Belmont in 1871
Location: 46 miles Northeast of Tonopah off State Route 376, NV Map
Found: 1865
Belmont is an abandoned ghost town situated 46 miles Northeast of
Tonopah off State Route 376 in Nevada. Belmont was found in 1865 on
a site of newly discovered silver deposit. It quickly grew to 4000
residents. The settlement lasted for over 40 years adding several
boarding houses, church, saloons, sawmills, firehouse, general
stores and even fraternal organization. Additionally the city had
its own newspaper. Over time however silver that kept the city alive
began to dwindle decreasing number of its residents. For a brief
time Belmont was reborn after a new large deposit was discovered in
1914. After just eight years the silver mine was closed again in
1922. The courthouse of Belmont Ghost Town was constructed in 1877.
It served until 1905.
Some of the buildings in Belmont are
still standing, including the courthouse, the Cosmopolitan Saloon,
the Monitor-Belmont Mill, and the combination mill. Currently, the
old Combination Mine and Mill office and Belmont Courier Newspaper
office and associated buildings are under restoration and
preservation, known as the Philadelphia House, a reference to the
name of the lodging house in the 1880s, and the Philadelphia mining
district. This building complex was a business for about 15 years
known as the Belmont Inn and Saloon, and also the Monitor Inn.
Restoration volunteers are being solicited.
To the south of
the site there is the Belmont Courthouse now belonging to Nye County
and cared for by the "Friends of the Belmont Courthouse". The
transfer from the Belmont Courthouse State Historical Park to Nye
County took place in 2012.
It is 72 kilometers north of Tonopah, the county capital. Belmont is located on the southeast slope of the Toquima mountain range. Belmont was another city that was born and developed thanks to the mines and became a ghost when the mines ran out.
The city's name derives from the French "Beaumont" or "Beautiful Mountain". It all started in October 1865 when a Mexican prospector discovered a rich deposit of silver in the Toquima Mountains. and antimony. In early 1866, the place initially called Silver Bend, The Philadelphia, The Transylvania and finally Beaumont was invaded by many people: miners, merchants, bankers, mine managers, saloon owners and other people from Ione, Austin and other locations in the United States In 1867, the population reached 4,000. Wooden buildings were built after the opening of the mine and signs of permanence appeared. In Belmont, basic services appeared in a city such as a bank, school, two churches, service telegraph station, post office, several stores and even two competing newspapers: the "Silver Bend Reporter" and the "Mountain Champion". The newspaper "Mining Journal" reports that of the 50 buildings Belmont business, 20 were whiskey stores. In 1867 Belmont became the capital of Nye County. In 1868, a brick building on Main Street was purchased for $5,750 to serve as the government building for Nye County. However, the referred building did not have conditions for the worthy functions to be the seat of government. In 1875, construction was approved for a new building which was completed in 1876. Sadly, for many, 1876 coincided with the downfall of silver mining. After a new growth between 1883 and 1885, the end of the 1880s was marked by the massive abandonment of the city's inhabitants, leaving only 150 inhabitants, most of whom were linked to the responsibilities derived from the fact that they were government employees of Nye County. In 1903, many miners left for Tonopah which was then a growing town due to mining activities and in 1905, that town became the county seat, a title it still holds today. The post office was closed in 1911. In 1913, it revived, some hope of reopening the mines with the construction of a mill to extract ore, but two years later it was closed. From then on, despite some sudden bursts of activity, Belmont became and remains to this day a ghost town. In 1974, Nye County turned the courthouse over to the Nevada Division of State Parks. Thus, the city of Belmont had a prosperous life of twenty years, having produced an amount of 15 million dollars in ores, while the county government building only functioned for ten years.
Some of the buildings remain standing, including the Nye County Government Building, the Cosmopolitan Saloon, the Monitor-Belmont Mill, and the extraction mill. There are currently plans to renovate the city, but they will have to wait for approval of the Belmont Courthouse State Historic Park.