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Columbus, Nevada

Field	Value
name	Columbus, Nevada
settlement_type	Ghost town
image_skyline	Columbus Nevada main street 1870s.jpg
pushpin_map	Nevada#USA
pushpin_label	Columbus
pushpin_label_position	left
pushpin_map_caption	Location within the state of Nevada
map_caption	Location within Esmeralda County
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	United States
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_name1	Nevada
subdivision_type2	County
subdivision_name2	Esmeralda
unit_pref	Imperial
timezone	Pacific (PST)
utc_offset	-8
timezone_DST	PDT
utc_offset_DST	-7
coordinates
{{designation list	embed	yes	designation1=Nevada Historical Marker	designation1_number=20}}

Columbus was a borax mining boom town in Esmeralda County. 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 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 was discovered near the town's site, and as a result Columbus increased substantially in its importance.

Borax was discovered at a salt marsh near town by William Troop in 1871. The site later became known as the Columbus Marsh. 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, Candelaria, and after 1876, Wadsworth.

Columbus was declined in 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 tractor 1870s.jpg|Steam tractor, Columbus, 1890s File:Borax refining tanks, Columbus Nevada 1870s.jpg|Borax refining tanks, Columbus, 1870s

References

"Columbus". Nevada State Historic Preservation Office.
(1970). "Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps". Howell North.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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

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