Nevada Charcoal Ovens

Charcoal was more efficient in the smelters than wood. This created a demand. In most cases in Nevada, Swiss and Italian wood burners/ charcoal makers known as "Carbonari" would be hired to make this charcoal. Each batch at one single kiln required vast amounts of wood. Some of these old stumps can still be found when walking around near the kilns. The kilns needed to be fired with perfect air flow and temperature. It also had to be timed precisely. If these steps weren't followed, entire batches could be ruined. In most cases, these Carbonari lived outside of town at the site of the kilns. We actually found a couple foundations for rock cabins when looking around. There were often disputes between the Carbonari and the Smelter/ Mine owners over price per bushel of charcoal. In Tybo, locals chased Chinese wood cutters out of the area because they believed that the Chinese were charging too little and undercutting them. In Eureka, a dispute over the price per bushel led to the Fish Creek Massacre. A Sheriff's Posse who appeared to be siding with the Mine/ Smelter owners, rode out to Fish Creek to confront the Carbonari. That isn't meant to sound as if I'm siding against the posse. There was also the side of the story that some Carbonari were getting violent with some of the Teamsters who were still hauling other charcoal to the smelters, etc. Whichever side you take here, when the smoked cleared, five Carbonari had been shot to death and several others were wounded. There is a memorial in the Eureka County Cemetery to honor those five men who were killed. 

 

Rest In Peace:  Giovanni Pedroni; Marcellus Locatelli; Teodoro Zesta; Pompeo Pattini; Antonio Canonica.

 

If you can find the June 1956 issue of Desert Magazine in their archives, there's a great article on this.