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White Plains Nevada

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Ghost Towns in Churchill County Nevada » White Plains Nevada

White Plains Nevada

White Plains Nevada Overview

White Plains, also known as Desert, was a railroad station and mining district in Churchill County, Nevada that was named after a nearby white plain, which was descriptively named for its abundant soda deposits.

Some resources state that it is the same mining district as White Plains Flat but that mining district is northeast of this mining district. Our articles are being updated as now it is apparent that some resources say White Plains was the salt deposit area when it was actually White Plains Flat with White Plains being a gold district.

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

Year Established/Founded

1849

White Plains Nevada History

Information from several mining reports combined:

The principal mine, the Desert Queen, is said to have been discovered by emigrants in 1849 traveling the trail along the east side of the Hot Springs mountains. If this is true, it has the distinction of being the first lode mine worked in the northern part of Nevada.

The mine was reported to have been worked in the early 1860’s, and a two-stamp mill was built on the flat to the east in 1863.

In the early sixties the Desert Queen mine was worked by a company from Schenectacdy, N Y., with which Horace Greeley is reported to have been connected. In 1863 a mill consisting of two two-stamp batteries was built on the flat 2 miles east of the mine, but it proved unsuccessful and a second mill was built at the edge of Humboldt Sink 14 miles northeast.

Eventually the property reverted to the Public Domain, and in 1931 a group from Lovelock, Nev. relocated the principal claims, which in the following year were taken over under bond and lease by Wilford Dennis and associates, who organized the Manitou Gold Mining Co. A 25-ton-capacity amalgamation-concentration mill was erected by the company in 1937.

Early in 1939 a crew of three men was employed on development.

Timeline

  • 1849 – Principal mine discovered by emigrants traveling the trail
  • 1863 – Two-stamp mill built [I have found a reference that it was also a five-stamp mill]
  • June 4, 1879 – The post office opened
  • 1888 – Weekly Churchill News was published
  • July 15, 1909 – The post office closed

Mines

Gold, arsenic, antimony, and mercury.

  • Desert Queen

The mines of the district are located east of Desert Peak and south of Cinnabar Hill on the western edge of the Carson Sink.

Production is recorded for the Desert district in 1883, 1884, and again in 1938 and 1939. The total recorded production, through 1940, is only $25,123, all in gold. There has been claim staking in the district recently, but there is no evidence of current mining activity.

Post Office

June 4, 1879 – July 15, 1909

Postmasters

  • Walter Schmidt – White Plains, Churchill, Nevada – 4 Jun 1879
  • Wm R Rich – Whiteplains, Churchill, Nevada – 3 Apr 1895
  • Walter Hedrick – Whiteplains, Churchill, Nevada – 30 Apr 1898
  • Walter Schmidt – Whiteplains, Churchill, Nevada – 23 Jun 1899
  • Jerome B Combs – Whiteplains, Churchill, Nevada – July 27, 1908

View the list and history of Nevada Post Offices.

The Silver State • Winnemucca, Nevada • 12 Jun 1879, Thu • Page 3

White Plains Postoffice

A new post office has been; established at the railroad at White Plains, Churchill county, and Walter Schmidt has been appointed Postmaster.

Newspaper

The Churchill News – Established in 1888, the newspaper was published weekly.

The Population of White Plains Nevada

Unknown at this time

Elevation

3,885′

How to Get to White Plains Nevada

From 1923 publication:

White Plains Flat is at White Plains (Huxley station) in N. W. Churchill Co. and extends 4 m. S. to Parran and 4 m. N. E. to Ocala, all three places being on the S. P. R. R. The flat lies N. E. of the Desert District, S. E. of the Jessup District, and S. W. of the Lake District.

From an undated mining report:

The Desert district is in the northeast portion of the Hot Springs Mountains northwestern Churchill County on the northeast flank of DeRert: Peale, which has an altitude of 5,401 feet above sea level. Parran siding, on the Southern Pacific R.R., is 7 miles east. The district is accessible by automobile over a desert road 5 miles in length, which leaves the Victory Highway at a point several miles northeast of Springer’s Hot Springs.

White Plains Nevada

GPS Coordinates

39° 52′ 50.68″ N, 118° 48′ 22.56″ W

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Photos and Videos

There are a lot of newspaper articles for us to go through covering local chatter, railroad business, discoveries, and more. We will set aside a few hours to dig through them and post what we find is relevant to understanding the area.

References Used

White Plains Nevada