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Leete Nevada

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Ghost Towns in Churchill County Nevada » Leete Nevada

Leete Nevada

Leete Nevada Overview

Originally called Eagle Salt Works, Leete was a town in Churchill County, Nevada. Other names include Eagle Marsh, Eagle Salt Marsh, and Hot Springs Marsh.

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

Year Established/Founded

1870

Leete Nevada History

Leete was named after civil engineer Benjamin Franklin Leete (1831 – 1927) native of Lockport, New York, who established the Eagle Salt Works at the site.

From 1923 publication:

Leete discovered the Eagle Salt Marsh in 1870. The Eagle Salt Works began operations and the following year was supplying salt to all the mills of Virginia City. It continued to produce up to 1913. A company worked the Hot Springs Borax Marsh in 1871 but failed to make a financial success. The Nezelda Mine situated 6 m. N. W. of Leete was worked for gold, silver, and lead in the eighties, according to a letter from J. T. Reid.

The Eagle Salt Works began by producing 3,000 tons of salt annually. From 1879 to 1884, it produced 334,400 tons, including table salt of which 200 tons per year were made in 1883 and 1884. The subsequent production was on a decreasing scale.

The Leete saline deposit is a desert mud plain formed in Quaternary time by the desiccation of a portion of ancient Lake Lahontan. The salt is obtained by solar evaporation of a brine with specific gravity of 1.2115 which comes nearly to the surface. The saline content is mainly sodium chloride with small amounts of magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and calcium sulphate, and traces of potassium chloride, silica, alumina, and ferric oxide. The Nezelda veins are in rhyolite, dacite, and andesite.

Timeline

  • 1869 –  Salt deposits discovered by Benjamin Franklin “B. F.” Leete
  • 1870 – Operations at the Eagle Salt Works begin
  • July 1871 – Eagle Salt Works post office opens
  • Sept 1871 – Eagle Salt Works post office closes
  • June 1877 – Eagle Salt Works post office opens
  • December 1899 – Eagle Salt Works post office opens
  • December 1899 – Town renamed to Leete
  • December 1899 – Leete post office opens
  • 1903 – The train tracks were realigned to the east of Leete, which left the camp desolate
  • February 16, 1903 – The Eagle Salt Works Railroad was created when they built a railroad over the old grade to connect with the main line near Wadsworth
  • January 1912 – Leete post office closes
  • June 1, 1915 – The town was abandoned

Mines

Gold, silver, borate (borax), lead, salt, and sodium chloride

Post Office

  • The Eagle Salt Works Post Office was in operation from July 1871 until Sept 1871 and from June 1877 until December 1899.
  • December 1899, the name was changed to the Leete Post Office, which closed in January 1912.

Postmasters:

  • Joseph P Moran – Eagle Salt Works, Churchill, Nevada – 10 Jul 1877
  • Asa Merry – Eagle Salt Works, Churchill, Nevada – 7 Jun 1877
  • Charles M Willey – Eagle Salt Works, Churchill, Nevada – 4 Mar 1880
  • Benjamin F Leete – Eagle Salt Works, Churchill, Nevada – 4 May 1895
  • Leete – Eagle Salt Works, Churchill, Nevada – 20 Dec 1899
  • Benj H Leete – Leete, Churchill, Nevada – 20 Dec 1899
  • Nott Leete – Leete, Churchill, Nevada – December 9, 1905

View the list and history of Nevada Post Offices.

The Population of Leete Nevada

In the 1910s there were approximately 20 residents.

Elevation

4,039′

GPS Coordinates

39° 44′ 27.68″ N, 119° 3′ 19.59″ W

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References Used

Leete Nevada