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.

Betty O'Neal (Kimball) (Kimberly)

DIRECTIONS: From Galena railroad site, take road heading southeast toward Lewis and follow for 3.5 miles. Exit right and follow for 0.5 mile to Betty O'Neal.

"Valuable silver deposits at Betty O'Neal were found during the summer of 1881 by prospectors from nearby Lewis. The most important of these initial strikes was the Estelle Nevada Mine, owned by the discoverers, whose names were Blossom, McWilliams, George, Green, Cozzens, and Satler. The following year, in September, the most important mine of the district, the Betty O'Neal, was discovered. The Betty O'Neal Silver Mining Company, with D. P. Pierce as superintendent, was soon organized. Disaster struck the mine on October 31 when the boiler at the hoisting works exploded, killing car man Thomas Bastian and destroying the engine house, blacksmith shop, and hoisting machinery. The workings were immediately rebuilt, but a fire in April 1883 once again destroyed them. That disaster, coupled with the quick decline of nearby Lewis, led to the closing of the Betty O'Neal Mine.

The district remained inactive until late 1907, when the Betty O'Neal was leased by Sherman Wilhelm, manager of the Nevada-Omaha Mining and Milling Company, which also controlled the mines at the short-lived boom camp of Bannock, across the valley. Wilhelm and a small crew narrowly escaped death in the summer of 1908 when a section of mine that they ere examining collapsed. Luckily, the men sustained only minor injuries, but Wilhelm never set foot in a mine again for the rest of his life! A small camp formed at the mine, and a post office, named Kimball, opened on April 25, 1910. However, Wilhelm left the district and closed the mine in September 1911. The post office followed suit on October 31, and once again the district was abandoned.

In 1922 one of the giants of the Nevada mining industry, Noble Getchell, purchased the mine from George Abel. Getchell immediately began to expand the mine, adding to its four miles of workings. The Getchell holdings were combined with the Betty O'Neal Mines Company, with George Sias as president. The company controlled eighteen claims (260 acres) and also owned 160 acres of prime ranchland just below the mine. In April the Cahill Brothers of San Francisco were contracted to build a 100- ton flotation mill, which began operations on October 20. In January 1923, Betty O'Neal Mines bought all holdings controlled by the Battle Mountain Mining and Development Company for $1.25 million. The Betty O'Neal Company now owned four main veins of ore: Betty O'Neal, Estella, McGarr, and Nebraska. The district reached its peak during the next couple of years, with the most important producers being the Betty O'Neal, Estella, Star Grove, Getchell, and Eagle Sunsag mines.

Although Betty O'Neal was the scene of a lot of mining activity, very few businesses made their home here. Most people chose to live in Battle Mountain because modern transportation made it more economical to be located there. The camp did, however, support a few mercantile stores, a short-lived newspaper (the Concentrator), and a baseball team. The team was made up of tough miners with a reputation for playing baseball as a contact sport! However, they were the champions of the Northern Nevada Baseball League a couple of times, so their roughness must have paid off. The post office reopened on June 22, 1925, with the name Betty O'Neal, and Alta Ashcroft was postmistress.

The mines continued to produce, and the mill was expanded to 250 tons to handle the increased ore loads. By 1928, however, ore values began to slip. The low price of silver in 1929 forced the company to cut back to only 12 men. The mine was operated only intermittently until 1932, then was shut down for good. The post office closed on April 26, 1932, and the camp was left to the ghosts. Between 1881 and 1932, ore valued at $2.4 million was produced. Today the mine has been reactivated, and the new company is also reprocessing the expansive ore dumps. Not much remains at the site. The town is off limits to visitors unless they obtain permission from the mine owners. The mill ruins are all that remain from the earlier activity."

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