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1090

Aurora,NV - Esmeralda County - 1862 - Winnemucca Lode Documents *Territorial* :

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
Aurora,NV - Esmeralda County - 1862 - Winnemucca Lode Documents *Territorial* :
Lot of 2 items: 1) Notarized transfer of the deed from the Old Winnemucca Gold and Silver Mining Company to the First North Extension of the Winnemucca Gold and Silver Mining Company, incorporated under the laws of the State of California, dated September 13, 1862. Seven of the nine partners signed with notary public J.K. Bechtel as witness (E. Taylor, J. Ives, G. Smith, D. Travis, J. Wilcox, H. McKinnon, and T. Murphy), while the last two (M. Ormsby and A.E. Stewart) were witnessed in the presence of P. Warren Van Winkle. 2) A second document from Ormsby County, dated October 9, 1862. Notarized by P. Warren Van Winkle, a Commissioner of Deeds for the State of California, resident in Carson, NV Territory. It states that the men, Ormsby and Stewart, "whose names are subscribed to the annexed instrument as parties thereto personally known to me," and that they "acknowledge to me that they executed the same freely and voluntarily and for the uses and purposes therein mentioned." Both California and Nevada displayed on notary stamp. After gold and silver quartz ledges were discovered in 1860, camp Esmeralda was established on Gregory Flats. A few months later and a mile to the west, the town of Aurora was laid out. Following the spring of 1861 eight stamps were in production, Wells Fargo & Co. was hauling away gold, and the population was approaching 2000. Due to these assets, Aurora was claimed by both CA and the NV Territory, and for two years the city was the county seat for Mono in California and Esmeralda in the Nevada Territory. By mid 1863 the population approached 10,000, with 200 stamps in 16 mills keeping the town growing. Following a "double" county election in September of 1863, surveyors reached the district and the boundary was fixed four miles west of Aurora. The Mono County officials gathered their records and moved to a small camp ten miles southwest, called Bodie. The boom came to an end in late summer, 1864, with $29 million produced by 1869. Aurora saw a short rebirth during the Bodie boom, but had declined again by 1883 (Ref: Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining camps, Paher).
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