Ghost Town: Jarbidge, Nevada

cruiseroutfit

Moderator & Supporting Member
Supporter
Site: Jarbidge
Alternate Names: N/A
Name Origin: Shoshone Indian word "Jahabich," meaning "devil", also the Shoshone name for the nearby mountain range.
County, State: Elko County, Nevada
Years of Occupation: 1909-current
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 5A - Historic Town
Type: Mining (Now Tourism)
Remnants: Countless buildings, relics and restored, operating store, cafe, hotel & historical cemetery.
GPS Coordinate: 41.875° N, 115.4305° W
Date of Last Visit: 8/31/2013

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Entering Jarbidge

For nearly 10 years Jarbidge has been on my hit list to visit and each year I've come close but never quite made it to town. My wife's extended family (Engh) owns a homestead a few miles north of Metroloplis Nevada, both of which are roughly 50 miles SE of Jarbidge. While I usually make it out there once a year for a family reunion, the stars just haven't aligned for the jaunt to Jarbidge. It isn't a simple 50 miles, in fact it is actually closer to 100 miles each way when you factor in the route you have to take and it is all off-road. Even better. Everything worked out for a visit this last trip and it was not only worth the wait but more than I had expected.

We entered town via the Bruneau River Loop Road, rolling over the pass Coon Creek Summit Pass to the south to find a busy town. Folks sitting on their porches enjoying the late summer afternoon, a garage sale with tons of western/mining offerings, bingo happening at the community center and the dirt road through town teeming with activity. Quads running up and down the street, kids playing ball and a couple of antique cars hauling passengers as part of the 'Jarbidge Taxi' service. This was my kind of town. Despite all the activity, sings of the ghost town were well represented, fallen cabins nestle right next to newer construction and there is a nice outdoor park full of mining artifacts at the north end of town. The community center features some fantastic displays and photographs on the towns history and a historic cemetery lies on a gorgeous bench overlooking the valley a few miles north of town.

The town is just over a century old owing its origins to gold finds in area starting in 1909. A formal gold rush was in play bringing prospectors and merchants from all over the west to capitalize on the converging population. By 1911 the small town nestled in the canyon bottom was claiming over 2000 residents. As the gold finds played out so did the towns population dwindling during through the WWI efforts until 1932 when the last mines closed, thus bringing Jarbidge to a near ghost state. For another 50 years the town would lie near idle though the recent years brought recreational campers, summer home owners and even a few modern mining operations to the area. Currently Jarbidge features a hotel, several cafe's, and active community center, historic jail, a well-stocked trading post, historic cemetery and countless homes and miscellaneous buildings. There is public camping right outside of town and excellent hunting and fishing opportunities as well, thus making it a fabulous destination for a summer get away. Access to town is severely limited in the winter months and the dirt roads south of town are often impassible due to snow into early summer.

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Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarbidge
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/jarbidge.html
http://www.gbr.4wdtrips.net/4x4/jarbidge.html
http://www.nevadadventures.com/communities/elko/jarbidge/jarbidgemain.html
Book: Old Heart of Nevada: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Elko County by Shawn Hall (Book)
Book: Gold Fever - Helen E. Wilson (History of Jarbidge)

Directions: From the North (Twin Falls, ID): Google Maps Link. From the South (Wendover/Wells, NV): Google Maps Link. One can also get there via dirt from several different locations. I traveled from the Wells/Metropolis area along the O'Neil-Deeth County Road and then over to the Jarbidge-Charleston County Road and into town. The drive is absolutely splendid and very mild, high clearance 2WD though wet conditions would absolutely make things 4WD and even impassible in places.

Additional Pictures:

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cruiseroutfit

Moderator & Supporting Member
Supporter
Very nice. Love that Town Taxi.

There were a pair of them offering rides up and down the main drag. I should have been more proactive about procuring a ride but the wife and I had our minds set on some lunch at the diner. They did us right :D

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DAA

Critter Whisperer
Supporter
You know, in all the times I've passed through there, I've never stopped for anything. But that picture above has me thinking I'll stop for a burger next time :).

- DAA
 

Toy Man

New Member
One of my favorite places.

I originally became interested in Jarbidge years ago when it was in the headlines because of the 'revolution' against the Forest Service. Lots of inflated press about how there was going to be a shoot out between the locals and the FS. Didn't happen but that is why the shovels are on the fence outside of the 'store'. The FS still keeps a very low profile there.

Toy Man
 

DAA

Critter Whisperer
Supporter
Yeah I remember all that too, it really wasn't that long ago, maybe 10, 12 years ago? Kinda fizzled out like a popcorn fart whent it all went down. Bunch a hand wringing over not much of anything.

As I remember it though, the real reason the FS and the rest of the authorities were so worked up - and scared - was because the memory of Claude Dallas was still warm. The notion of killing authorities who got in the way of your chosen way of life was not unpopular in northern Nevada at the time...

I remember wandering around out on the Owyhee back in the 90's, the fish cops really kept a low profile and although I rarely ran into anyone at all, whenever I did, there was always a kind of uneasy tension - like "what kind of a nut bag might you be?" - kind of tension. My appearance at that time in my life, and the fact I was always very visibly very well armed, probably went a long way towards that I'm sure...

Headed out that way this weekend. Can't wait!

- DAA
 

cruiseroutfit

Moderator & Supporting Member
Supporter
One of my favorite places.

I originally became interested in Jarbidge years ago when it was in the headlines because of the 'revolution' against the Forest Service. Lots of inflated press about how there was going to be a shoot out between the locals and the FS. Didn't happen but that is why the shovels are on the fence outside of the 'store'. The FS still keeps a very low profile there.

Toy Man

I remember the shovel brigade situation, that was happening right as I started getting involved with the land use stuff here in Utah. A bit more on the subject: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2001/01/shovel-rebellion
 

cruiseroutfit

Moderator & Supporting Member
Supporter
Some distant relatives (cousin's of my wife's grandfather) knew I had a think for Jarbidge and brought this book to our annual homestead reunion near Tabor Creek (south of Jarbidge). It's a great read on town!

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