Please remember to exercise caution when exploring Nevada's Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. Open shafts, drifts going into mountainsides, and old buildings are all DANGEROUS. Be aware of your surroundings, and let someone know where you are, especially if your plans change.

JACK CREEK

Located 15 1/2 miles north of Taylor Canyon on Nevada 226.

"Jack Creek was named in honor of it's original settler, Jack Harrington, who homesteaded in 1868 and spent the rest of his life ranching at Jack Creek. Jack Creek soon became a stop on the Northern Stage Company's line from Tuscarora to Mountain City, with a fare of two dollars to Jack Creek from Tuscarora. The Jack Creek area became the prime source of wood for Tuscarora, and both firewood and mine timbers came from there. From 1877 to 1892 harvesting averaged 12,000 cords of firewood and 200,000 linear feet of mine timber. There was limited mining interest in the Jack Creek area in 1870s after Chesler Woodward, a local rancher who had settled at Jack Creek in 1869, staked a number of claims and formed the Woodward Mining district in May 1877. However, nothing was ever produced. Woodward abandoned the claims in 1878, although he and his family operated a ranch, a store, a restaurant, and a rooming house at Jack Creek for many years. In June 1879 the Jack Creek School District was organized, and Nevada Hardesty Griswold, then seventeen, taught ten students. A settlement of about twenty people had formed at Jack creek, and a few other ranches were homesteaded in Jack Creek Canyon and nearby areas to the north and south. For many years, there were two schools in the Jack Creek area, each with about ten students.

Because of the number of families in the area and the absence of a proper gathering place, Harrington built the Jack Creek Opera House, which he completed in November 1880. While it had an elegant moniker, the building was more or less a large barn with a stage, but the local residents enjoyed the entertainment and camaraderie they shared there. In 1884, the town had grown enough to name Harrington Justice of the Peace. Clay Hardesty was the Constable and R.D. Lamham the Road Superintendent. A voting precinct was established, and local resident Charles Woodward served as the Voter Registry Agent. Jack Harrington died in 1886, and Frank Culvert purchased his ranch and stage stop in April. Culver built a large lodge for travelers and fishing parties, promising that "clean beds and good meals will be the rule." Many citizens from Tuscarora and Elko came to Jack Creek to spend weekends fishing and hunting."

Jack Creek continued to grow, adding a power plant in 1898 and as the area grew, so did the services. Today the Jack Creek Lodge is open for travelers. Foundations mark the site of the power plant, and some parts of the flume are also visible. Be sure to bring your fishing pole and travel through some of Nevada's past.

Return to: Ghost Town & Mining Camp Map