Jett Nevada
Jett Nevada Overview
Jett was a mining district in Nye County, Nevada.
Also known as Ledbetter Canyon, Peavine, Peavine Canyon, Wall Canyon, Pablo Creek, Hot Springs, El Dorado, Toiyabe, Argentore, Silver Point, and Eclipse.
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Year Established/Founded
Discovered: 1875 (1864 or 1865?)
Organized: 1876
Jett Nevada History
From NBMG Document titled “Jett District”
Ore was discovered in the district in 1875 by John Davenport. The district was organized the following year but active operations did not begin until 1880. (Thompson and West, 1881).
These first operations were probably in the northern part of the district, near the mouth of Jett canyon. Other · discoveries were made in 1876 in what Thompson and West (1881) refer to as the Toiyabe District. These later discoveries were probably in the Wall canyon or the Boyd canyon areas in the southern part of the district.
There is no recorded production from this early activity, the ores were reported to have been shipped to Eureka, Austin, and Jefferson, and the production was no doubt credited to those districts some mining was done in the 1920’s on silver-base metal deposits at the mouth of Jett canyon.
Antimony was discovered near the head of Wall canyon in 1915, and small amount of the metal were produced from the deposit in 1915-1918, 1936-1943, 1947-1953, and 1957-1958.
The Horse canyon mercury deposit was discovered in 1937, and mercury was mined from it in periods of high mercury prices up to the 1960’s. Total production from the Jett district, through 1965, is in excess of $100,000 (Kleinhampl and Ziony, 1984).
Both Kral (1951) and Kleinhampl and Ziony (1984), relate that the Jett district was discovered in 1865 and state that it was then known as the Argentore or Silver Point district. Silver Point is in the Toquima Range, across Smoky Valley to the east of Jett, and is in the Round Mountain district.
Timeline
- 1865 – Possibly known as Argentore or Silver Point district [see above]
- 1875 – John Davenport and John Jett discovered gold and silver in the area
- 1876 – District organized
- February 1877 – The mining camp of Davenport was formed
- December 8, 1878 – John Jett passed away in Moore’s Creek and the district was renamed Jett in his honor
- March 1880 – The post office opens
Mines
Antimony, mercury, silver, gold, lead, copper, and tungsten.
Railroads
Unknown at this time.
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Post Office
March 1880 – 1881 [conflicting information says 1891 too]
View the list and history of Nevada Post Offices and Nye County, Nevada Postmasters.
Newspaper
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The Population of Jett Nevada
Unknown at this time.
Elevation
6,880
Location
From Tingley:
Located in the southern Toiyabe Mountains south of Arc Dome, extending from Broad Canyon, west of Carver’s, to Peavine Canyon, on the south end of the range.
Jett also includes part of upper Ledbetter Canyon, on the western slope of the range several miles to the west.
The 1881 map shows an Eclipse district in southern Toiyabe Range that may have included the area of the present Cloverdale and Jett districts.
Todd and Welton (1866) show a Peavine district located in the area of Peavine Canyon that included the southern part of the present Jett district, an El Dorado district located in the vicinity of Jett Canyon, and a Hot Springs district located west of Darraugh’s Hot Spring and covering the east flank of the Toiyabe Range generally between Broad Creek and South Twin River that would include the remainder of the present Jett district.
From NBMG Document titled “Jett District”
The Jett mining district is located in the southeastern Toiyabe Range and includes the area between Broad creek and Peavine canyon, southeast of Arc Dome.
The mines and prospects of the district are scattered in Townships 9, 10, and 11 North, Range 42 East, Nye County.
This is the area commonly included within the Jett district (Kral, 1951), and not the much larger area of Kleinhampl and Ziony (1984), that incorrectly included portions of the adjacent Twin River district.
GPS Coordinates
38° 43′ 57.75″ N, 117° 14′ 20.32″ W
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Photos and Videos
None at this time.
References Used
Click here to view our list of History of the Southwest – Books and Online Resources to learn more about our amazing area!
- Tingley, Joseph V., Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 47 – Mining Districts of Nevada, page 125
- United States Geological Survey – Jett Nevada
- NBMG.UNR.edu