Park Canyon
Nye County
Park Canyon formed in 1865 after the rise of the North Twin River mining district in 1863. Ore from mines like the Twin River Giant, Giant, Fairmont and the Bigler was shipped to Austin until 1867. At that time, the La Plata mining company moved in a ten-stamp mill from Yankee Blade. The mill was built from native material. It operated for approximately two years. It is rumored that a former Hawaiian Queen named Liliuokalani lived in Park Canyon and had mining interests in the area in 1867. By 1869, Park Canyon was on the decline. Several revivals occurred in the 1880’s. According to Shawn Hall, the last remaining business was the Truman Restaurant, which closed for good in 1891. A few small revivals took place until the mid 1900’s. In the photographs for Upper Park Canyon, you will mainly see the remains of the old La Plata mill built in 1867.
There are two portions to Park Canyon. Lower and Upper. I have seen conflicting accounts about the Lower section. Some call the Lower section Park Canyon. I have also seen the Lower section referred to as the Pueblo site. I am NOT an expert here. I think that we found Pueblo to the south of Lower. I'm of the opinion that the Lower section is actually the Lower section of Park Canyon, and Pueblo is just south of here. But feel free to correct me. Photographs for Lower and Upper Park Canyon are included here. I have also included photos for the chimneys that are back in the aspens and pines. You'll have to look around a little bit to find them. They are free standing chimneys with no more homes attached to them. I can picture how nice these homes must've been back in that time. The views would have been outstanding!
Post Office: January 25, 1886 to November 11, 1886
Last Trip/ Road Conditions: Sept 2015, June and July 2017. The road to Lower Park Canyon is decent. The road to upper Park Canyon has a stretch that is extremely rough. It is also pretty rocky all the way. I wouldn't take the family sedan.