Story of Seven Troughs
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On July 31, 1912 the mill burned to the ground. It had been idle for some time before that. The newspaper reported it had ten stamps. So an additional five stamps must have been added. It must be remembered that the great Mazuma flood happened thirteen days before damaging the water system. That would make fighting the fire very difficult.
Regan Mine: Shamberger only mentions the Regan Mine one time. When mentioning the most important mines in 1908 he notes the Kindergarten and Wihuja are in the southeast portion of the district along the south side of Seven Troughs Canyon and the Mazuma Hills and Regan were in the same area on the north side of the canyon. Tyler Shaft: The Tyler shaft was part of the Seven Trough Coalition, formerly of the Kindergarten Mine). Shamberger first mentions the shaft when a tunnel reached the 1,100 foot level of the shaft. The shaft depth was 1,800’. I did find reference to the shaft as early as 1913 using other sources. |
This is a 1908 picture of Seven Troughs which can be found on page 23 of Shamberger’s book. The Tyler Shaft is at the lower left. The large dump above the canyon is from the Mazuma Hills Mill. The other large dump to the right is the Reagan. Mazuma is in the background below the
Mazuma Dump and Mill location. If one looks down the canyon, one can see how a flash flood could gain strength in the wider part of the upper canyon and come roaring down hill. As it got further down the canyon the wall of water would get bigger and pick up more speed. That is what would happen on July 19, 1912. In what was probably the worst flash flood episode in Nevada. Eight people a mile down the canyon in Mazuma lost their lives when a wall of water maybe ten feet high came crashing into town. Four were young children! The contrast on this photograph is so good, one can actually read the sign for “The Owl.” |
The Owl:
One thing that Shamberger does not mention about this photograph is the one building whose name can be clearly read - The Owl. The Owl is one of the prized of all western drug store bottles. It was produced in the 1910-1915 period. If a lot has been written about Seven Troughs, little is known about The Owl. Even the author of the Nevada Bottle Book, Volume II admits this is one time he had to surmise. We do know that one Fred Preston was a major business man in Mazuma and Seven Troughs. In Mazuma he owned one of two buildings to survive the 1912 Mazuma flashflood. His general merchandise store was perched higher in the canyon. In Seven Troughs it is documented that he owned the Preston Hotel and the Owl Saloon. There is one known Owl Pharmacy bottle, but no record of the company. One might figure the building in our picture is ‘The Owl’ that served as a saloon and drug store in this small mining camp. 1. “Ghost Towns and Medicines: Nevada Bottle Book, Volume II” by Holabird 2. "The Story of Seven Troughs" by Shamberger |