Site: Seven Troughs/Tunnel/Mazuma
County, State: Pershing County, NV
Years of Occupation: 1905 – 1950’s
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 2.5 – Tunnel, Class 1 – Seven Troughs
Type: Mining
Remnants: Intact buildings at Tunnel, foundations and mining artifacts at Seven Troughs
GPS Coordinate: 40.4655 118.7844
Date of Last Visit: Aug, 2014
Seven Troughs grew out of a gold rush in the early 1900’s, with a population of about 350 souls, a post office, saloons and stores by the end of 1907. Abandonment began with the ore bodies playing out after 1918.
Mazuma was the largest camp in the area. Founded in 1907, it boasted a newspaper, post office, bank, hotel, stores and fire department. The town was prospering when a flash flood washed the whole thing away in July of 1912! Eleven people were killed in the flash flood with some of the bodies being recovered from miles away down the wash. Many buildings were washed away completely, others washed off their foundations. The most enduring artifact is the safe from the bank that washed a short distance down the canyon and still lies next to the road today.
Tunnel Camp came later, when in 1927 a cyanide mill was built on the site and the boring of a tunnel begun through the mountain to the Seven Troughs mine on the other side. With hopes of improving ventilation and drainage of the Seven Troughs, as well as improving the logistics of getting ore from the mine to the mill. Over 2 miles of tunnel were completed, with gold found along the way, but ultimately the project was abandoned in 1934. Various mining activities continued off and on at Tunnel up into the 1950’s.
Tunnel has the most to see of these three sites today, with intact buildings and many artifacts. There’s not much left to see at Seven Troughs besides a few foundations and old mining equipment and even less to see at Mazuma as the town got washed away in a flash flood. The safe from the bank in Mazuma still sits by the side of the road.
Directions to Get There: From Lovelock, head NW for Trinity Pass to cross Trinity Range, after about 20 miles from town take left at Y, stay right at first Y, take left at second Y at about 26 miles from town. In about 3 miles, visit Tunnel ghost town site (40.4431 118.7705) before continuing another mile north then a mile west up Seven Troughs canyon to visit Seven Troughs. The site of Mazuma is near the mouth of the canyon at approximately 40.4543 118.7644. The Vernon ghost town site sits just a few miles south of here.
- DAA
County, State: Pershing County, NV
Years of Occupation: 1905 – 1950’s
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 2.5 – Tunnel, Class 1 – Seven Troughs
Type: Mining
Remnants: Intact buildings at Tunnel, foundations and mining artifacts at Seven Troughs
GPS Coordinate: 40.4655 118.7844
Date of Last Visit: Aug, 2014
Seven Troughs grew out of a gold rush in the early 1900’s, with a population of about 350 souls, a post office, saloons and stores by the end of 1907. Abandonment began with the ore bodies playing out after 1918.
Mazuma was the largest camp in the area. Founded in 1907, it boasted a newspaper, post office, bank, hotel, stores and fire department. The town was prospering when a flash flood washed the whole thing away in July of 1912! Eleven people were killed in the flash flood with some of the bodies being recovered from miles away down the wash. Many buildings were washed away completely, others washed off their foundations. The most enduring artifact is the safe from the bank that washed a short distance down the canyon and still lies next to the road today.
Tunnel Camp came later, when in 1927 a cyanide mill was built on the site and the boring of a tunnel begun through the mountain to the Seven Troughs mine on the other side. With hopes of improving ventilation and drainage of the Seven Troughs, as well as improving the logistics of getting ore from the mine to the mill. Over 2 miles of tunnel were completed, with gold found along the way, but ultimately the project was abandoned in 1934. Various mining activities continued off and on at Tunnel up into the 1950’s.
Tunnel has the most to see of these three sites today, with intact buildings and many artifacts. There’s not much left to see at Seven Troughs besides a few foundations and old mining equipment and even less to see at Mazuma as the town got washed away in a flash flood. The safe from the bank in Mazuma still sits by the side of the road.
Directions to Get There: From Lovelock, head NW for Trinity Pass to cross Trinity Range, after about 20 miles from town take left at Y, stay right at first Y, take left at second Y at about 26 miles from town. In about 3 miles, visit Tunnel ghost town site (40.4431 118.7705) before continuing another mile north then a mile west up Seven Troughs canyon to visit Seven Troughs. The site of Mazuma is near the mouth of the canyon at approximately 40.4543 118.7644. The Vernon ghost town site sits just a few miles south of here.
- DAA
