Manhattan “The Pine Tree Camp”
Nye County, Nye County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Manhattan “The Pine Tree Camp”. The Manhattan Mining District northeast of here was first organized in 1867. The place name persisted in local use and was adopted in 1905, when John Humphrey found gold at the foot of April Fool Hill near the old stage route. A typical boom followed. A post office opened late in 1905 and the camp soon had a telegraph, and telephones, utilities, and businesses. Transport was to Tonopah and the railroad at Sodaville.The 1906 earthquake halted mining investment. As a result, most of the productive work here was done by lessees. The gold strikes were in ore and placer deposits, and by 1909, there were thirteen mines and sixteen placers. Some of the operations were the big four: Litigation Hill Merger, Stray Dog, September Fraction, and White Caps. Hydraulic placering started in 1909. In 1938, dredging began and continued for thirteen years. Over $10,000,000 was produced.
Erected by Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
The Story
The Manhattan district had been organized as early as 1867, but the name only came alive in 1905 when John Humphrey struck gold near April Fool Hill along the old stage route. A classic boom followed—post office, telegraph, telephones, and businesses—supplied overland from Tonopah and the railhead at Sodaville. The 1906 earthquake chilled outside investment, so much of the real work fell to lessees, and by 1909 the camp counted thirteen mines and sixteen placers; hydraulic and later dredging operations eventually pushed total output past ten million dollars.
Why it matters
Manhattan captures the frenzied wave of central Nevada gold camps in the Tonopah era, and how distant financial shocks like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake could reshape a remote mining town's fortunes.
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Related people
- · John Humphrey
Themes & tags
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