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BLAIR
(Esmeralda County)
The Blair town site was selected by the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Company after land speculators bought suitable land in Silver Peak after rumors of the company’s planned mill spread. Because of this situation, the company, which owned most of the nearby established mines, surveyed its own town site in September 1906. The new town was conveniently located on the Silver Peak Railroad. Construction on the railroad had begun in June. Progress was exceptional because the railroad company had plenty of capital and very easy grading along the route. The first train came through Blair on October 16 and the boom was on.
The new town was named Blair after John Blair, who had owned some local mines during the 1860s including the Drinkwater, which the Pittsburgh-Silver Peak company reopened and then constructed a 1.5 mile tramway to Blair. Within a month of the railroad’s completion, Blair had a 100 frame buildings and a population of 700. A post office (James Whiteman, postmaster) opened on November 8 and businesses in town included the Blair Hotel (J.G. Crumley), Cox Drugstore, Davidovich & Plaminez Saloon, MacNamara Meat Market, E. Marks Furniture Company, White & Thomas Meat Market, Western Union and Wells Fargo. The centerpiece of the town was the Blair Hotel. The hotel cost $35,000 and boasted 28 rooms. The company town, managed by Martin Effinger, featured a water and sewer system and many fine homes built for the company’s officials.
The first newspaper, the Blair Press, began publication on November 3. Newman Mix, previously publisher of the Lida Enterprise and Palmetto Herald, was the publisher. By 1907, construction was started on the company’s 100 stamp mill. The Drinkwater and Mary mines were the main sources of ore. Both mines were connected by a tunnel and electric locomotives hauled ore to the mouth of the Mary mine. One was then transferred to a 14,000’ tramway that connected with the huge mill at Blair, which treated 540 tons a day.
The Blair Booster, run by W.W. Booth, began publication on March 13, 1907. The paper had formerly been known as the Silver Peak Post. However, Booth had little success against the Blair Press, and moved the paper once again on June 12 to Millers where it was known as the Millers Booster. Also in 1907, due to huge demand, the Blair School was completed. The company town peaked in 1908 when its population reached 1050. Blair boasted a strong baseball team and businesses included Anderson and Arnold Dry Goods, State Bank and Trust Company, Tonopah Lumber Company, Blair Mercantile, Blair Drug Store, Blair Café (John MacIntyre), Elite Saloon (W.E. McBoyle), Blair Stables (J.E. Rose) and the Man’s Store (G.D. Willard). However, the Pittsburgh Silver Peak company tended to discourage non-company owned businesses and Blair began to slowly lose its businesses and population.
In 1910, the mill was enlarged to 120 stamps after the company bought a number of new mines including the Silver Peak-Valcada. The mill was the largest in Nevada at the time. In April, the company gained a tighter grip on the town when it purchased the Blair Mercantile and added an ice plant and cold storage facility. However, the summer of 1910 proved to be a difficult one for Blair. The Blair Press, which Mix had suspended in July 1909 and was revived by H.F. Kane in September, folded for good on June 17. Then, on July 25, the beautiful Blair Hotel burned. By the end of 1910, Blair’s population had shrunk to 366.
During the next few years, ore production slowed and workers were laid off. By 1913, only 100 residents were left. Added to this downslide was the miserable safety record of the Pittsburgh-Silver Peak company. 16 deaths occurred between 1909 and 1913. After two more years of limited operation, the huge mill fell silent in October 1915 after producing $5 million. The mill machinery was moved to the White Caps mine at Manhattan in Nye County and other mills in California. A few people stayed on, hoping for renewed activity, but it never happened. The town was virtually abandoned by the time the post office closed on December 8, 1916. The collapse of Blair also crippled the Silver Peak Railroad, which actually carried few passengers and relied on ore shipments for survival. The line was abandoned in 1918.
Today, many remnants of Blair are visible. While there aren’t any complete buildings left, the concrete shells of a number still stand. The site is dominated by the huge foundations of the mill, which provides interesting exploration. At the town site, the layout is still readily apparent. Signs of the extensive water and sewer system are everywhere, including a couple fire hydrants. Unfortunately, the walls of the buildings have been covered with graffiti. Overall, Blair is a very interesting ghost town and well worth a stop.