Cherry Creek, White Pine County, Nevada

White Pine County, Nevada

6,100 feet Elevation

On October 20, 2002, as part of a tour organized by the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society (Northeastern Nevada Museum) we visited Cherry Creek Nevada. It was a fun trip. I hope the museum does more of these little excursions. I hope you can come along, too.

USGS Topographic Map of Cherry Creek - 1982

USGS Aerial Photograph of Cherry Creek - 1999

Click Here for Historical Cherry Creek Photos

from the Northeastern Nevada Museum collection

Here are some special links

Cherry Creek Nevada History and Photos
by June Shaputis

Arthur St. Clair

and

George Requa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dirt road from Currie to Cherry Creek. Looking South. The Mountain range on the right of the photo is the Cherry Creek Range. The mountains range on the left of the photo is the Egan Range. The "V" notch between the mountains is Egan Canyon. Cherry Creek is located on the pediment surface of the Cherry Creek Mountains just north of the notch.

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Looking West. Town of Cherry Creek. Cherry Creek Mountains is behind the town.

Paved access road to Cherry Creek. Cherry Creek is behind the camera, Steptoe Valley is in the foreground, Schell Mountain range is in the distance across the valley. This access road ties into paved Highway 93.

Cherry Creek. Blowers and ball mill are in foreground. Town is in distance. Cherry Creek range is in distance.

CHERRY CREEK

HERE AT ONE TIME WAS THE LARGEST TOWN IN WHITE PINE COUNTY, PART OF THE CHERRY CREEK MINING DISTRICT. CHERRY CREEK'S YEARS OF LARGEST GOLD AND SILVER PRODUCTION WERE BETWEEN 1872 AND 1883. AT THE PEAK OF ITS PROSPERITY, THE TOWN HAD AN ESTIMATED POPULATION OF 6,000.

FIVE MILES SOUTH OF HERE IS EGAN CANYON, WHERE ONE OF THE OLDEST GOLD MINES IN NEVADA WAS LOCATED. AS EARLY AS 1850, INDIANS MINED GOLD THERE. A STAGE STATION WAS LOCATED BY MAJOR HOWARD EGAN IN 1859. FOR WOODWARD AND CHORPENNING'S CALIFORNIA MAIL CO. IN 1860. IT WAS USED BY THE PONY EXPRESS AS A CHANGE STATION, AND FROM 1861 TO 1869 WAS AN OVERLAND STAGE STATION.

IN 1864, A FIVE-STAMP MILL, THE FIRST SUCH IN EASTERN NEVADA, AND A SMALL MINING CAMP WERE CONSTRUCTED. MOST OF THE EARLY ACTIVITY HAD CEASED BY 1883. BUT IN 1897 THERE WAS A GREAT REVIVAL IN MINING ACTIVITY, WHICH LASTED INTO THE EARLY 1900'S. DURING THIS PERIOD, PRIOR TO THE COMPLETION OF THE NEVADA NORTHERN RAILROAD IN 1906, FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC WAS VIA LONG STRINGS OF MASSIVE FREIGHT WAGONS AND STAGECOACHES FROM TOANO AND WELLS. IN 1933, THE OLD MINE WAS REOPENED AND A NEW CAMP WAS BUILT. PRODUCTION FORM THE EGAN MINE OVER THE YEARS HAVE BEEN APPROXIMATELY $3,000,000.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 22

NEVADA STATE PARK SYSTEM

WHITE PINE PUBLIC MUSEUM INC.

Art Ruggles (?), resident of Cherry Creek, providing well appreciated tour of town to a museum group from Elko, Nevada.

This is the foundation of a historic building in downtown Cherry Creek. A historic photo of the building shows is was a fine two story building (top photo). I will have to verify its name at a later date.

Same foundation as above looking west. Cherry Creek range is the distant mountain.

Original downtown area - burned down - now a vacant lot. The second photo on the historic photos page shows what this vacant lot once looked like.

The retail store and post office in Cherry Creek. From memory it was the Barrel Saloon.

Livery - enlarge photo and you can make out old writing on building.

Looking at north Cherry Creek from the downtown district. The standing brick building was an old office and the brown building in the distant right was an assay office.

Post office boxes at Cherry Creek.

A few of the historic buildings at Cherry Creek.

From conversations with Art, archeological evidence suggests that the area below this white house was the old China town.

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CHERRY CREEK SCHOOL

BUILT WHEN CHERRY CREEK WAS FOUNDED IN 1872 IT IS ONE OF THE OLDEST STANDING NEVADA SCHOOL HOUSES. IN NOVEMBER 1894 A DISPUTE BETWEEN PAT GREEN AND PAT DOLAN OVER THE BUILDINGS LOCATION TURNED VIOLENT WITH DOLAN KILLING GREEN IN A GUNFIGHT. WITH SUCCESSFUL MINING OPERATIONS THE AREA GREW TO 6000 PEOPLE WITH A PEAK ENROLLMENT OF 56 STUDENTS. IN 1901 A LANTERN WAS FUELED WITH GASOLINE AND EXPLODED. THE FIRE BURNED SEVERAL BUILDINGS NEARBY NEARLY DESTROYING THE SCHOOLHOUSE. AFTER THE LAST CLASS IN 1941 THE BUILDING WAS USED AS A POST OFFICE UNTIL 1971. ACQUIRED BY WALTER CAMPBELL IN 1994 THE SCHOOLHOUSE HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A MUSEUM.

DEDICATED JUNE 12, 1999

BY LUCINDA JANE SAUNDERS

CHAPTER 1881

E CLAMPUS VITUS

Cherry Creek Meeting Hall - adjacent to the old school house.

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Burned out building by meeting hall.

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Mine equipment and mine truck by school.

Madellina Ranch, in Cherry Creek, just west of Cherry Creek town site

Lower Cemetery at Cherry Creek

Hugo Ralph Frank was born November 22, 1897 in the mining camp of Cherry Creek. He never married. He had the soul of a poet and wrote a number of poems about life in and around his home. "Ralph Frank died July 13, 1970 in the William Bee Ririe Hospital in Ely, Nevada from a massive stroke. His body was buried in the Cherry Creek cemetery." (Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Summer 1980, "Sagebrush Sentiments Folk Poetry of Northeastern Nevada" by Edna Patterson). The above quarterly contains 6 of his poems, two of which are copied here. I wish I had had the time to find Ralph Frank's grave. I hope to return one day to pay my respects to this uncommon man.

Cowboy Ed Brannon's Grave - 1878

He sleeps death's sleep at Cherry Creek

On Steptoe Valley's breast -

Below the mountain's lofty peak - the eagle's craggy nest.

And there amid Nevada's snow, its sagebrush and its pines

The lichens on the rocks that grow -

his noble heart reclines.

When he who sleeps in quiet there -

In nature's lonely wild

A Hercules in strength to dare

In gentleness a child.

A thirst for fame by valor led

Sought triumph with the brave -

Death snatched the laurel from his head

And placed it on his grave.

Lament

On a lonely Nevada hillside

Grease woods wave above a native girl's grave.

Oh why, in nature's lonely wild

Must ever thus sleep this desert child?

She sleeps in desolation's lonely shadow

With the sleep of eternity upon her brow.

Oh why, from childhood's happy hour

Did wilt and die this summer flower?

From a land that is sunny and wide.

Why lay her to rest on the cold hillside -

And leave her forever with the greasewoods

Which wave above her unmarked grave.

There are three cemeteries at Cherry Creek. This is the upper one on the south edge of town.

George W. Harrison

Born Nevada

1875 - 1905

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Barbara Henry

Died June 26, 1881

Aged 34 Years

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View of Steptoe Valley, looking south. The Schell Range is in the distance and the Egan Range is on the right of the photo.

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View of Cherry Creek town site, looking north from cemetery. The Cherry Creek Range is on the left and the Steptoe Valley is on the right of the photo.

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Egan Canyon. A few miles or so southwest of Cherry Creek.

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Road in Egan Canyon. Route of the Pony Express, Stage Coach and Calvary.

Wild roses (turning golden-yellow, red and brown) growing along Egan Creek.

Abandoned Cabin at entrance to Egan Mine in bottom of Egan Canyon.

Adit into Egan Mine. Note roses turning fall colors near the entrance to the tunnel.

San Jose Tunnel in the Egan Mine Complex, Egan Canyon

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Flash photograph looking into tunnel. In the tunnel you can hear the water running.

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Just below the San Jose Tunnel is this loading ramp in Egan Canyon.

At the top of Egan Canyon is this small graveyard. It once contained soldiers and civilians. I am unclear now to its nature but the faded plaque at the cemetery says they were the graves from Fort Pierce. I need to do more homework on this.

A view from the above graves, looking west, across Egan Basin to the continuation of the Cherry Creek Range in the distance.

A view from the above graves, looking south, up Egan Basin. The Egan range is on the left of the photo, the continuation of the Cherry Creek Range is on the right of the photo, the distant range in the center of the photo is also part of the Egan Range.

A view from the above graves, looking southeast, the old site of Egan is right at the head of Egan Canyon. As I understand it this was the location of the Pony Express Station and Stage Coach stop and Fort Pierce (?).