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.

Geneva

DIRECTIONS: Located 0.5 mile east of Clinton.

"Initial discoveries at Geneva were made during March 1863. A seven-man prospecting party, led by Charles Breyfogle, located rich silver and gold deposits on the east slope of the Toiyabe Mountains. Shortly, in November, the Geneva townsite was platted. A rush to the area developed, and by 1864, Geneva had a population of 500. Businesses, including a store, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, and a stage office, opened. Within months, stores and log cabins crowded the canyon. Breyfogle built a hotel, but he was too susceptible to wanderlust and soon left to continue prospecting. Shortly after leaving Geneva, he discovered the famed Lost Breyfogle Mine in Death Valley and ended his days trying to find the mine again. The mines in Geneva continued to boom. In 1865, the Big Smoky Mining Company built a 20-stamp mill, after a rich ore strike on the Smoky Valley Ledge in April. The ore from the Big Smoky Mine originally assayed at $300 per ton. The mill, however, was a waste of money and operated for an extremely short period before low ore values forced its closure.

Despite this setback, Geneva continued to prosper. Other mines in the area, among them the Everett (owned by the Everett Mining Company), Illinois, and Mammoth mines (Smoky Valley Mining Company), also helped to keep ore production high. A post office opened on June 20, 1867, and G. B. Moore was appointed postmaster. But Geneva's hopes for permanence were crushed when the mines gave out during late 1867. The post office closed on September 20, 1868, and the camp soon was empty. All of the machinery from the mill and mines was removed, leaving stone cabins as the only site markers. A small revival took place beginning in 1916, when John Cahill discovered the Smoky Valley Mine near the old Big Smoky Mine. He sold the mine to a newly organized company, the Nevada Birch Creek Mining Company, in 1919. The company was based in Austin, had J. F. Bowler as president, and worked eight claims, including two tunnel mines. Nevada Birch Creek folded in 1921, and Geneva has been a ghost town ever since. Total production for Geneva was a little over $100,000. Today interesting stone cabins, in various stages of ruin, still mark the site."

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