Unionville

A silver camp and county seat

Unionville sits in Buena Vista Canyon in Pershing County. Destination4x4 and Western Mining History both say Paiute people brought silver ore samples from the canyon to Virginia City in 1861, and that prospectors followed. Western Mining History says two prospectors followed Paiute guides to the site. Western Mining History says the town was laid out in May 1861.

The name changed more than once. Nevada State Historical Marker No. 145 says Southern sympathizers settled the canyon in 1861 and called the camp “Dixie.” In 1862, it says, neutral and northern residents prevailed and it became Unionville. Destination4x4 gives a slightly different account: first Buena Vista, then Dixie, then Unionville around July 4, 1861, “or late 1861.”

Unionville was the seat of Humboldt County, which the marker says was created from Buena Vista mining activity. Western Mining History dates that to November 1861. By summer 1863 it lists more than 200 houses, ten stores, nine saloons, six hotels and a brewery. Sources give the peak population as over 1,000 (Western Mining History) or 1,000 to 1,500 (Destination4x4). The town stretched more than two miles along the canyon.

In January 1869 a group expelled Chinese residents. Destination4x4 puts the number at roughly 35 to 50 and says federal indictments followed with few convictions. Western Mining History says up to 50 were sent 25 miles to Mill City and that 18 of the men responsible were indicted.

Decline

The marker says most local ore was depleted by the late 1870s. Destination4x4 puts the loss of the rich surface ore earlier, around 1870, and adds a major fire in 1872. Western Mining History points to a mining downturn and a destructive fire, plus the railroad through Winnemucca, which made that town the regional trade center. The marker and Western Mining History both say the county seat moved to Winnemucca in 1873. About 200 people remained in 1880. Destination4x4 says about 70 people were left by 1920. The marker says the town remained more pleasant and less violent than most mining towns despite strong political feelings.

Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens, later Mark Twain, came to prospect and left without much success. Twain’s Geography gives his arrival as 1862 in its main text and December 1861 in its note on Roughing It. Western Mining History says he stayed about three weeks. In Roughing It he describes the town as “eleven cabins and a liberty-pole.” The Twain’s Geography annotation says the population was about 300 by September 1862, with adobe, slate, brush and canvas buildings lining the canyon for almost a mile.

Destination4x4 says the remains of a Twain cabin lie behind Nevada Historical Marker 232, which marks an 1862 adobe schoolhouse demolished in 1871, and that the marker says Twain built the cabin in 1861. Twain’s Geography does not mention a cabin or any surviving Twain structure.

What remains and visiting today

Western Mining History lists a historic cemetery, old mill foundations and a one-room schoolhouse. Western Mining History also mentions a few occupied homes. Destination4x4 adds a tourist inn and puts the permanent population at about 20 to 27. Twain’s Geography describes a hamlet with one business and a few small houses along a gravel road, with the nearest pavement about 7 miles east.

Destination4x4 places Unionville south of Interstate 80 and just west of State Route 400, with the state marker in a county park on SR 400. Homes here are occupied, so stay off private property and respect residents. Leave the cemetery, foundations and any artifacts where they are. None of the sources give current road conditions. Check with Pershing County or the Bureau of Land Management before going, and keep clear of any mine openings.