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.

Deep Wells

DIRECTIONS: From Alpha, continue north on Nevada 278 for 7 miles to Deep Wells.

"Deep Wells was a stop on the Eureka and Palisade and the Eureka-Nevada railroads. However, activity was present long before the railroad came through in 1874. In the late 1860s, a pioneer, taking advantage of the rush to Eureka, dug a well here to supply water for freight teams heading to Eureka. The enterprising pioneer charged $1 for watering an eighteen-mule freight team or two bits (25 cents) for four skins full of water. Once the railroad came through, a small camp formed around the still-active wells. Even with the railroad, some freight teams still worked between Palisade and Eureka, creating a market for the precious water. The water was also a necessity for the hot railroad engines as they made their way across the dry valley. During the 1870s and 1880s, Deep Wells had a steady population of about 25 and supported a store and a restaurant. Once Eureka faded in the 1890s, the residents left, and soon the site was used as just a railroad water stop. Today only a collapsing windmill marks the spot."

 

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