Eldorado Canyon / Nelson Ghost Town - Nevada
Explor Date: October 1 of 2023
“I think there never was another place where, in proportion to the population, so many murders were committed without the criminals being brought to trial or even apprehended.”
The ghost town of Nelson came to my attention during one of my frequent Google inquiries on “cool places to visit in <fill in the blank>”. A picture of a nose-dived, “crash landed” plane, apparently out in the desert, caught my eye and demanded that I find out where this thing is and go take its picture. Further research revealed that it was located in Nelson Ghost Town. And that’s how a 280-mile road trip is born. It doesn’t take much….
Mining in El Dorado ( Eldorado) Canyon has been going on for hundreds of years. Flashback to pre-European explorer time, Native Americans extracted turquoise in the area. Later, Spanish explorers reportedly/possibly/maybe discovered silver or gold in El Dorado Canyon back in 1775, accounts vary wildly.
Prospecting and mining began in earnest in the late 1850s. Claims with names such as the Honest Miner, the Morning Star, and the Techatticup flourished. Supplies were brought upriver via steamboat, miners poured in, buildings were built, gold and silver were mined.
The Techatticup Mine was perhaps the most famous, its name taken from two Paiute words meaning “hungry” or “bread.” It was in production from discovery in 1861 until the early 1940s and reportedly took out several million dollars in gold and other metals. And in a way, it’s still in production today (as guided tours are available).
The canyon and surrounding area was reportedly the most successful gold mining region in southern Nevada history, during its heyday from the mid-1860s to 1900. One estimate puts the value of gold extracted at $10 million. Such a rich area brought in all types of folks, the good, the bad and the really bad. The nearest Sheriff was 200 miles away, so the law rarely made an appearance in El Dorado Canyon. Disputes often led to violence and gunplay.
But the old story rings true, when the gold gives out, the citizens leave to look for richer claims elsewhere. The population of the canyon and Nelson dwindled to barely a handful. Buildings were abandoned and began to deteriorate, left to the harsh desert climate.
Fasssst forward to 1994, when Tony and Bobbie Werly purchased the 51-acre grounds, buildings and leftover stuff of the Techatticup Mine. Five years of hard work, restoring buildings, clearing out much and debris in mining tunnels and other general upkeep transformed the area into the beginning of what we see today: a combination ghost town, hard-rock mine tour and photographer’s paradise.
A couple hours spent wandering about the property resulted in a lot of pictures, here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:
If you like old, rusty, obsolete, random vehicles (some bringing Mad Max to mind), you’ll love wandering about the grounds. There are too many to count.
Most of the buildings are marked Keep Out, but there are some you can go inside.
If this thing is working, clicking on any of the smaller sized images should pop them open into a new window, in a larger size. Many of the old vehicles look like they could still be driven today.
Possibly the home/office of a town doctor at one time, the trap doors leading down into who knows what is quite intriguing. Not sure if that’s the doctor, or a patient.
The Chapel at Nelson is available for weddings.
No matter where you walk, there’s always a new view, angle or ‘really cool thing’ to take a picture of.
American Pickers would have a field day/week out here, but I doubt anything on the property is for sale. I think I see my new exploration vehicle!
So after spending a couple hours in desert gold heaven, why not continue down the road to the Colorado River and see what was along the way.
I spotted several mines along the route, only one wasn’t posted Private Property/No Trespassing, so I had to stop and take a peak. Alas, it was gated and I wasn’t able to go in much more than a few feet to take these photos. No doubt, there was gold inside that tunnel laughing at me.
If you check google maps along Hwy 165, you’ll see “Scenic Natural Towers” written thereon. These are them.
At the end of the road, a turn-out with a wonderful view. Down below is a landing where watercraft can be launched into the river. Those are some nice looking beaches over there on the Arizona side!
Nelson Ghost Town is definitely a unique place and worth a visit. About an hour’s drive from Laughlin, and less than an hour away from Las Vegas, put it on your list of places to see. Especially if you like to take pictures of old stuff. There’s no services in the area, so gas up and eat up before you go. As it is all private property, there are signs marking areas that are off limits. The folks who run the place, live on the place. There’s a small fee to walk around, photographers are asked to pay $10/hour. Well worth it, in my opinion. Restrooms are available and are unique. There’s also a walking tour of the Techatticup Mine available, which I left for my next visit.
Hope you enjoyed my brief observations, please leave me a comment below! Pictures are free to use for your personal use, any commercial interest, drop me a line.
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