The Record. (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1902-1904, 1903-08-21
Interesting Facts Of
the County's Growth

the valley by the white men, and the
manner of its christening, thus roman
tically says:
Years ago, Kit Carson, after . toll
some and perilous march ever mountai-
rs, plains and desert wastes, looked
out from the crest of snow-encumbsr-
cd mountain upon the beautiful valley
that now bears his name. The last
rays of the setting sun glanced in qui-
vering arrows of light over the waters
of the beautiful river which winds its
way through the valley; the snowy
peaks of the Sierra Nevada looming up
against the purple and golden heavens;
the steep mountain sides; the tall trees
and the foaming waters, all clothed In
a asuffusion of glorious sunlight, were
calculated to arouse the admiration Of
the pioneer and to form his conclus-
ion that all the beautiful valleys he
had traversed in exploring the vast
wilderness of the West, none were
more fit to bear his name than this
Across the valley, about eighteen
miles southeastiof Genoa, inlthe lower
hills of the Pine Nut Mountains, in the
fall of 1859, there was found such min
eral indications" as to create COLI
siderable excitement among the resi-
dents, and many claims were located.
The following year, however, more,
encouraging prospects" were obtained
higher up In the same range, at q
short distance north of the road lead
ing into the Walker River and Mono.
Lake regions, which caused an aband-
onment of the first-named discoveries,
and the immediate formation Of Eagle
Mining District.
Silver Lake District WAS another min
ing locality in the Pine Nut range, the
principal mine of which was the
Winters, and owned mainly by John
B. Winters. Ore of the value of 5000
was shipped from this mine and sold
at net profit of S2,926. *This mine
is now owned by Harry Clauson, Of
Reno. A number of other districts
were formed in the county about tho
same time, all of which have had their
brief hour and are now forgotten.
The Mammoth mine is situated In
Eagle District, and is about the only
one in the county upon which opera
tions have not been wholly suspended.
There is tunnel in progress to
strike the ledge, now in nearly 1000
feet, and rs large assays have been
had Of the ore, great expectations are
INDUCED in by those who are interest
ed in the enterprise, when the ledge is
once reached by the tunnel. The ex-
penditure upon this work has been
upward of 100000
Genoa Mining District is adjacent to
the town of Genoa, one mile north, and
was created in 1850, at which time
gold-bearing quartz was found, a code
of laws adopted, many large claims
located for tunnel purposes, many
tunnels begun, and great deal of
labor and money expended with barren
results. OF course, nearly all locations
must be under the management
of an Incorporated company, and SO it
was. Principal among these corpora
tions was the Sierra Silver Mining,
Saw and Quartz Mill Company, which
did more toward the development of
mining property than any other COM
pany. A tunnel was run 1900 feet in
length, and the ledge not reached.
Five years of labor, and cash ex-
penditure Of Sl25OOO, finally convinced
the stockholders that the mining
property they had located was of no
value. The expenditure of this and
smaller sums of money by other COM
panies for time had q tendency to
enliven business i'm Genoa, as we'll as
to create false hopes and expectations
of future commercial greatness; but
with cessation of work came the
inevitable reaction, and dull season
prevailed, until, at length, the proper
level was reached, and business mat
ters began to run smoothly in the le-
gitimate channel where Il has ever
since remained.
To be continued in next issuel