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.

Yankee Blade (Yandleville)

DIRECTIONS: From Austin, head west on U.S. 50 for 0.6 mile. Exit right on Nevada 305 and follow for 1 mile. Exit right and follow for 3.5 miles to Yankee Blade. Road is extremely rough and four-wheel transportation is recommended.

"Yankee Blade was one of the many Reese River towns that sprang up during 1863. The camp was named after a New England newspaper, the Yankee Blade. The Whitlatch Yankee Blade Mine was the first prominent producer. The mine was located in June and produced a considerable amount of $400-per-ton ore during the next few months. By April 1864, thirty cabins, most made of stone, were scattered near the district's mines. One prominent early mining company was the Confidence Mining Company, which was formed in late 1864 and consolidated the mines owned by B. C. Hill, L. H. Newton, W. H. Fearing, Charles Boyden, and H. Hazeltine. The mines included the Confidence, Maid of Athens, St. Jo, Revenue, and Lydie Allen. In spring 1865 construction began on the Confidence Mill. The 15-stamp mill was built by Nevins and Hussy and was fired in June. By 1865 Yankee Blade was a booming mining camp. A number of mills were built, and scores of new mines began to produce ore. The 20-stamp Keystone Mill was the most impressive of the new mills. The mill cost $125,000, and another $50,000 was spent on other company buildings. Workings of the mill included four batteries of 5 stamps each, a 65-horsepower engine, and four reverberatory furnaces. The mill, however, had a short life. The structure and a number of nearby buildings were destroyed by fire on April 6, 1868. Another prominent mill, the Mettacome, was built and owned by the Lane and Fuller Company. The mill, which had ten 900-pound stamps and four roasting furnaces, treated ore from a new and very rich mine, the Buel North Star. During 1866 three other mills were built: the 10-stamp Empire (started in May, later enlarged to 15 stamps), the 15-stamp Midas, and the 8-stamp Butte.

Among the new discoveries in Yankee Blade were the Yankee Blade (150-foot shaft, 500-foot crosscut tunnel), Midas Flat/Peerless ($440 per ton), Patriot (700-foot shaft, $30,000 produced), Morris and Cable ($218,000 produced), Chase ($22,000 produced), Monroe (($256 per ton), and Cicero mines.

In 1867 water was struck in the mines, closing down most of the district. By the end of 1867 only the Mettacome and Butte mills were still operating. The Confidence Mill was sold in February 1867 to the La Plata Silver Mining Company and moved to Park Canyon (Nye County). In August 1872 a partial revival took place. The Kelly and Kling Mining Company, employer of 20, worked several claims. The Mettacome Mill was taken over by the Pacific Mining Company, Limited. Only about 50 people still lived in Yankee Blade by 1875, but that turned out to be the camp's largest production year, with $42,000. The bulk of ore came from a new mine, the True Blue, and three older mines, the Patriot, Morris and Cable, and Chase. But it was Yankee Blade's last gasp. Only the Morris and Cable and Chase mines continued producing limited amounts of ore into the 1880s. After that, only an occasional leaseholder worked the district until the turn of the century.

A small revival began when a few of the mines were reopened in 1900 and worked until 1911. In 1911, the Maricopa Mines Company bought and worked the Watt, Morris and Cable, Chase, Patriot, and True Blue mines. The company built a small $6,000 mill in 1913, but the revival faded in 1914 and by that fall the district was once again abandoned. The last activity in Yankee Blade took place in 1937 when the Austin Syndicate reopened the True Blue Mine, but without any success. Today a visit reveals a multitude of picturesque stone ruins scattered throughout the townsite. In addition, walls of three mills remain at Yankee Blade. The site is very difficult to reach, but the effort is well rewarded."

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