Taylor
White Pine County, White Pine County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Taylor. Silver and gold were discovered by Taylor and John Platt in 1873 in what was to become Taylor, a typical mining community supported chiefly by the Argus and Monitor Mines. In seven years, the town boasted a population of 15,000 people, seven saloons, three general stores, an opera house, a Wells Fargo office, and other businesses. By 1886, Taylor was the center of county activity, a social highlight being the annual 4th of July celebration.Mining continued intermittently until 1919. At that time, a 100 ton cyanide plant at the ArgusMine gave the area new life, but production declined when the price of silver plummeted. World War II renewed mining activity temporarily. Local mines yielded more than $3 million in silver, gold, copper, and lead.
Erected by White Pine Public Museum, Incorporated
The Story
When Taylor and John Platt struck silver and gold here in 1873, a typical mining town sprang up around the Argus and Monitor mines, and within seven years it claimed thousands of residents, saloons, general stores, an opera house, and a Wells Fargo office. By the mid-1880s Taylor was the hub of county life, famous for its annual Fourth of July celebration. Mining sputtered on until 1919, when a cyanide plant briefly revived the district, and the local mines ultimately gave up more than three million dollars in silver, gold, copper, and lead.
Why it matters
Taylor's swift rise and long decline trace the arc of the Western silver frontier, where a single ore strike could conjure an entire community whose fate rose and fell with the price of metal.
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Related people
- · John Platt
Themes & tags
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