Photos courtesy of Mike Sinnwell September 2005
Hamilton Nevada Townsite – Ghost town
Not much left but foundations, footings and traces of the level of activity that once dominated this site. I stopped by the cemetery for a look see and was reminded of two things fairly common for the time and place. A real diversity in the background of the people in the town and the sadness that hit some families. At least 3 graves with infants all belonging to the same family.
Silver was discovered here in 1867 and in two years the population had grown significantly. It was named after the mine promoter W.H. Hamilton. The ore bodies proved to be shallow thus it did not take but a couple years and the big mining companies were gone. Fires in 1873 and 1885 all but doomed the town that was once the county seat for White Pine county. Post office was closed in the 1930’s.
Hard to believe over 10,000 people once lived here and enjoyed things like a skating rink, dance halls, stage lines, and shopping at over 50 general stores. They also worked at the 150+ mining companies in the area.