Sunday, September 28, 2008

Pioche sidebar

Things to see and do in Pioche:
‑‑Million Dollar courthouse: Built in 1871 with an original budget of $16,400, delayed payments, high interest and either incompetence or corruption drove the cost up to more than $1 million by the time the courthouse was finally paid off in 1936. The million‑dollar courthouse was abandoned in 1938, when a new, modern courthouse was built. The old courthouse now houses a museum, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Among its unusual sites is a thick‑walled, windowless jail in the back, with deep grooves worn into the floorboards, possibly from constant pacing by prisoners in the dock.

‑‑ Brown/Thompson Opera House. Built in 1873, it is one of only three 19th‑century opera houses remaining in Nevada. It was later used as a dance hall.

‑‑ Treasure hill. Scores of open mine shafts dominate the hills above Pioche, their pale‑pink tailings evidence of the town's mining history. By 1872, $5 million in ore had been removed from Treasure Hill.

‑‑ Aerial Tramway. Built in the 1920s, the tramway carried ore from Treasure Hill to a mill in the valley. The tram was mainly gravity powered, helped along by a five‑horsepower motor.

‑‑ Lincoln County Museum: On Main Street in the center of town, the museum houses artifacts from the Pioche‑area's history. Among its many artifacts are an organ that once belonged to my great‑great‑grandmother Selina Hammond, and a desk that belonged to her husband John.

‑‑ Boot hill: Containing the graves of the town's most notorious evil-doers.

1 comment:

Liz said...

Nice work. Do you have any photos from the trip?