Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2008
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Wild West Outpost
Nelson’s violent history has given way to a sleepy ghost town
The rugged terrain was originally home to the Anasazi Indians, and later the Paiutes and Mojave Indians.
Spanish visitors, who named the area Eldorado, missed the gold in the latter half of the 18th century, but by 1850, a new wave of prospectors tapped into a large gold vein running through the area. The Salvage Vein, as it would be called, gave rise to a number of mines, including the Techatticup Mine and the Gettysburg Mine, the first mines in Nevada to be worked by white men.
Lawlessness soon descended upon the area. Claim jumping became a common practice, and often led to shootouts. It is said that killings were an almost daily occurrence at one point during the area’s tumultuous past, and the violence was so commonplace that even lawmen refused to venture into the area.
It is believed that many of the original inhabitants of the area were Civil War deserters—both Union and Confederate. In 1864, when the area was still part of the Arizona Territory, North and South sympathies divided many into competing factions. Violence got so bad that federal troops had to be deployed to pacify the area.
After the region became part of Nevada, things actually got worse, largely because the nearest lawmen were 200 miles away in Hiko. To quell the violence and to ensure safe passage for steamboat traffic on the Colorado River—as well as protect residents from the Native Americans who had recently taken to raiding the camps—a 49-man military post was established in the area in 1867.
Marauding Indians became an increasing problem around the camps and mines, and the Eldorado Canyon area was soon home to two notorious renegades: Arvote, who was said to have killed five settlers, and a Cocopah Indian named Queho, who some call the state’s first serial killer. Legend says Queho killed more than 20 settlers, becoming the state’s Public Enemy No. 1. Although he was pursued relentlessly, he was never captured. Some believe his remains were found in a nearby cave in 1940.
The Techatticup Mine shut down around 1945, bringing to an end the prosperous 100-year mining history during which the area produced about $500 million in gold, silver, copper and lead.
The once lawless, renegade Wild West mining town is now a sleepy community of about 60 full-time residents. Today, visitors can tour the Techatticup Mine and visit the museum, both of which are operated by Tony and Bobbie Werly, and see some leftover props from movies that were filmed in the area, like 3000 Miles to Graceland and Domino.
More often, however, what remains of Nelson is little more than scenery for visitors heading to the Colorado River via Highway 165 off of U.S. 95 south of Boulder City.
