Pueblo

Nye County

AKA: Gold Center (rival camp).

The good history books have very little written about Pueblo. Therefore, I went to the newspaper archives in an attempt to garner more details. It has been written that Pueblo was originally discovered in 1863 but was quickly abandoned. Pueblo was re-discovered in either 1905 or very early 1906 by a man only reported on as "Mr. Manuel". While prospecting the area, he discovered the skeleton of a man laying next to an extremely rich pan of gold. He searched the area and found the ledge that was the likely source. It assayed at $5,000 a ton. Newspaper articles about the area began to appear in March of 1906. Pueblo was being promoted by a couple area newspapers as the next big boom. Yet, no other newspapers in Nevada were even mentioning its existence. On March 3rd, 1906, the Tonopah Bonanza ran an article with the headline: "Rich Strike at Millett- Many Well Defined Ledges are Encountered- Claim Owners Organize a New District and Elect C.H. Jones for Recorder". 70 men were present at Millett's Store where a meeting was held to form the new district. It was agreed that the Millett Mining District would be named after A.B. Millett who was a pioneer rancher in the Big Smoky Valley. Al Davies, who was partnered with Avery, Paris and Keate in area mining ventures, began to lay out the Pueblo townsite. The article went on to state that Pueblo "promises to become one of the best mining camps in the west." Water was abundant at the new camp, with two streams running through the immediate area. Chicago capitalists were already showing interest as well. Although other reports have indicated that 500 residents would inhabit Pueblo (town), a newspaper article from mid-March of 1906 reported that 500 people were residing throughout the mining district. That population number was attributed to Al Davies of the Manhattan Pueblo Gold Mines Company. My mid-March of 1906, it was being reported that out-of-state capitalists were purchasing claims that "have never had a pick in them". The Manuel Mining Company ordered equipment for a mill. The machinery was expected to be in Pueblo within the next couple of weeks. Rich strikes continued to be reported. By the end of March, H.W. "Hank" Summers of Millett was reporting that the Millett District was the best district in Nevada. Summers was one of the early pioneers of the Klondike. Summers also reported that three different townsites had now been laid out. These included Millett, Pueblo and Gold Center. These towns were being called the "future cities" of the district. Three different shipping companies were conducting business and it was anticipated that more were coming. Outside capitalists continued to invest money and many mining sales were being made. By April, the newspaper articles continued to praise the district. One line from the Tonopah Bonanza read: "The richness and extent of the mineralized zone at Millett is just beginning to be realized." Another line read: "Al P. Davies, of Pueblo, spent the week in Tonopah. He says the news camp is growing rapidly and the adjacent hills are full of prospectors." A Tonopah Bonanza article from April 28, 1906 quoted "Mr. Meyers" with the following: "The new towns north of Manhattan are building up rapidly and many buildings are in course of construction. This is especially the case in Millett, Pueblo and Round Mountain. Many business houses are being opened up in all of these places and the adjacent hills are full of prospectors. It is certainly a most promising section and I predict a great future for it." By May of 1906, the melting of the snow brought increased activity to the district. There were 300 to 400 prospectors working the area and new claims were being staked every day. The Manuel Mining Company was employing 40 men to work their properties at Pueblo. The company also had plans to expand employment. Manuel Company ore was assaying between $300 to $500 a ton. They also constructed 22 portable houses for their workers. And all of the sudden,,, out of nowhere,,, the newspaper articles seem to completely disappear. All of those rich strikes were being made on very shallow veins. In essence, they were all paper tigers. What was being portrayed in March as the next big boom city in Nevada, was almost done within a few months. Not long after this, Pueblo was completely abandoned. Pueblo personifies the typical boom and bust story of so many other Nevada mining camps.

Post Office: None.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions: July 2017. It may be a great road to Pueblo if turning off from Highway 376. But we didn't do it that way. We skirted the mountains edge from Summit Canyon. The road was fine, UNTIL IT WASN'T! I would never take any vehicle that way again! It didn't ruin the trip, but it definitely tried! I physically had to push the quad through a section that was so slanted and overgrown, that I felt like I was going to tip over into the same brush that was bouncing off my face. The Pueblo area is spread out a little bit. The photos posted will go from south to north. The southern point was a basic mining area. The next point contained some old relics. According to Stan Paher, as well as an old newspaper article from 1906, Pueblo and Millett were separated by three miles. This site is exactly three miles from Millett, which likely makes it the actual Pueblo townsite. We also found purple glass in the dump pile, which should help date it back to that era. The next point 700 yards to the north contained some relics and several old rusted out vehicles. These two locations appear to represent the 'two streams' that were talked about in the 1906 newspaper article. The last point at the far north was a basic mining area as well.

Sources: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps (By: Stanley W. Paher); Preserving the Glory Days- Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada (By: Shawn Hall); Tonopah Bonanza (Newspaper); The Goldfield News (Newspaper).