The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1914-04-18
Atlanta, Nevada's Next
Big Gold District

Forty-five miles north of Phoebe lies
district noted in the early days for
the phenomenal richness of its silver
ores. The name of Silver Park stands
Tor wonderful bonanzas, of which tales
pass from mouth to mouth even .oi
this day. Now better known as At
lanta, the district, within the last few
years, has taken ON new life, and al
new form of mining activity. AS far
back as 1870 Silver Park, including
Atlanta and Mantoonowah mountain,
had acquired reputation as great
producer, and at that time ore was
mined SO rich in silver that it was
shipped to Swansea, Wales for treat
ment, even then netting a handsome
return. At this period the old Min
eral Hill mines, the Bradshaw Silver
Mining company, the Nevada Park
Mining company, and others, were op.
Grating, and number of claims were
patented. All these properties were
paying good profit until the drop
in the price of silver forced them to
close down.
During the long period of inactivity
from which so many Nevada camps
suffered, many attempts were made
to reopen these old properties at Sill
yer Park, and while unsuccessful in
their main purpose, they are not to
be classed among those ill winds
which bring nobody any good. The
owners held their claims at high
figure, and prominent among them,
old Felix Knight is said to have died
worth $4,000, made from the profits
of rich ore mined by various parties
to whom he had given options on his
claims, and who were glad to turn
the ore over to him in consideration
of his REIMBURSEMENT of the pay
ments due on the options. After his
death, this money was found hidden
on his ground
The unusual geological formation
of the district with it's strong indica.
lions of ore, attracted the attention
of prospectors and mining men, who
were constantly passing through in
their wanderings across the desert
Many of them stayed to investigate
and finding their first favorable i'm
pressions strengthened, took w
claims and held them, in some cases
for number of years. In the spring
OF 1908, George Latimer, an old des
ert prospector, bought the principal
holdings in Atlanta proper, situated
about two miles northeast of Silver
Park, from Fred and Howard and
Belle Fisher for $2,5OO Latimer saw
great possibilities in an immense
cropping of jasper quartz, showing
values in gold, which could be traced
across the country for long dis
lance, in close proximity to big
porphyry dyke; and he, with E. ID
Stone, sank the first shaft on the
main ledge of which these groupings
were a part.
| Latimer continued this shaft to q
| depth of about forty feet, and from
the 20-fOOt level ran a crosscut west
erly under the main groupings a dis
lance of twenty feet. These work
ings he carefully sampled and pan
ned, with the result that the tota
of the rock removed from the shaft
and the crosscut proved to average
better than $500 in free gold, with
assays from the bottom of the shat
running SIT in gold. BY this time
Latimer and his associates had ex
hausted what little capital they had
and they consented to give an option
on the property to the Phoebe Assay
office, then conducted by e. d. Mar
riage and F. N. Cosby. This firm
was successful in interesting Loi
Angeles capitalists, headed by E. M
Bray, w. T. Hook and J. ]. Giroux
who organized the Atlanta Consoli
dated Gold Mining company in 1870
and bonded the property for 100000
The Atlanta Consolidated.
The new company at once begal
an extensive system of development
sinking new shaft on the north en-
OF the outcrop, deepening the oil
shaft, and prosecuting and driftin
from both sides. The work was don
under the supervision of e. M. Bray
and resulted in the development of
large tonnage of free milling gold or
of commercial grade The orebod
demonstrated by the north shaft alon
was crosscut for distance of 10
feet, and drifted on for eighty fee
disclosing values which averaged, fo
the total of the drifts and crosscuti
far above the margin of profitable OF
GRAFTON. The ore was of uniforr
grade, except for three feet disclose
in the crosscut on the 100, abou
forty feet from the shaft. Here
well defined cross fissure was el
countered, adjacent to which the or
carried high values in gold and 81
yer.