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.

Gold Acres

DIRECTIONS: From Tenabo, backtrack 1.5 miles to paved road. Exit right and follow for 5 miles to Gold Acres.

"Gold Acres was one of the more recent mining camps to become prominent in Lander County. The Gold Acres Mine was discovered in 1936, and a mill was built nearby. The property was controlled by the Consolidated Mining Company. An additional 400-ton cyanide mill was constructed in 1941. Between 1936 and 1940, the mine produced $213,000. In March 1942 the property was purchased by the London Extension Company, which employed 100 men. The population of Gold Acres was around 300 during the 1940s, and a school opened in 1942. Close to forty houses were built and businesses opened, including two mercantile stores and a saloon. In October 1945 a Marcy ball mill was moved here from Colorado, and 35 more men were employed. This 400-ton mill did not enjoy the success of Gold Acres' other mill, and it closed down after only one year. While the Gold Acres Mine was the main producer, a number of smaller mines, including the Turquoise 50 ($5,000), Blue Fern ($5,000), and Steirich ($15,000), also produced ore, mainly turquoise. The Gold Acres variety was of extremely high quality.

The Gold Acres Mine was a very consistent producer, and the town was a successful and happy company town. Operations continued until June 1961, when the company folded and Gold Acres was abandoned. The townsite was sold at a sheriff's auction during the fall and in December, all buildings in Gold Acres were bulldozed. Only one person still resides at Gold Acres: Orvil Jack, a well-traveled mine mechanic in his seventies. His machine shop is in an old boxcar that rests on a hill overlooking the remains of Gold Acres. Orvil owns several claims in Gold Acres. His expertise is in mine equipment repair, and he has spent most of his time repairing equipment in Crescent Valley, Cortez, and Tenabo. He believes that his claims have some of Nevada's richest deposits of gold, silver, and turquoise. From the evidence of recent mining reports, he could be right. The Gold Acres district has already produced a little over $10 million. With new activity in nearby Tenabo and Cortez, there is a good chance that the Gold Acres mines might also be reopened. Today only a huge "glory hole", foundations, and wooden rubble mark the site."

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