Amador

Lander County

AKA: Coral City

Amador sprang up on the heels of the rush to Reese River. Like so many other Nevada camps, once a new discovery was located, prospectors branched out in all directions looking for the next find. Amador fell into this category. Silver ore was first discovered in the Spring of 1863. The camp sprang up shortly after. The population of Amador and another nearby camp named Coral City reached several hundred residents by the end of the year. An article from the Reese River Reveille in November of 1864 read: "The Amador- Prospecting in the vicinity of this ledge continues to be prosecuted with unabated vigor. The hills are every day covered with people turning over stones, and digging holes, wherever there is the least prospect of a ledge so that the surface of the ground thereabouts is beginning to resemble the top of a huge pepper box. There are no sleeping or eating accommodations there, so that prospectors must carry grub with them, or return to some town at night. We hope that the boys will all strike it rich."... By 1864, several mining companies were working several mines in the area. A post office soon opened. The normal mining camp businesses also set up shop in Amador. The 1864 elections present an interesting piece of history for Amador. It appears as if individuals there wanted to make the population appear larger in an attempt to take the county seat. Although only a few hundred people lived in Amador and Coral City, the area was credited with attempting to deliver 700 votes. These votes were rejected as fraudulent. The original belief was that the ore in the Amador mines was going to be as good as any other ore in the district. This was not the case. Amador produced in 1864 and 1865. By 1866, the camp was almost completely dead. It has been stated that the last holdout stayed until 1869 before finally moving on. Amador has been a ghost town ever since.

Post Office: April 6, 1864 to April 24, 1866.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions: June 2022. We were in a side-by-side. Sometimes it's hard to pay attention and take note of what the roads would be like for a regular truck when you're in a side-by-side and checking out the scenery. The first dirt road once you leave Highway 305 is fine. As you make the turnoffs onto smaller dirt roads, they get thinner and bumpier. But again, I should have paid more attention. You'll have to assess this one for yourself.

Sources: Reese River Reveille (Newspaper); Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps (Stanley W. Paher); Romancing Nevada's Past- Ghost Towns and Historic Sites of Eureka, Lander and White Pine Counties (By: Shawn Hall); Nevada Post Offices- An Illustrated History (By: James Gamett and Stanley W. Paher); Nevada Place Names- A Geographical Dictionary (By: Helen S. Carlson).