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Washoe Causeway

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:60.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Washoe Causeway
Collectors collect for a variety of reasons: make money, complete sets, find cool material. But I think all collectors love a story. One interesting story is that of the Washoe Lake Causeway. The Ophir Mine built an early mill done the mountain by Washoe Lake. (The mills used here would soon be given up for ones on the Carson River!) Ophir had one small problem. There was a mile of swamp they needed to get over to get to the mill. Hence the one mile long causeway. Finding information about the causeway is not easy, but we have everything you need in one place! 1) A book, Pioneer Nevada, describing the Washoe Causeway, which is one of the few places you will find anything about it. (2) An ore sample most probably from the Ophir Mine found at the beginning of the causeway by famed Reno High School Teacher Sessions Wheeler as described in the copy of the letter included. Mr. Wheeler had the samples he kept assayed from a trace amount to 7 ounces of gold and 306 ounces of silver per ton. (3) A high grade ore sample from the glory days of the Comstock and the Ophir Mine. Found in a nail keg with other high grade samples by a caretaker years later! (4) An artifact from the causeway in the form of a large spike used to hold the boards together. (5) A check from the Ophir Silver Mining Company. (6) A black and white post card of ore cars lined up at the Ophir Mine. (7) An unused assay report from James Ott. He was one of the first assayers used by the Comstock and very well may have assayed Ophir ore samples. (8) One of Session Wheeler’s more famous books about Max Fleischman. This does include an authentic autograph. This lot does indeed use many collectables (ephemera, minerals, post cards, artifacts, letterheads, books) to tell an exciting and often forgotten story of the Comstock era.

Date: City: Washoe LakeCounty: WashoeState: NV