Columbus, Nevada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Columbus, Nevada
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 Columbus, Nevada
Location in Nevada
Columbus, Nevada
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Esmeralda |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Reference #: | 20 |
Columbus was once a busy town in Esmeralda County. It was famous for mining a mineral called borax. Today, only its remains can be seen near the Columbus Salt Marsh. It is now known as a ghost town.
History of Columbus
Early Mining Days
In 1863, a group of Spanish miners found silver in this area. Two years later, in 1865, American miners started a camp called Columbus. They were looking for gold and silver nearby.
In 1866, a special machine called a stamp mill was moved to Columbus from Aurora. A stamp mill crushes rocks to get out the valuable metals. Columbus was a great spot for this mill because it had enough water. Water was very important for running the machinery.
The Borax Boom
The town's importance grew a lot in 1871. This was when borax was discovered close to Columbus. Borax is a white mineral used in cleaning products and many other things.
William Troop found borax at a salt marsh near the town. This area became known as the Columbus Marsh. By 1873, four different companies were actively mining borax there.
Columbus was at its busiest around 1875. About 1,000 people lived in the town then. The borax factories worked day and night for eight months each year. Columbus had its own post office and a newspaper called The Borax Miner. There was also a school made of adobe bricks and a metal factory. Stagecoaches offered daily trips to other towns like Fish Lake Valley, Candelaria, and later Wadsworth.
Decline of the Town
After 1875, Columbus started to shrink. The Pacific Borax Company built a bigger factory at Fish Lake. This new factory was about 30 miles south of Columbus.
By 1880, the number of people in Columbus had dropped to only 100. By the mid-1880s, most of the mining and business had stopped. Slowly, Columbus became the ghost town we know today.
Gallery
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William Groszenger, next to the Columbus coal field, 1896
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Downtown Columbus, 1870s
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Steam tractor, Columbus, 1890s
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Borax refining tanks, Columbus, 1870s
