Eureka, NV

Silver was discovered in Eureka in September of 1864, by a five member prospecting party from Austin. These deposits later proved to be the first important lead-silver discovery in America, but attempts at separating the two metals at mills in Austin and at locally built smelters in 1865-66 failed because of the ore's high lead content. Interest languished for three years until the installation of new furnaces in 1869 showed that the ore could be treated successfully. Further improvements in smelting techniques and the construction of additional furnaces started Eureka on 14 years of prosperity during which $64 million in silver and gold was recovered in addition to over 225,000 tons of lead.

By it's peak in 1878, Eureka was Nevada's second largest city with about 9,000 residents. After 1878, Eureka shrank as decreasing mine production and changing market conditions led to the closing of mines.

Eureka has an excellent self-guiding walking tour guide brochure which can be obtained from local merchants. Raine's Market provides a copy that can be downloaded from the internet at Raine's Market Self-Guiding Tour.

Eureka Opera House - Built in 1880 on the ashes of the Odd fellows Hall. It served as a movie theater in the 1940s. It sat idle for awhile until it was restored in 1993.

Jackson House - Built in 1877 as the Jackson House Hotel. It was gutted by fire in 1880 and then restored. In 1907, it became the Brown Hotel and operated under this name until the 1940s. It was restored as the Jackson House in 1981, and remodeled in 1998.

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Jackson House and Eureka Opera House

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Eureka County Court House - Built in 1879-80. Considered at the time to be one of the finest outside of Virginia City.

Eureka County Courthouse and what used to be a wholesale liquor store (later Post Office), and grocery/variety store (later a mortuary) on the left.

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Highway 50 through downtown.

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Eureka Sentinel Museum - Built in 1879 and housed the Eureka Sentinel Newspaper until 1960.

Old mining equipment in front of Crew Car No. 29. Crew Car No. 29 is the only rolling stock left of the Eureka & Palisade Railroad built in 1875.

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Foley-Rickard-Johnson building. Built in 1879 by M.D. Foley and Richard Rickard.

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Colonnade Hotel - Built in 1880, and became the Colonnade Hotel
in 1886.

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Ryland Building - built after the 1880 fire.

Mary Wattles Home - Built in 1883 by Claude Ford, owner of the Eureka Livestock Company. Mary Elizabeth Isles-Wattles, who came to America from Stratton England, bought this home in 1927 and owned it until her death in 1952.
At 106 years old, she was the oldest living Nevada resident.

Built in 1882 by James Allan as the Ottawa Hotel. It became a grocery store in 1886. It was also Shell service station in the 1920s and a Union 76 service station in the 1940s. Today it is a convenience store.