Lida enjoyed two boom periods. Like nearby Palmetto, Lida was first founded in the late 1860's, an outgrowth of the Aurora boom. It boomed again in the first decade of the 20th century, it being rejuvenated during the Tonopah / Goldfield boom. Mexican and Indian prospectors were working small claims in the Lida region and in nearby Tule Canyon prior to 1867, when American prospectors organized a district. The townsite of Lida was laid out in 1872 and began to gather all the trappings of an outpost town. On March 17, 1873, the United States Postal Service authorized a post office to be opened, but confusion over state boundaries in this isolated region had placed the office in Inyo County, California. This was recognized and corrected the next month, and the office was thereafter operated as Lida, Nevada beginning April 31, 1873. A good road was developed north into Silver Peak, all freight and merchandise coming through there from Wadsworth on the railroad in northern Nevada. Steam powered stamp mills were constructed and operated utilizing water from springs in the area. Higher grade ore was sent to Austin and Belmont for treatment. Lida began to fade along with mining statewide by the 1880s. The region remained quiet but still populated until Tonopah and then Goldfield sparked increased interest in the entire region. In 1905, three hundred people called Lida their home, these supported an increase in the usual business houses, and they also prompted the publication of the Lida Enterprise. This newspaper continued operation between April 14, 1905 to October 1906. The same newspaper also printed the Palmetto Herald for distribution in that nearby camp. Goldfield also tapped into springs at Lida for distribution to that bustling city, delivering it with a large pipeline between the two points. An automobile stage ran between Lida and Big Pine, CA for a few years after 1905. Lida prospered until later in 1907, when many of the richest mines found themselves in litigation. Lida began to go into a slow decline. The post office closed December 14, 1918 and mail transferred to nearby Gold Point (originally called Hornsilver). Today Lida still has a population but no services.
Submitted by David A. Wright