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Carrara Nevada

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Carrara Nevada

Carrara Nevada Overview

Named after the famous Carrara marble region in Italy, Carrara was a mining district and town and Nye County, Nevada.

Supposedly also known as Bare Mountain but the references I have found don’t align that they are the same district as Carrara is supposed to be southwest of Bare Mountain and two different districts. More research will tell soon.

Learn more about Ghost Town in Nevada and Ghost Towns in the Southwest.

Year Established/Founded

Discovered in 1905 and established in May 1913.

Carrara Nevada History

There are LOTS of newspaper articles for us to read through and pull the good stuff from them to share. One article that caught my eye stated that Carrara made Nevada history by being the first townsite to be placed on the market with all the public utilities in place with water piped to the site from Gold Center (about six miles away), electric lines ran from Rhyolite, a huge water fountain in the center of town, a railroad line nearby and more!

In a 1913 advertisement in the Tonopah Daily Bonanza,

“… and now they’ve got a store, moving picture show, cafe, livery stable, newspaper and a bunch of home scattered around.”

“… they’ve got a big fountain with a 25-foot spray, and park with young trees on it, and electric lights, telephone and telegraph.”

Timeline

  • 1904 – Marble was discovered but the quality wasn’t usable
  • 1911 – The American Carrara Marble Company was formed after a deposit of usable marble was discovered
  • 1911 – 1913 – The townsite was laid out
  • May 8, 1913 – Town dedication that included the Goldfield Mooose Band and a baseball game between Tonopah and Goldfield with a purse of $500

Mines

Marble was the primary and gold, fluorspar, mercury, tungsten, silver, kaolin, montmorillonite, silica, uranium, perlite, and cinder.

Railroads

Finding conflicting information about which railroad was in the area. I need to dig out my railroad books to verify and will update this when we add railroad information to all the articles.

I found references it was the Tonopah & Tidewater, Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad, and the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad.

Click here to view Railroads in Nevada.

Post Office

May 24, 1913 – September 15, 1924

View the list and history of Nevada Post Offices.

Newspaper

  1. Carrara Obelisk: February 7, 1914 – September 9, 1916
  2. Carrara Miner: July 21, 1929

Learn more about Nevada Newspapers

The Population of Carrara Nevada

Unknown at this time.

Elevation

 2,881′

Location

Southwest flank of Bare Mountain. Located eight and a half miles south of Beatty on the east side of US-95.

From Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 47 – Mining Districts of Nevada:

This district lies east of Beatty and includes both Bare Mountain and the northwestern end of Yucca Mountain. The original Bare Mountain district included only the northern part of Bare Mountain, near the old camp of Telluride. Following the discovery of fluorite deposits in 1918, the Bare Mountain district has sometimes been referred to as Fluorine. The Fluorine district of Kral (1951) included all of Bare Mountain, Crater Flat, the southeastern end of Yucca Mountain, and part of Amargosa Desert to the southwest (present Lee district). Carrara, on the southwestern side of Bare Mountain, is sometimes considered to be a separate district. The cinder occurrences are in Crater Flat, east of Bare Mountain.

A study from 1928 states:

The marble property is located in Bare Mountain, about 8 miles southeasterly from Beatty, Nevada. The marble quarry is in the mountain near the northeast side of the Amargosa Desert. The manufacturing plant is at the foot of the mountain on the valley floor near the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad. The automobile road from Beatty to Las Vegas runs near the mill.

GPS Coordinates

36° 48′ 2.81″ N, 116° 42′ 44.21″ W

Click here to view our recommended mobile apps for the outdoor explorer and what to take on your next road trip.

Speaking of mobile apps, two of my favorite mobile apps for exploring the southwest are two different mapping apps one that builds your schedule and the other helps me look to see if my rural destination is taking me to private or public lands. Highly recommend both!

  1. Roadtrippers Plus is $29.99 per year paid version that allows you to build longer itineraries, share your plans with friends, and use the app without ads. Click here to save $5 on your subscription to Roadtrippers.
  2. onX – click here to learn more about onX GPS Map App for Backcountry, Offroad, and Hunting.

Photos and Videos

Tonopah Daily Bonanza – Tonopah, Nevada · Friday, April 25, 1913

CARRARA WILL CELEBRATE BIG TOWNSITE DAY

NEW TOWN TO BE DEDICATED IN FITTING MANNER ON MAY EIGHTH.

Townsite day, the occasion of dedicating Pile new town of Carrara in southern Nye, and celebrating in fitting manner the completion of its Improvements, has been definitely set for May 8. It was at first announced that the date would be earlier but. the eighth has been finally fixed upon by the officials in charge of j the townsite. An announcement just issued states that while all the many important improvements may not be completed by that time, the water supply, electric lights and telephone service will have been installed.

The line for the light and telephone service is now being erected and water has been piped from Gold Center, a distance of nine miles to the town of Carrara, and is now being delivered at the rate of over 100,- 000 gallons, daily. The public fountain, in the center of the town, Is completed and consists of a basin 18 feet In diameter and three feet in depth. A column of water will be running continuously by Townsite day.

New buildings are going up daily In the town. The general store Is doing business with a new and complete stock of goods and arrangements have been made for the erection of a hotel building, with twenty rooms, offices and buffet. There has been a good demand for lots and there is every prospect that the town of Carrara will be one of the busiest and most populous In southern Nevada within a short time. A large crowd is expected to take In the celebration from Goldfield and Tonopah and many of the visitors will Inspect the extensive workings of the I American Carrara Marble company. a short distance from the new town.

References Used

Carrara Nevada