Tybo (Silver-Lead-Zinc Camp)
Nye County, Nye County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Tybo (Silver — Lead — Zinc Camp). Eight miles northwest of this point lies what was formerly one of the leading lead-producing districts in the nation. Producing erratically from ore discovery in 1866 to the present (the last mill closed in 1937), Tybo managed to achieve an overall creditable record.Tybo, in its infancy, was known as a peaceful camp, but later strife between the Irish, Cornish, and central Europeans changed its reputation. Later, these groups banded together to drive away a company of Chinese woodcutters. The town was not unique in having three residential sections each with its ethnic group. However, all children went to the same brick school.
Erected by Tonopah Chamber Of Commerce & Mines, Inc.
The Story
About eight miles northwest lay Tybo, once among the nation's leading lead-producing districts, working ore erratically from its 1866 discovery until the last mill closed in 1937. A peaceful camp at first, Tybo later saw strife among its Irish, Cornish, and central European miners—groups who nonetheless united to drive off a company of Chinese woodcutters. The town kept three separate ethnic residential sections, yet all its children attended the same brick school.
Why it matters
Tybo lays bare the immigrant social fabric of a Western mining camp—its rivalries, its shared institutions, and the exclusion of Chinese laborers that marked so much of the era's West.
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Themes & tags
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