Star City was a silver-mining boom town in present-day

Pershing County, Nevada Pershing County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,650. Its county seat is Lovelock. The county was named after army general John J. Pershing (1860–1948). It was formed from Humboldt County ...

. It was located in the Star Mining District. It is now 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'' ...

. The site is marked as

Nevada Historical Marker Nevada historical markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada's history. The Historic Marker Program was initiated by the Nevada State Legislature in 1967 to bring the state's heritage to the public's attention with on-site markers. ...

231.

History

Star City was established in 1861 when rich

silver ore 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 cond ...

deposits were discovered in the area. During its height from 1864 to 1865 the town was home to 1,200 people. It also housed two hotels, three general stores, a

Wells-Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...

office, a church and more than a dozen saloons. The Post Office was in operation from April 1862 to September 1868. The largest mine in the Star Mining District was the Sheba Mine, which produced about $5 million in silver by 1868. That same year the ore deposit began to run out. An 1868 account remarks on Star City: "So sudden was its decline that the daily mail, the express office and the telegraph office are all in operation yet, though the entire population consists of a single family." By 1871, only 78 people remained in Star City. Today the only reminders of the town are crumbling foundations and rusted mill equipment. A map Star City Overland Railroad stop] shown as "OSTAR CITY" on early Map of the Overland Railroad route for the Central Pacific Railroad references Star City on an early Map of the Overland Railroad route for the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

as "Ostar City," between Humboldt and Humboldt Wells, Nevada by mistake.

References

1861 establishments in Nevada Territory Ghost towns in Nevada Ghost towns in Pershing County, Nevada Nevada historical markers Mining communities in Nevada Populated places established in 1861 {{PershingCountyNV-geo-stub