ELY ---- A PLAY IN THREE ACTSBy Sunny Martin ©
FORWARD
With all of the intrigue and characters of a true melodrama, the founding and history of early Ely was like a three-act play covering a span of forty years – approximately 1867 to 1907. And, like an actor waiting in the wings for an entrance cue to enter stage, so did Ely have to wait to blossom as the star of the show in White Pine County. Unlike the many "boom and bust" gold and silver camps of the surrounding hills, it was not so much mining, but location, that made it endure for so many years.
THE SETTING
In the year 1862, three men -- John Robinson, N. Pine, and John T. Murry -- arrived in Steptoe Valley, Nevada. At the creek on the southwest edge of the very pleasant valley named for Col. Steptoe that was enhanced by an abundance of water, grassy meadows and tall mountains, the enterprising John T. Murry found a spot to his liking on the banks of a sparkling stream we now know as Murry Creek. Here, in the mid 1860's, he built a small stage station and put in a few crops, mostly grain. Centrally located, and with east access in all directions, Murry’s Station soon became the focal point of activity in the area.
ACT I – 1867
In November of 1867, an Indian guided prospectors to gold near Murry Creek; however, the ore was not plentiful and a prevalence of copper interfered with the gold and silver mining processes. In 1872, tragedy struck the small camp when passing miners noticed the Murry cabin on fire. Rushing to help, they found Murry inside, dead from a gunshot; however, the mystery of his death was never solved. Tales of the Robinson Mining District reached the East, and in 1878, the Selby Copper Mining and Smelting Co., arrived on the scene and built the first copper smelting plant at the junction of Robinson and Murry Canyons. President of the Selby Company was a man named Smith Ely, and soon the few cabins built near the mill-site took on the name of Ely City. Though the smelter itself was not successful, running a mere two years, by November 29th of 1878 enough people had settled at Ely to have a Post Office established.
ACT II – 20 Years Later
In 1885, a disaster struck that had a prime bearing on the future of Ely. FIRE!! – the dread of all mining camps – completely demolished the Court House at Hamilton!! As that County Seat had been declining for years, the White Pine County Commissioners, spearheaded by their Chairman, William Crane Gallagher, challenged Hamilton for the honor! Probably a prime reason for wanting the move was that Gallagher owned a ranch near the entrance to Duck Creek Valley and it was such a long way to travel to Hamilton by buggy or stagecoach. Early in 1887, a bill was introduced to the State Legislature to move the county seat to Ely; and in anticipation, the Canton Mining Company on April 16th, 1887, deeded 20 acres for the Ely townsite and even cleared the land. The very next week, W. N. McGill surveyed and staked out several blocks and the lots were promptly sold. Then on August 1, 1887, Ely was finally officially designated as White Pine’s County Seat. The momentous occasion and the possibilities of growth was cheered by the some 200 citizens of the town, yet Ely was still "waiting in the wings."
ACT III – ANOTHER 20 YEARS LATER
Enter the HERO!! – MARK L. REQUA!!
About 1902, Mr. Requa looked over the original D. C. McDonald claims owned by Dave P. Bartley and Edwin F. Gray at Ruth (named for McDonald’s little daughter). McDonald had filed his original claims on September 22, 1899. Bartley and Gray purchased the claims on October 1, 1901. News of the large copper deposits near Ely reached the ears of Mark Requa. Requa, large in stature, vision and energy, the son of a Virginia City miner, realized the enormity and potential of the huge copper fields, acquired the claims, formed the White Pine Copper Mining Co., (later known as the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation) and set the stage for Ely.
Realizing that a railroad was the key to expansion, Requa headed East, where he managed to get Eastern capital involved. He then surveyed and laid out the 140-mile Nevada Northern Railroad line from Cobre to Ely and the huge copper mill and smelter at McGill. Then, when the first trains arrived at Ely on September 29, 1906, on the new Nevada Northern Railway, Ely finally shined as the star in White Pine County’s forty-year melodrama.
White Pine Historical and Archaeological Society
P.O. Box 151725
Ely, NV 89315
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