Sulphur

Sulphur is a ghost town located on the Western Pacific Rail Road west of the Kamma Mountains.

Sulphur is named for the sulphur deposits, discovered in 1866.

The mining history may be found in the Sulphur Mining District article.

http://nvghosttowns.topcities.com/humboldt/humlst.htm Sulphur discovered in 1869 and limited amounts produced through the 1880s. Aggressive production began in 1899 and a company town formed. The Western Pacific established a station in 1909 and while the town of Sulphur has faded into oblivion, sulphur continues to be mined. A couple of old buildings remain.

Sulphur Junction about 1/2 way between Gerlach and Winnemuca on Nevada State Route 49 going East from the main highway between Gerlach and Empire. This road is mainly gravel and is suitable for a street bike type motorcycle at a speed of about 30 MPH. There are few, if any sandy spots, unlike the Soldier Meadows Road which has lots of sandy areas. This road travels the South East side of the Black Rock Desert.

A SULPHUR MINE IN NEVADA (1903)

"DR. GEORGE I. ADAMS of the United States Geological Survey has recently had a glimpse of the infernal regions. He was sent to inspect a sulphur mine in Nevada and he brought back to Washington an interesting collection of specimens which show that a good grade of sulphur is produced in this country and that we are not dependent on importations from Sicily to supply the demand only a few deposits in the United States are at present mined but if a tariff were levied on the foreign product much greater development of native deposits might be expected This is one of the industries that ought to be fostered. The investigations of the survey were made for the purpose of ascertaining the nature and extent of the Nevada deposits. The mine visited by Dr Adams belongs to the Nevada Sulphur Mine Company. It is situated in the Rabbit Hole Mining district just Northwest of Rabbit Hole Springs about 35 miles from Humboldt House Station on the Southern Pacific Railway. This is on the edge of the Black Rock Desert a desolate volcanic region in which there is little to rest the eye or cheer the spirit. The mines are in the form of pits open cuts and drifts exemplifying in every case that ancient truism "Easy is the descent to Avernus." This deposit was discovered about 35 years ago by an Indian who sold it for a horse and saddle that he never received. In 1871 the mine was worked by two partners white men who quarreled over their profits until one of them killed the other cut him up put him in a sack and buried him thereabouts. For a long time the ghost of the murdered miner had things all his own way. The appearance of the Nevada Sulphur Mine Company in the field in 1900 put an end to his monopoly. The new company entered at once on the active production of sulphur and brimstone. They started with only one retort but have since added another. These retorts are cylindrical iron structures somewhat resembling a blast furnace in general appearance. After the ore is dumped into them they are closed and superheated steam is then turned on. The sulphur melts and runs out of the bottom of the retort into a settling pan from which it is drawn into molds. The forms in these molds weigh about 250 pounds. After they have cooled they are crushed to pea size or ground with buhrstones into flour. The sulphur of pea size is shipped in 100 pound sacks the flour in 110 pound sacks. Where the sulphur has taken crystalline form it looks bright and sparkling its yellow crystals often beautifully tinted with rosy cinnabar/ The richer deposits are the dark massive ones which look like solid balls of brimstone They make an appropriate background for the ghostly figures of the miners bent at their tasks. Everywhere about the upper works hangs the penetrating odor of sulphurous fumes and below ground the gruesome squeak of the sulphur follows every foot. Dr Adams will write a report on the mine to be included in the Survey's yearly volume on Economic Geology"

October 1913 map showing Sulphur

c. 1914 map of the W.P.R.R. showing Sulphur

See Also

• Warm Spring in Sulphur (NBMG)

External Resources

• Wikipedia
• GNIS
• "A Sulphur Mine in Nevada," Steel and Iron, Volume 73, National Iron and Steel Publishing Company, 1903.
• "Winnemucca County Ghost Towns," Sulphur was a major shipping and receiving point in the 1920s.
• Guy Rocha, "J. W. Rover Case," Murder at Sulphur.
• Trego, Robert, "Black Rock Desert Roads," Nevada State Journal, October 23, 1955, p10-11. Low resolution image of Sulphur, Robert Trego states that there were three or families living in Sulphur in 1955. Also mentioned are Trego and Jungo.
• Photos 1955 Derailment of the California Zephyr near Sulphur.
• http://nvghosttowns.topcities.com/humboldt/humlst.htm
• http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/photos2/boiler.jpg - Image of Boiler (Dead link as of 26-Dec-2014).
• Dorthoy Nylen, "The Color of Daffodils, the Smell of Rotten Eggs," Nevada State Museum Newsletter, January/February 2002.

Images

• HU-404, "Nevada Sulphur Smelter," Nevada Historical Society.
• HU-405, "New Mill for Grinding," Nevada Historical Society. Not sure of the location.
• HU-406, "Nevada Sulphur Smelter," Nevada Historical Society.
• HU-417, "Sulphur-Humboldt Co.," Nevada Historical Society.
• HU-418, "Spring Belonging to Sulphur Works," Nevada Historical Society.
• HU-661, "Hotel @ Sulphur in the 1920's," Nevada Historical Society.