The story of Pickhandle Gulch
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Pickhandle Gulch in 1888. The house with the white trim was the boarding house of W.A. Jones. The Metallic-Equator Mine dump is in the background. Notice that this picture printed backwards in the Candelaria book.
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Pickhandle Gulch, as Hugh Shamberger points out, was a town that was platted less than a mile from Candelaria. Candelaria became the larger town and eventually Pickhandle Gulch disappeared. Since the two towns were so close together it is almost impossible to separate their histories. I will try to draw out some of the facts in the Shamberger book that relate directly to Pickhandle.
The October 30, 1880 edition of The Mining and Scientific Press referred to Pickhandle Gulch as being the name of the real mining town in the section. Not Metallic City!
Pickhandle Gulch would never rival its close neighbor of Candelaria. Candelaria was platted in a wider plain and had well laid out streets. Pickhandle Gulch was in a steep canyon where at times only the main street would fit and its buildings were often precariously situated on the steep hillsides.
To show you the difference between Candelaria and Pickhandle Gulch an article in the Esmeralda Herald four months after the two towns of Pickhandle Gulch and Candelaria were formed, mentions that there were 10 saloons. Two in Pickhandle Gulch and eight in Candelaria.
With the lack of wood, many buildings were constructed of rock - especially in the canyons of Pickhandle Gulch (see our photo). It was once called the roughest and most uncomfortable mining camp in Nevada.
But the town would for years be a lively place since it was so near the major mines in the area. The Princess and the Metallic-Equator mines were two of its largest operations. The Northern Belle was shared by Candelaria and Pickhandle Gulch.
I believe that any remnants of the town were lost forever when the large open pit silver mine tore through the gulch!
The October 30, 1880 edition of The Mining and Scientific Press referred to Pickhandle Gulch as being the name of the real mining town in the section. Not Metallic City!
Pickhandle Gulch would never rival its close neighbor of Candelaria. Candelaria was platted in a wider plain and had well laid out streets. Pickhandle Gulch was in a steep canyon where at times only the main street would fit and its buildings were often precariously situated on the steep hillsides.
To show you the difference between Candelaria and Pickhandle Gulch an article in the Esmeralda Herald four months after the two towns of Pickhandle Gulch and Candelaria were formed, mentions that there were 10 saloons. Two in Pickhandle Gulch and eight in Candelaria.
With the lack of wood, many buildings were constructed of rock - especially in the canyons of Pickhandle Gulch (see our photo). It was once called the roughest and most uncomfortable mining camp in Nevada.
But the town would for years be a lively place since it was so near the major mines in the area. The Princess and the Metallic-Equator mines were two of its largest operations. The Northern Belle was shared by Candelaria and Pickhandle Gulch.
I believe that any remnants of the town were lost forever when the large open pit silver mine tore through the gulch!