Jamestown was formed in January 1908 after gold was discovered on Pahute Mesa. Soon more than 100 prospectors had flocked to Jamestown. A townsite was platted in April and within two hours all the main street lots had sold. By the end of the month, the town had a population of 400. By May the town had four stores, five saloons, real estate offices, seven restaurants, two hotels, bakeries assayers, building contractors and a stage line to Goldfield. All this was reported in the Jamestown News, obviously the town’s newspaper. Actually, all the businesses were housed in tents and only one frame building had been built. The paper disappeared after it had accomplished certain promotional aims. During this boom period, a Fred Schultz was one of the town’s main developers. He was also the last resident of the district, remaining there until the 1930s. Jamestown’s mines produced consistently only into 1910s. The post office closed on August 31 st of that year and the town continued to slip downhill. There was limited individual activity for a few years and then nothing after the 1930s. The site is now part of the Nellis Air Force Base Bombing and Gunnery Range.

Submitted by: Shawn Hall from his book Preserving The Glory Days: Ghost Towns And Mining Camps Of Nye County, Nevada Click here to purchase his book!