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.

 

Osceola

DIRECTIONS: From Ely, take U.S. 50 south for 34 miles. Bear right off of U.S. 50 and continue for 3 miles to Osceola.

"Initial discoveries in the Osceola District were made in August 1872 by Joseph Watson and Frank Hicks, who located the Osceola Ledge. A small camp, named for a Seminole chief, soon formed. The Osceola Mining District was organized in October, and the producing mines included the Exchange (discovered in August by James Matteson), Cumberland (Richardson and Delmater), Crescent and Eagle (Gilmer and Chandler), Verdi (Akey and Felsenthal), Gilded Age (Phillips and Watson), Stemwinder (Charles Bussey and L. S. Scott), Grandfather Snide (Jack Henderson), Royal Flush (Akey and Delmater), Saturday Night (B. Tilford), and Red Monster (Pat Revey). Osceola grew quickly, and during the camp's first two years of production $300,000 was sent throughout the West via Wells-Fargo.

The placer fields, which put Osceola on the map, were discovered by John Versan in early 1877. Versan sold his holdings to a newly formed company, the Osceola Gravel Mining Company, later renamed the Osceola Placer Mining Company. Soon a tent camp of between 400 and 600 sprang up, and more than 300 miners were employed in the district. The biggest problem was the lack of water to work the placers, which hindered the development of the camp. Osceola nevertheless received national attention when the largest gold nugget ever discovered in Nevada (valued at $6,000) was found here in May 1877 by a man named Darling. In 1878, a small 5-stamp mill was built at the Gilded Age Mine. Osceola continued to grow, and a post office, with Richard Iregaskis as postmaster, opened on March 26. By 1879 the camp had three saloons, a store, a restaurant, a butcher shop, a blacksmith shop, and a justice of the peace.

The lack of water prevented full development of the vast placer fields. Ben Hampton, the head of Osceola Placer, spent $250,000 to construct two ditches to bring water to the district. Hampton set up the first hydraulic operation in Nevada, and the process found great success at the Osceola placer fields. The company employed 300 men and was active until the turn of the century. During the 1880s, three quartz-crushing mills, of 5, 10, and 20 stamps were active in Old Mill Gulch near Sacramento Summit. The Osceola Mining Company (which owned the Verdi, Mazeppa, Virginia, Durango, Sperange, and Ohio mines) started a 20-stamp mill on December 4, 1883, but this mill, like the others, was a dismal failure and operated only on a part-time basis. While mines were active in the district, placer operations were the main producers. Osceola Placer built an electric light plant, office buildings, and homes for personnel on nearby Cemetery Hill. Osceola was one of the few Nevada towns at the time to have electric power, and it also had the honor of having the first telephone in White Pine County.

In 1886 the White Pine Stage Company set up a line from Eureka to Osceola to help keep up with the demands for goods. A fire struck the company's stables on October 31, and ten horses perished, at a loss of $2,000. By 1889, 220 men were still working for Osceola Placer, at wages of $3 per day for powder handlers and $2.50 per day for shovelers. But a fire on April 30, 1890, that destroyed most buildings on the north side of Main Street was the start of Osceola's long, gradual decline. Although activity continued, placer deposits slowly began to run out. This, combined with the deterioration of the water ditches, forced the Osceola Placer Mining Company to fold in 1900. Osceola was not dead though: Many leaseholders continued to work the district, and close to 100 people still lived in Osceola at the turn of the century.

The post office closed on December 15, 1920, but enough people still lived here to support a store and two saloons. The largest revival began in 1925 when the Nicholson Mining and Milling Company began work on seventeen claims, including the Crescent Mine. The 1,500 feet of mine workings yielded ore that assayed $40 to $60 per ton. A 3,500-foot water pipeline was constructed to bring water to an 80-ton mill that the company built in 1927. The company was active until 1932, and leasing activity in the district continued until the late 1950s. Total production for the district stands at $3.3 million, $1.9 million from placer mining and $1.4 from lode mining. Until a fire in the late 1950s destroyed all remaining buildings, Osceola always had a few residents. The fire brought an end to the longest-lived placer town in Nevada. Today stone ruins and the Nicholson Mill mark the site. The Osceola Cemetery, on the hill overlooking the townsite, is quite extensive, with the graves of people from all over Nevada. The cemetery is certainly the highlight of a visit to the site. Though it is sad to read the stories on the gravestones, they do reveal the interesting history of Osceola and the surrounding area. Osceola is a fascinating place to explore, well worth an entire day."

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