Jarbidge

A gold camp in a remote canyon

Jarbidge is a remote mining town in a canyon, reached by dirt road and set beside the Jarbidge Wilderness. Nevada State Historical Marker No. 69 says Native hunting parties camped in the area about 10,000 years ago, and that Shoshone-speaking people arrived roughly 1,000 years ago. The marker says they continue to live in the region. The marker gives the name’s origin as a Shoshone word meaning “a bad or evil spirit.” Travel Nevada tells it differently. It says the name passed through mispronunciations of a Shoshone name, T’sawhabitts, and links that name to a man-eating giant in Shoshone lore.

The gold rush began in 1909, when Dave Bourne found gold. The Great Basin College history says he staked the North Star Group that spring and that more than 75 claims were recorded in Elko by the end of the year. Travel Nevada says Bourne claimed more than $27 million worth of gold was visible in the canyon. The same source puts the town at about 1,500 residents by 1911. Great Basin College says miners predicted 10,000 people, which never happened.

Supplies came by horse and mule train, because the nearest railroad was in Idaho. Elkoro Mining Company, part of the Guggenheim interests, arrived in 1913. According to Great Basin College, it built a large mill and water system, produced about $10 million, and closed in the 1930s. The marker says the district replaced Goldfield as Nevada’s leading gold producer in the early 1920s. Great Basin College names 1918 and 1919 as the leading years. Travel Nevada says major operations were suspended in 1941.

The 1916 stage robbery

On December 5, 1916, during a storm, a stage was robbed in Jarbidge Canyon and the driver was killed. The marker calls it the last stagecoach robbery and murder in Western history. Great Basin College calls it the last horse-drawn stage robbery in the nation. The sources disagree on where it happened. The marker puts it about a quarter mile south of town. Great Basin College places the holdup on the north edge of town.

Travel Nevada names the driver as Fred Searcy and says Ben Kuhl and Ed Beck were caught and tried. It quotes a community website saying a bloody handprint Kuhl left on a piece of mail was the first palm or fingerprint admitted as evidence in a court trial. Treat that as local lore. Great Basin College says Kuhl was convicted and later became the longest-serving resident of the Carson City state prison.

Travel Nevada dates a fire to 1919 that destroyed more than 20 businesses and cabins. Great Basin College counts 22 businesses lost. Both link it to a barrel of homemade whiskey exploding in the basement of the Success Bar, and to residents’ dispute with Elkoro over access to its power lines.

Visiting today

Travel Nevada describes the town as more than 100 miles north of Elko, with a final stretch of remote dirt road. The town sits next to the Jarbidge Wilderness, where vehicles are not allowed. It recommends an off-road-capable vehicle and bringing supplies. It reports about two dozen year-round residents.

Travel Nevada lists a community hall, the historic jail, old miners’ cabins, a trading post, a year-round fuel stop, lodging, an RV park and primitive campgrounds. Respect private property and occupied buildings, and leave any artifacts where they are.

A Forest Service document for this area warns that many designated roads and trails may be passable only by high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles. It also says seasonal weather can make them impassable for extended periods and that cell phones do not work in many areas of the Mountain City and Jarbidge Ranger Districts. The Jarbidge Ranger District office at 140 Pacific Avenue in Wells lists its number as (775) 752-3357. Check road conditions with the land manager before going, and carry food, water and first-aid supplies.