Hawthorne

US 6/95 heads east from Tonopah 38 miles to Coaldale, where US 95 continues north and west 63 miles to the small city of Hawthorne. Like many Nevada locales, Hawthorne has risen and fallen with the mines around it. Gold was discovered near here in 1860, and in 1881 the Carson and Colorado railroad established a shipping terminus at Hawthorne. The town became the Esmeralda County seat in 1883, but lost it soon after when the tracks were rerouted. In 1911, state senator Fred Balzar helped carve out a new county, Mineral, with Hawthorne the new seat. No doubt he carried Mineral County when he was later elected governor. When the 400-square-mile Naval Ammunition Depot was established in Hawthorne in 1927, the town exploded – figuratively – and by World War II the mostly military population was 14,000. Today the Army Ammunition Depot is the largest of its kind in the world, encircling Hawthorne and its 5,000 residents

The Mineral County Museum, at the corner of 10th and D streets, 702-945-5142, shows off the area’s heritage with special collections of mining, fire and railroad equipment, cameras and photography, Victorian furniture, rocks, minerals, wildlife and fossils. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 11AMto 5 PMin summer, noon to 4 PMin winter. Visitors can also make appointments for Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.

The main attraction, however, is nearby Walker Lake. Almost 15 miles long and six miles wide, Walker Lake even has its own lake-serpent legend. (See On Water, below.) Before heading to the lake, be sure to stop at Bob and Peggy Tompkins’ Gun&Tackle, 898 E Street, 702-945-3266, to inquire about current fishing conditions and the latest gear and maps.

Near the northern tip of the lake, where US 95 and ALT US 95 split, the village of Shurz is the administrative center of the Walker River Indian Reservation and home of the Paiute-run Walker River Travel Center, a combination truck stop, restaurant and Native American gift shop. The Paiutes hold the Pine Nut Festival and Rodeo every September.

About 55 miles southeast of Hawthorne, the ghost town of Candelaria is easily accessible via paved roads. Mining has been going on in this region since at least the Civil War era, but Candelaria didn’t really boom until the 1870s. At the zenith of its existence, the town boasted 1,500 people, a number of hotels and restaurants and a newspaper, and was producing $1 million a year in mineral wealth. The mid-1880s saw a large fire and labor strife in Candelaria, and by 1890 the good times were over. Today a huge open-pit gold mine operates within sight of the silent remains of a bank building and other small structures. To reach Candelaria, take US 95 south from Hawthorne 49 miles south through Mina to a marked, paved road on the right. Take this road six miles to the town.

To see where it all started, what little remains of the boomtown of Aurora is found about an hour southwest of Hawthorne, just three miles from the California border. Gold was struck here in 1860 and while thousands of prospectors poured in, the states of Nevada and California fought over the claim to Aurora itself. Both states set up offices and Aurora served as the Esmeralda County, Nevada seat and the Mono County, California seat until an 1863 survey placed it in the former. Like the tourism-minded folks in Cowboy Country’s Unionville, Aurora backers report that a guy named Samuel Clemens tried his hand, unsuccessfully, in the local hills before giving up prospecting for his first newspaper job. The glory years produced $20 million in gold in less than a decade. Today, all that’s left are a few buildings and headstones. The easiest way to Aurora is on paved NV 359 south out of Hawthorne about 29 miles to Forest Service Road 058, which rumbles north about 10 miles to the outskirts of Aurora.