Delamar, "The Widow Maker"
Lincoln County, Lincoln County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Delamar, “The Widow Maker” 1893 1909. John and Olivia Ferguson discovered gold twelve miles south of here around 1891. The original name of the camp they established was Ferguson. However, it was eventually renamed "Delamar” after John DeLamar, an entrepreneur who bought the best mining claims in 1893 for $150,000. Eventually, over 1500 residents settled in this isolated place. The town contained a newspaper, hospital, school, churches, saloons, stores, a theater and professionals. Entertainment included brass bands, dance orchestras, and stage attractions at the opera house.Water came from Meadows Valley Wash 12 miles away. All other materials were hauled through the mountains by mule team 150 miles from a railroad head at Millard, Utah. For 16 years, most of the bullion was hauled out in the same manner.The dry milling processes used prior to the introduction of wet methods created a fine silica dust, or “death” dust, causing the deaths of many residents and gave the town its nickname, “The Widow Maker".Delamar produced $25,000,000 in gold and was Nevada’s leading producer at the turn of the twentieth century.
Erected by Lincoln County Rural Areadevelopment Committee
The Story
Gold discovered by John and Olivia Ferguson around 1891 spawned a camp first called Ferguson, renamed Delamar after entrepreneur John DeLamar bought its best claims in 1893 for $150,000. Over 1,500 people crowded this remote place, served by a newspaper, hospital, school, churches, and an opera house, though water came 12 miles and all other goods 150 miles by mule team. The dry milling process threw off fine silica "death dust" that killed many residents and earned the town its grim nickname, "The Widow Maker," even as it produced $25 million in gold to lead Nevada at the turn of the century.
Why it matters
Delamar captures both the riches and the human cost of Gilded Age mining, a boomtown whose deadly dust foreshadowed the nation's slow reckoning with industrial workplace hazards.
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Related people
- · John DeLamar
- · John Ferguson
- · Olivia Ferguson
Themes & tags
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