Silver State Sights - Candelaria

MINA, Nev. (KOLO) - It’s far from the most common destination when you drive from Reno to Las Vegas, but if you enjoy vesting Nevada ghost towns, you might consider turning off the main road in Mineral County and checking out what’s left of the mining town of Candelaria.

“It was mined for silver in the 1880s and then again in the 1980s,” said Tracie Barnthouse of Travel Nevada.

The town was founded in 1864 when Mexican prospectors working the area found silver on nearby mountains. In 1873, the town’s the Northern Belle mine went into production, and produced an estimated 7 million dollars in silver.

The success of the mine attracted people and businesses to the area, and by 1875, the Candelaria district became the most productive in the area. But like so many towns across the state, it went from boom to bust.

“There are the ruins of an old bank there, the front is still standing,” said Eric Cachinero of Nevada Magazine.

The bank is one of the few buildings you will still find in Candelaria, as not many of the ruins have survived the last century and a half.

One of the things that has survived, is the town’s cemetery, with most of the graves belonging to people who died in the first few years of the 20th century.

If you want to check it out you can see it’s easy to spot off of US 95 between Mina and Tonopah.

Copyright 2021 KOLO. All rights reserved.