Black Horse, Dry Gulch Pilot Knob, & Osceola Mines, Nevada

Parked at the Sacramento Pass

Black Horse Mine
"Black Horse was discovered entirely by accident. In March 1906 a prospector from Osceola, sought shelter under an over-hanging ledge during a spring storm. He chipped off some samples, and they proved to have a very high gold content. On March 6, claims were staked, and Black Horse began a tremendous boom. By April the camp had a population of 400 and businesses operating that included three stores, three saloons, two boardinghouses, a blacksmith shop, and a barbershop. Most of these early businesses were initially housed in tents. A school was built, and a post office opened in September.  Some of the richest ore ever discovered in Nevada came from Black Horse.  Ore in the mine ran out in 1913, and Black Horse quickly became a ghost town after producing close to $1 million during its short existence. The post office closed in March 1914. Today most of Black Horse has disappeared. No buildings are left, and only rubble and faint foundations remain.

The largest and more secure cover we have seen

We found a few different items here.

This looks like a spice can

There were a lot of these Prince Albert cans

Part of a glass tube

We think this may have been a photograph

In driving around we found this mine but have no idea of the name.

Osceola

You might not know it but Osceola was once a booming prospecting town. After a mind boggling 12 mile gold-bearing quartz vein discovered was in 1872, a placer mining community took form in this canyon, but Osceola didn't really take off until the 1880s when hydraulic mining began.  Hydraulic mining techniques, a form of mining that implements high-pressure jets of water to move sediment, proved to be successful in the hills of Osceola. Splitting the area into two canyons or ditches, the Osceola West Ditch and the Osceola East Ditch were erected to utilize and direct water flow from the mountains above. More and more people were drawn to the beautiful canyon, which proved to be an excellent location for farming, eventually reaching a population near 1500.  Sadly, the amount of water originally anticipated was not produced and mining operations fizzled until a large gold nugget broke free from a hillside in 1886. Yielding a massive $6000, enough excitement propelled hydraulic mining in the Osceola community until the turn of the 20th century. By this time, the population had diminished to a mere 100, which wasn't enough to merit a post office. By the time they closed up shop, Osceola produced nearly $5 million in gold, with some silver, lead and tungsten.

 Fires have wiped out the majority of the town. The Assay Office is the only building that remain in the townsite.


Osceola Cemetery

Current Osceola Mining

Dry Gulch Pilot Knob Mine
Gold-bearing veins were discovered on the western slope of the Snake River, in the vicinity of Pilot Knob Ridge, in August 1872.

By the time we made it back to the motorhome the weather had changed.

Before we got the Jeep hooked up it had started to rain.