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.

 

Cocomongo (Watsonville)

DIRECTIONS: From Cherry Creek, head south toward Egan Canyon for 4 miles. At four-way intersection, continue straight for 2miles. Look for streambed on right. Follow this streambed (there may be water in it during spring months) for about 1.5 miles to Cocomongo.

"Will Watson, W. B. Lawler, and Ernest Baker made a gold strike in 1903. The ore assayed at close to $400 per ton, and a camp of 30 formed. Access to the camp was extremely difficult, and water was hauled in from Egan Canyon. The main producer was the original discovery, the Joanna Mine. A new mine, the Pick and Gad, was discovered by Charlie Wah in 1904. In 1905 the Hartford Nevada Mining Company gained control of the two mines. Within months, the company merged with the Gold Canyon Mining Company. A 40-ton mill was built in 1906. The mill had four 1,000-pound stamps and a 50-horsepower gas engine. A tramway was built from the Joanna Mine to the mill, which ran for two years before closing. Hartford Nevada folded in the summer of 1908, and by 1909 Cocomongo had been abandoned. The mill was taken down in 1917 and moved to Piermont. Today the ruins of three wooden cabins remain, but not much else. Only the fanatic ghost town hunter will make it to Cocomongo. Finding it is an extremely difficult hit-or-miss proposition. The faint wagon road to the site fades in and out and is very tough to follow. If you are successful in finding the site, you will receive the reward of knowing that you are one of only a handful who have visited Cocomongo!"

 

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