Reilly is a former settlement in

Inyo County Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is o ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was located on the west side of the

Panamint Valley The Panamint Valley is a long basin located east of the Argus and Slate ranges, and west of the Panamint Range in the northeastern reach of the Mojave Desert, in eastern California, United States. Geography The northern end of the valley is in ...

, at an elevation of 2582 feet (787 m). Reilly was a silver mining community in the late 19th century.Vredenburgh, Larry M., Shumway, Gary L., Hartill, Russell, D., 1981, Desert Fever, an overview of mining in the California Desert, Living West Press: Canoga Park, California, p. 71, 72.Vredenburgh, Larry M., 1987, Reilly: The well preserved ruins of an 1880s mining camp, in Proceedings. First Death Valley Conference on History and Prehistory February 8 – 11, 1987. A post office operated at Reilly in 1883. Reilly is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Time Line

* The Sherman Mining District was established in the 1860s. Theodore and Albert Wibbett discovered ore here in 1869. Between 1877 and 1882 Theodore staked several claims that were purchased on May 23, 1882, by Edward Reilly. * October 1882. A mill was ordered, the claims were surveyed. * November 13, 1882. Reilly sold the claims & water rights to the Argus Range Silver Mining Company for $500,000. The Argus Range Silver Mining Company of New York operated 24 months from 1882 until June 1884, $240,000 was invested. The Mine Returned $23,000 * January 22, 1883. A post office was established. * October 1883. The mill operated for 4 days, produced 137 oz. from 30 tons of ore. * October 15, 1883 the post office moved to Darwin. * The mill operated intermittently until April 1884. * June 20, 1884. An ad in the Inyo Independent offering to custom mill ore at Reilly, implying that the mines have “played out.” * 1884. Numerous lawsuits filed by unpaid laborers and suppliers. * February 29, 1885 the property was sold for $287.74 to Isaac Harris for unpaid taxes. The mill and millsite was sold for $171.63, also to Harris. * May 4, 1885 Edward Reilly bought back the claims and mill. * August 7, 1885. The property was sold for $1,360.34 to Harris Yerington, owner of the

Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...

, for unpaid debts. * February 20, 1891 Yerington sold the property to the State of California for $300.James J. Barnes, 2002, The Life of Reilly: The Archaeology of an 1880s silver mine in Panamint Valley, California. MA thesis, Sonoma State University, 446 pp.

References

External links

Desert Fever (1981)

REILLY: The Well Preserved Ruins of an 1880s Mining Camp(1987)

* Former settlements in Inyo County, California Populated places in the Mojave Desert Mining communities in California Former populated places in California National Register of Historic Places in California Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in California {{InyoCountyCA-NRHP-stub