Gold Hill, Nevada

Gold Hill is a community in Storey County, Nevada, located just south and downhill of Virginia City. Incorporated December 17, 1862, in order to prevent its annexation by its larger neighbor, the town at one point was home to at least 8,000 residents. Prosperity was sustained for a period of 20 years between 1868 and 1888 by mining the Comstock Lode, a major deposit of silver ore. Mines such as the Yellow Jacket, Crown Point, and Belcher brought in over $10 million each in dividends. The Gold Hill post office remained in operation until 1943. Today Gold Hill exists as a shell of its former self; its population in 2005 was 191. [ [http://econdev.sierrapacific.com/sppc/county/storey/demographics.htm Storey County Nevada Demographics ] ] It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Historical remnants of the town can still be seen, including the Gold Hill Hotel, promoted as Nevada's oldest hotel, in existence since some time prior to 1862; the former Bank of California building; the train depot; and remains of several of the mines.

A later mining complex in the area operated from 1927 until 1942, though operations were sporadic after 1933, when the price of ore made continuous operations unprofitable. Just under $100 million worth of ore was extracted after 1930. All that remain standing are the hoist and the mill's foundation. Current mining operations focus on rocks used for landscaping purposes.

In 1976, Bob Gray, a former Marine Corps photographer in World War II and admirer of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad since a teenager, bought a section of the abandoned railway line between Virginia City and a point about two miles south. He laid track on that right of way and began operating a steam-powered tourist railroad. ["The Silver Short Line," Ted Wurm and Harry Demoro, Trans Anglo Press, 1983 ISBN 87046-064-1] The track was extended to Gold Hill in 1992, and in 1994 the [http://www.goldhillnv.org Gold Hill Historical Society] was established for purposes of preserving the Gold Hill depot; which is one of the few wooden structures in the region that survived the 1875 fire in Virginia City. After ten years of grant applications, lobbying, and collecting steel rail donations by the [http://www.goldhillnv.org Gold Hill Historical Society] the mayor of Carson City approved the letting out to bid of a contract to reconstruct the railroad between Gold Hill and the Carson River, 15 miles away. ["Railroad Project On," Viginia City Register, Volume 4 Issue 29, January 16, 2004 ]

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* [http://www.goldhillhotel.net/history2.htm Picture of Gold Hill] as a sprawling town circa 1875