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TreasureTales
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Tonopah was once the largest producer of silver ore in the State of Nevada. It produced a good quantity of gold, as well. The area even had some Turquoise, but because it didn't hold the value that gold and silver did, early 20th century miners ignored the stuff. Today the city of Tonopah resembles a town that is slowly trying to reserect itself from a near-death experience. Many of the buildings on the main street are boarded up, but a few brave entrepeneurs are trying to grow new businesses in an arid environment.
Here are more photos of the stuff found in and around Tonopah during a one-week visit in May of 2005. Again, nothing valuable...but fun to find nonetheless.
The first photo is a small piece of ore cart track and two of the small spikes that would have been used to nail it in place. There are hundreds of abandoned and closed mines in the general environs of Tonopah. I'm sure these relics came from one of the mines that used to look right down on the city itself.
Next is an assayer's crucible. Once a new strike or lead was found, a prospector wanted to know if it contained enough metal to make his continued labors worthwhile. With a crucible, a small piece of ore would be placed inside and then placed into a furnace. The dirt and valueless materials would burn off, leaving silver and gold behind. This particular crucible was one of about 12 I picked up. I've given away or sold the others.
Well, if you're going to work hard in the mines, you've got to eat. Here's a small enameled plate and a few pieces of flatware that were recovered from the Tonopah dump. The residents of the town seemed to enjoy canned oysters, fried chicken, and steaks. We found lots of oyster tins (labels long gone), chicken leg bones, and steak bones.
Next is a small brown bottle. For curing stomach ailments perhaps!!!
It stands about 5 inches tall.
Some of the miners had families. And where there were women, there were trunks. They had to have something in which to store and/or transport their clothes. This photo depicts the closure hardware for a camelback trunk. The detail work on this piece is pretty cool, but very common for such items.
And of course, once they moved to Tonopah, they had to write back home and tell their friends and relatives about the place. So here is a picture of an ink bottle. It's not particularly old, but the older bottles were dug out long ago. I was happy to get one that was whole.
If you ever visit Tonopah, be sure to visit the great mining museums in town. Besides, they both carry my book!!!
Here are more photos of the stuff found in and around Tonopah during a one-week visit in May of 2005. Again, nothing valuable...but fun to find nonetheless.
The first photo is a small piece of ore cart track and two of the small spikes that would have been used to nail it in place. There are hundreds of abandoned and closed mines in the general environs of Tonopah. I'm sure these relics came from one of the mines that used to look right down on the city itself.
Next is an assayer's crucible. Once a new strike or lead was found, a prospector wanted to know if it contained enough metal to make his continued labors worthwhile. With a crucible, a small piece of ore would be placed inside and then placed into a furnace. The dirt and valueless materials would burn off, leaving silver and gold behind. This particular crucible was one of about 12 I picked up. I've given away or sold the others.
Well, if you're going to work hard in the mines, you've got to eat. Here's a small enameled plate and a few pieces of flatware that were recovered from the Tonopah dump. The residents of the town seemed to enjoy canned oysters, fried chicken, and steaks. We found lots of oyster tins (labels long gone), chicken leg bones, and steak bones.
Next is a small brown bottle. For curing stomach ailments perhaps!!!
It stands about 5 inches tall.Some of the miners had families. And where there were women, there were trunks. They had to have something in which to store and/or transport their clothes. This photo depicts the closure hardware for a camelback trunk. The detail work on this piece is pretty cool, but very common for such items.
And of course, once they moved to Tonopah, they had to write back home and tell their friends and relatives about the place. So here is a picture of an ink bottle. It's not particularly old, but the older bottles were dug out long ago. I was happy to get one that was whole.
If you ever visit Tonopah, be sure to visit the great mining museums in town. Besides, they both carry my book!!!
