SYLVANIA

NAME: Sylvania
COUNTY: Esmeralda
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 1
CLIMATE: Warm summers. Often cold and snowy in winter.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Spring to Autumn. Winter if you're adventurous.
COMMENTS: Stone ruins amid newer wood frame buildings. Several of the buildings are occupied in summer and have notes displyed in the windows asking that one respect their private property. Please take heed of their requests.
REMAINS: Stone ruins. Wooden cabins. Stone foundations. Mill foundations. Modern mining machinery. Vehicles from WW2 to 1960s.
An obscure camp located in the Sylvania Mountains straddling the California / Nevada state boundary southeast of Fish Lake Valley. Silver-lead ores were discovered in 1869. About three years later, a mining district was organized and a camp formed. The earliest building materials were stone and piņon logs. It is said that Christian B. Zabriskie, who came to fame in the U.S. Borax operations at Death Valley, ran a general store here. In 1875 a 30-ton smelter was erected and operated, running for four years before shutting down. The camp remained quiet after 1880. Since then leasers have remained active and the canyon has stone ruins amid maintained homes. Submitted by: David A. Wright


Advertisement from April 16, 1936 Saturday Evening Post, papered on ceiling in one of the cabins. D.A. Wright photo.


Headframe of the Sylvania Mine. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


My truck parked in front of the headframe at the Sylvania Mine. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Rock ruins of old town. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Ruins of old town. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Wooden cabin. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


This house is occassionally occupied. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Wooden cabin. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Milling machinery and cabin. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


A number of old trucks in seemingly servicable condition are parked at Sylvania, along with a few automobiles. It seems as Sylvanians are fond of Dodge Brothers vehicles, as I roughly calculated that 77% of the vehicles were Dodges. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.


Dodge snow plow. February 20, 2000. D.A. Wright photo.

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