Nevada Lincoln County

Pioche cemetery -- the plots in the foreground are in the area described as "Boot Hill." When Pioche was first being settled in the 1870's there was quite a bit of lawlessness and many of the victims of that lawlessness are buried in this area. The towers, buckets, and cables going over the cemetery carried ore from the mines above town, to the mill below (the red stacks to the left of center).

A dominant view on the skyline when approaching Pioche is the Godbe mill. The mill is at a lower elevation than the town itself and was connected to the mines above the town by a long (over 2 miles) tramway system. Parts of the tramway are visible in the background in the pictures of downtown.

Just north of Pioche was another very intriguing mining site. In comparison to other sites, it was very compact and looked well-maintained. Considering the electrical connections here, and the modernity of the transformers (center right), this would seem to have seen some relatively recent use.

Another view of the site in the adjacent picture. (Best viewed as part of Lincoln county set)

Just south of the tramway operations is another set of mines. Though the wood derrick over this mine suggests a fairly old operation, the equipment inside the building suggests an operation that may have been active into the 1950's or 60's.

The winch for this operation (see adjacent picture) seems to have been driven by an internal combustion engine.

The smelting mill below Pioche.

View from south of Pioche looking out over the factory and the range in the distance.

The top of the tramway that carred ore from the mine above Pioche down to the mill below town.

The first time I visited Pioche, in the summer of 2001, the theatre was still showing movies.

Pioche (pronounced Pi-oach (as in 'coach')) is an older mining town that was very active from the mid-1800's until the mid-1900's. The town is now largely abandoned with very many empty homes and businesses. However, there is still a sizeable number of long-term residents and some new homes/residents. I talked with local townspeople to try to get a sense of why there were new homes being built, since there is no, 0, none, zilch, work other than a very, very, very, minor amount of tourist and/or agricultural work. The sense of the locals was that some of the newer homes were vacation homes and the rest were retirees who were moving there from Utah and Las Vegas. It is difficult to believe that these retirees or vacationers would change the town much, since there are almost no basic services available -- there is only a weekly visiting nurse, you have to go at least back to Caliente (30 miles) for basic shopping/health services or to St. George, Utah (80 miles) for any real shopping/health services. There is, however, one restaurant (the Silver Cafe, nearby picture) where the people who run it are friendly, the locals who eat there say 'hi', and the food is good. And, across from the restaurant is the Overland Hotel (this picture), with an old-fashioned bar and again friendly staff/locals. When I first visited Pioche a few years back, there were more businesses and restaurants open. Though quite scenic and historically interesting, it doesn't attract many tourists -- which is fine. I like the town as it is -- friendly, interesting history, and no tourist-traps. This and the following pages are pictures of Pioche itself, and then of mining areas around it. Since it was a mining town, you can see mining structures in the background in many of the pictures from downtown. (Best viewed as part of Lincoln county set)

Silver Cafe in Pioche, NV on a summer evening.

Winter, Pioche, NV

Downtown Pioche in the evening

Abandoned Ford dealership.

Gem Theater, Pioche.

In Pioche, NV, an abandoned opera house, with mine tailings in the hills just above

Pioche Grade school, see the description in the adjacent picture. Even though it is described as having been a center of the community for many years, it is for sale. Per a local, it was actually sold a number of years ago and is for sale again. There is a new school north of it which is the grade and high school for the area.