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.

 

Bothwick (Botha Creek)

DIRECTIONS: From Keystone Junction, head west on U.S. 50 for 15.6 miles. Exit right (this is the old Bothwick toll road) and follow for 3 miles. Bear right and follow for 1 mile to Bothwick.

"Bothwick was a stage station on the Lane City-Hunter stage line from 1877 to the early 1880s. The stage ran via Hercules Gap, William Botha built the station and constructed the Bothwick Toll Road. Botha made quite a bit of money during the Hunter boom, but his success came to an abrupt end when he was ambushed and killed by Indians. Because of the excellent location, families moved to Botha Creek once the Indian troubles had ceased. When changes were made in Homestead Laws in 1909, thirteen families moved here. A school was built and homes constructed. Most of the families had left by 1940 and ten years later, Botha Creek was empty. One building, believed to be the schoolhouse, struggles to stand at the site. Only a faint stone foundation marks the site of Botha's Station. Other ruins of old homesteads also are scattered along the banks of Botha Creek."

 

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