Round Mountain
Nye County, Nye County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Round Mountain. One of the early-1900s gold camps, Round Mountain, was distinct for a variety of reasons. First, it was productive for more than 60 years. However, there were other aspects of Round Mountain that also set it apart.Gold occurred here in free, visible, metallic form. Many small, high-grade veins were easily mined with hand tools while larger, lower-grade veins provided ore for milling plants. Placer gold occurred in economically recoverable amounts in the peripheral gravels at the base of the mountain, which were first dry washed. Water piped across the valley floor from two mountain creeks helped recover the gold from the gravels by hydraulic mining for ten years. Still later, heavy equipment was used to mine the deeper gravels. A significant benchmark in local history occurred in 1929 when early promoter and operator, Louis D. Gordon, consolidated the many claims into Nevada Porphyry Gold Mines, Inc.
Erected by Central Nevada Development Association
The Story
On the flanks of Round Mountain, prospectors found gold in a rare, visible metallic form, letting early-1900s miners chip high-grade veins loose with hand tools while larger low-grade bodies fed the mills. Placer gold in the surrounding gravels was worked first by dry washing, then by hydraulic monitors fed by water piped across the valley, and finally by heavy earthmoving equipment as operations deepened. What set the camp apart was longevity: it produced for more than sixty years, and in 1929 promoter Louis D. Gordon consolidated its scattered claims into a single company.
Why it matters
Round Mountain shows how a Western gold camp could outlast the usual boom-and-bust by adapting its methods for decades, a durability that made mining a lasting engine of Nevada's economy rather than a fleeting rush.
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Related people
- · Louis D. Gordon
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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