|
Berlin is located 23 miles east of Gabbs, at an elevation of 7,000 feet.
In May 1863, a small group of prospectors discovered silver in Union Canyon and the small mining camp of Union was settled. It was not until 1896 that the Berlin Mine was established, and the townsite of Berlin was established in 1897. In 1898, the Nevada Company moved equipment from Ione to Berlin and erected a new thirty-stamp mill. With the purchase of the mine and numerous surrounding mining claims by the Nevada Company, the town of Berlin was soon in its heyday until 1908, declining to its death by 1911.
The post office closed in December of 1918. The Goldfield Blue Bell Mining Company's purchase of claims in the area in the 1920s brought a small mining revival in the district. The company re-equipped the Berlin Mine with a steam hoist and an air compressor, but the operations were of an exploratory nature and were never full scale. The mill was dismantled in 1947.
During its heyday, Berlin and its Union suburbs supported 200-250 people including miners, woodcutters, charcoal makers, a doctor and nurse, a forest ranger and a prostitute. The Berlin Mine was worked from an incline shaft with eight levels. The total production of its three miles of tunnels is estimated to have been $849,000.
Berlin is now part of the Berlin-Ichthyosaur Nevada State Park. The state park system has put the old townsite of Berlin in a state of "arrested decay." The huge mill still stands, along with about thirteen buildings and a small cemetery.
|
