most of the important mines in the area and renamed the Ferguson camp as Delamar. In the same year, a newspaper called the ''Delamar Lode'' began publication and a post office was opened.
From 1895 to 1900, Delamar was the primary ore producer in Nevada. The new settlement had more than 3000 residents by 1897. The town provided a hospital, an opera house, churches, a school, several businesses and saloons. Most buildings were made of native rock. By 1896, the Delamar mill was handling up to 260 tons of ore daily. Water for the camp was pumped from a well in
Delamar Ghost Town: The Widowmaker
(ghosttowns.com)
The Widowmaker
''The Widowmaker'' is a 1990 made-for-television film directed by John Madden and starring Annabelle Apsion, Alun Armstrong, David Morrissey and Kenneth Welsh. The film deals with a woman whose husband has been arrested after going on a killi ...
,'' is a ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
in central eastern Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
along the east side of the Delamar Valley Delamar Valley is one of the central Nevada desert basins and the southern portion of the Dry Lake Watershed, including a low point on the serpentine section of the Great Basin Divide
The Great Basin Divide in the western United States is th ...
. During its heyday, primarily between 1895 and 1900, it produced $13.5 million in gold.
History
In 1889, prospectors John Ferguson and Joseph Sharp discovered gold around Monkeywrench Wash. A mining camp was established west of the Monkeywrench Mine. It was called ''Ferguson''. In April 1894, Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar bought most of the important mines in the area and renamed the Ferguson camp as Delamar. In the same year, a newspaper called the ''Delamar Lode'' began publication and a post office was opened.
From 1895 to 1900, Delamar was the primary ore producer in Nevada. The new settlement had more than 3000 residents by 1897. The town provided a hospital, an opera house, churches, a school, several businesses and saloons. Most buildings were made of native rock. By 1896, the Delamar mill was handling up to 260 tons of ore daily. Water for the camp was pumped from a well in Meadow Valley Wash
The Meadow Valley Wash is a southern Nevada stream draining the Meadow Watershed that is bordered on three sides by the Great Basin Divide. The wash's Lincoln County head point is in the Wilson Creek Range, and the wash includes two upper conf ...
, some twelve miles away. Supplies and materials traveled even further, by mule team over mountainous terrain from the railroad head at Milford, Utah
Milford is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,409 at the 2010 census and 1,394 as of a 2019 Census Bureau estimate.
History
Although settlers had established ranches in the area in the 1870s, Milford was not de ...
, which was 150 miles from Delamar.
The town was almost entirely destroyed by fire in the spring of 1900. In 1902, Captain De Lamar sold his mines which had produced $8.5 million in gold. The new owners installed a new 400-ton mill in 1903. The mine eventually discontinued operations in 1909.A town revival from 1929 to 1934 included the reopening of the post office (March 1933) and school. The post office closed in February 1941.
Today, there are few reminders of the town. Many stone ruins stand semi-intact in the area. Mining foundations can easily be seen from adjacent hills. There are two graveyards, which have been vandalized. The area is honeycombed with mines and mine shafts, but in recent years the main shaft has been blasted closed.
Wild horses roam the area. The nearby dry lake is known to pilots as Texas Lake, because its outline resembles the state of Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
Silicosis
The gold in the Delamar mines was embedded inquartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
, which created a fine dust when crushed. Miners breathing the dust often developed silicosis
Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silicos ...
and the town became known as a "widow-maker."
See also
*Delamar Dry Lake
Delamar Dry Lake is a dry lake bed located in the Dry Lake Watershed near Alamo in Lincoln County, Nevada. It is located on federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
Delamar Dry Lake Landing Strip
Delamar Lake Landing Strip, ...
* Delamar Mountains
The Delamar Mountains are a mountain range in Lincoln County, Nevada, named after Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar. The range extends for approximately in a NNE–SSW orientation with a width of about . Surrounding ranges include the Burnt Spring ...
Further reading
James W. Hulse: The History of a Mining Region, 1864-1909. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1971.External links
Delamar Ghost Town: The Widowmaker
(ghosttowns.com)
References
{{Lincoln County, Nevada Ghost towns in Lincoln County, Nevada Populated places established in 1889 Ghost towns in Nevada 1889 establishments in Nevada