Candelaria, Nevada: Where Water Cost a Dime and Whiskey Cost a Quarter

That 1880 quote captures everything about Candelaria, Nevada — a silver boomtown in the desert where the most basic necessity was scarcer than alcohol. The Northern Belle Mine was producing a million dollars a year in bullion. Eleven saloons served a population of 900. But there was almost no water. Residents built eighty snow mounds — some ten feet high — to hoard winter precipitation. Eggs cost $1.25 a dozen. A shirt cost $5 in Candelaria versus $2.50 in Reno. And the stamp mill ran dry, filling the town with silica dust that killed the miners who breathed it.

Candelaria, Nevada is a ghost town in Mineral County, about 30 miles south of Hawthorne. Spanish prospectors discovered silver here in 1863. The Northern Belle Mine produced $10 million in bullion and paid $2.1 million in dividends. At peak, the combined mines of the Candelaria district produced $19 million. The town's post office operated from 1876 to 1939.

01The Discovery and the Northern Belle

Spanish prospectors found silver in the Candelaria Hills in 1863 — making the district one of Nevada's earliest, discovered the same year the state was still a territory. A partnership of Bateman, Allen, and Holmes located the Northern Belle claim in 1864. A.J. Holmes relocated it in 1870.

The Northern Belle became the district's anchor. From 1875 to 1885, it produced roughly $1 million in bullion annually and paid $10,000 monthly dividends for 29 consecutive months. The ore ran about 60 ounces of silver per ton, yielding $56 per ton in bullion against a treatment cost of $44.

02The Water Problem

Candelaria had almost no local water. In 1882, a 27-mile pipeline was built from the White Mountains through four-to-five-inch pipe — an engineering project that delivered water "from so great a distance" that the water company managers were publicly praised. Before the pipeline, residents paid 10 cents per gallon for water (later reduced to 5 cents). In winter, they built mounds of packed snow — eighty of them across town, three to ten feet high — to preserve water into the dry months.

The stamp mill at Belleville, eight miles from the mines, had water. But when milling moved closer to Candelaria, the mill ran dry — literally. The stamps crushed ore without water, creating a haze of toxic silica dust. Miners called the resulting lung disease "miners' consumption" or "the widow maker." Almost everyone in Candelaria was affected.

03The Town at Its Peak

By November 1876, Candelaria had a post office, four stores, two hotels, eleven saloons, a restaurant, a livery stable, and several homes. No church. By 1880, the population reached 900 with 359 registered voters. A telegraph office, express office, second livery stable, and blacksmith shop had been added. The Candelaria True Fissure newspaper launched on June 5, 1880, under editor John H. Dormer.

The town was expensive. Eggs: $1.25 a dozen. Butter: $1.25 a roll. Shirts: double Reno prices. A miner earned $4 a day — good wages, but the cost of living consumed them. Board was four bits (50 cents) for a good meal.

04Violence and the Rough Life

Candelaria was rough. In October 1879, a Wells Fargo stage was robbed of several thousand dollars in bullion. In April 1881, ex-deputy Joe Turner was killed by Doc Callison in a dispute over cards and whiskey. In June 1889, saloon-keeper Thomas Edwards shot Richard Gundry (claimed self-defense, discharged). In August 1890, seventeen-year-old Charles Barlow fell twenty feet into mill machinery, caught in a belt — "fearfully torn and mangled," death instantaneous.

In December 1880, fire destroyed the Fannon and Taylor stores. The whole town nearly burned. It was saved only because residents shoveled snow onto the flames. "Had it not been for the snow, the whole town would have been consumed."

05The Railroad and Decline

The Carson & Colorado narrow-gauge railroad reached Candelaria in March 1882, the same year as the water pipeline. For a brief moment, Candelaria had both rail service and piped water. But silver prices were falling nationally. In 1883, Holmes Mining sued Northern Belle for trespass and won $360,000 in damages. In March 1884, the Northern Belle properties were sold at auction to Holmes Mining, and operations ceased.

A wage dispute in 1891 — miners demanding $4/day while managers offered $3 — further depressed production. By 1893, low silver prices forced closure. The mines sat idle for roughly sixteen years.

06Later Revivals

Candelaria refused to die completely. Mark Bradshaw shipped 300 tons monthly in 1912. A cyanide plant retreated 125,000 tons of old tailings between 1913 and 1918. The Lucky Hill mine shipped 60 tons daily in 1917. Silver price surges in 1919-1922 brought another brief revival. But each comeback was smaller than the last.

The railroad branch was abandoned in 1932. The post office closed in 1939. Modern Kinross Gold operations created a giant open pit called Metallic City that heavily modified the landscape.

07What Remains of Candelaria Today

A fenced cemetery, several standing buildings, extensive mill ruins, and the mercantile store — "holding up fairly well despite its collapsed roof." The site is accessible via a paved road from the south or an unpaved route from the north that follows the old Carson & Colorado railroad right-of-way.