Berlin Ghost Town

A mining camp in the Shoshone Range

Berlin lies in the foothills of the Shoshone Range in Nye County, about 23 miles east of Gabbs, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal travel column. Nevada State Parks traces the district to May 1863, when prospectors found silver in Union Canyon and the camp of Union was settled. The Union Mining District was formed in 1864 and took in Union, Ione, Grantsville and, later, Berlin.

The state parks history gives 1869 as the date of the first assay report in Berlin Canyon. It says the Berlin Mine was established in 1896 and that the Nevada Company bought the mine and many surrounding claims in 1898. The Review-Journal column gives a slightly different account: Berlin grew out of the 1869 discoveries, with claims developed in 1898. Both sources agree the town was effectively dead by 1911.

The parks history estimates that the mine’s three miles of tunnels produced $849,000 in total, counted at the old gold price of $20 per ounce. At its peak, Berlin and Union together held 200 to 250 people, by the parks history’s count. The Review-Journal gives the same range for the first years of the 1900s. The parks history says residents included miners, woodcutters, charcoal makers, a doctor and a nurse.

What remains

The state park describes Berlin as preserved in a state of “arrested decay.” The Review-Journal lists mill and mine buildings, a street grid with houses, a post office, an infirmary, a general store, a union hall, a barn, a stage station, corrals and a cemetery. The parks history adds an old schoolhouse and says more than 80 interpretive signs cover Berlin and Union. Firmin Bruner, who grew up in both towns, wrote the text.

Ichthyosaur fossils are a separate attraction. The parks history says the park was first established in 1957 and protects North America’s most abundant concentration of the largest known ichthyosaur fossils. The park site says the fossils are displayed in the Fossil House.

Visiting today

The park site lists it as open every day of the year. The townsite tour is self-guided, and a map is available. The Review-Journal says visitors can look through the windows of homes and businesses at personal effects, goods, tools and office records left behind. It also reports that tours of the Diana Mine are no longer offered because of safety concerns. Do not enter mine workings.

Nevada State Parks lists day use at $5 per vehicle for Nevada vehicles and $10 for non-Nevada vehicles, paid by cash or check only. The Review-Journal article dates from 2009, so its fees and schedules are out of date. The parks site says to drive only on established roads and to check nvroads.com for conditions. It lists gas and food in Gabbs, with no services in Ione.

The park prohibits removing or damaging historic structures, artifacts, rocks, plants or fossils. Metal detecting and drones are also prohibited. Leave every artifact where it lies.