Sulphur

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Sulphur is a ghost town located on the Western Pacific Rail Road west of the Kamma Mountains.

Sulphur is named for the nearby sulphur deposits, discovered in 1866. Today, the Hycroft Mine is located nearby.

The 1914-1915 WPRR Descriptive Time Table for west-bound traffic stated: "Five miles from Sulphur are located the extensive workings of the Nevada Sulphur Company. On the left is distant and oddly white Calico Range, always of the pale hue."[1] There could be confusion about left and right here?

Sulphur is at mile post 474.52.[2]. To the west is Ronda, to the east is Floka.


See Sulphur Mining District for early histories of the area.

Residents of Sulphur

Below are various resources that name residents of Sulphur organized chronologically.

J. W. Rover was convicted of murdering Isaac Sharp at Sulphur and hung in Reno in 1878.[3][4].

The Sulphur post office "Operated Jan 1899-Sep 1899, Jan 1910-Nov 1943, Aug 1946-May 1953"[5].

Effie Mae Fisk ran a boarding house at Sulphur where she met Clyde Fisk's father. In 1911, she homesteaded a ranch near Squaw Reservoir.[6]


In 1910, Mr. C. L. Rowley drilled the well for the W.P.R.R. near Sulphur[7]. The 1910 census lists his trade as well driller and his industry as oil[8].

1920 Census, Sulphur

In 1922, a petition to the U.S. House of Representatives was sent and lists residents of Sulphur: "4942 By Mr Arentz Petitions of the Humboldt County Chamber of Commerce and Messrs Born, Cooney, Richardson, Pearce, Wilkinson, Gray, Moore, Defenbaugh and Fishburn of Winnemucca Messrs Crowley, Whitaker, Newland, Stonebaker, Brown, Cushin, Alley, Rolph, Willig, Noble, Swager, Olsen, Brabazon and Webster of Sulphur Nev. protesting against House bill 10598 to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce" (Bill 10598 seems to have something to do with using the US Mail to promote illegal financial matters?)[9]

George Swager was the Sulphur postmaster in 1928-1932[10][11][12]

W. W. "Wally" Irwin was the Sulphur postmaster from "the mid-1930's through the 1950's"[13].

In 1950, Velva D. Zeik opened a grocery store in Sulphur[14].

Robert Trego states that there were three or families living in Sulphur in 1955[15].

Sulphur Junction about 1/2 way between Gerlach and Winnemuca on Nevada State Route 49 going East from the main highway between Gerlach and Empire. This road is mainly gravel and is suitable for a street bike type motorcycle at a speed of about 30 MPH. There are few, if any sandy spots, unlike the Soldier Meadows Road which has lots of sandy areas. This road travels the South East side of the Black Rock Desert.
WPRR 1910 Timetable showing Sulphur
October 1913 map showing Sulphur
c. 1914 map of the W.P.R.R. showing Sulphur

See Also

References

  1. Descriptive Time Tables, Denver and Rio Grande - Western Pacific, Winter 1914-1915
  2. http://www.trainweb.org/WPRRINFO/WPMilePostDetail.html
  3. Guy Rocha, "Myth #124: True Confessions: The J.W. Rover Case," Nevada State Library and Archives.
  4. Mining Magazine: An International Monthly Review of Current Progress in Mining and Metallurgy," p. 416, Volume 8, December 26, 1903.
  5. GNIS, "Sulphur Post Office (historical)," "History: , Citation: Gamett, James, and Paher, Stanley W. Nevada Post Offices. Las Vegas: Nevada Publications, 1983, 176 pp. Discusses historical background of Nevada post offices. p123"
  6. "Fisk Homestead a State Institution," Doris Cerveri, Reno Gazette-Journal, December 27, 1975, page 4.
  7. Tells Promise of Black Rock," Nevada State Journal, February 14, 1910.
  8. Red Butte, Humboldt County, Nevada, 1910 Census, archive.org.
  9. "United States Congressional Serial Set, Journal of the House of Representatives," p. 258, April 3, 1922.
  10. Ancestry.com
  11. Photo 023, "1933 George Swager Postmaster," Humboldt Museum, Winnemucca.
  12. "George W. Swager is Summoned at Humboldt Home," Nevada State Journal, December 30, 1936 - Page 9.
  13. Benjamin T. Barna, "A Material Culture of Making Do: Adapting to the Great Depression in the Rabbithole Mining District," p. 74, UNR, May, 2008. Cites Venable 2006a.
  14. Winnemucca Social Notes," Nevada State Journal, April 25, 1950
  15. Robert Trego, "Black Rock Desert Roads," Nevada State Journal, October 23, 1955, p10-11. Low resolution image of Sulphur. Also mentioned are Trego and Jungo.

External Resources

Images

  • Photo #23, "1933 George Swager Postmaster," Humboldt Museum, Winnemucca.
  • People #24, "Mary Swager at Sulphur Nev, in 1912," Humboldt Museum, Winnemucca. Her wedding dress is in Humboldt County Museum Collection.
  • People #26, "Mary Swager, Sulphur, Nev 1921," Humboldt Museum, Winnemucca.
  • People #178, "Mary Evans c 1920 Telegraph operator at Sulphur, NV 1918-1964," Humboldt Museum, Winnemucca.
  • HU-404, "Nevada Sulphur Smelter," Nevada Historical Society.
  • HU-405, "New Mill for Grinding," Nevada Historical Society. Not sure of the location.
  • HU-406, "Nevada Sulphur Smelter," Nevada Historical Society.
  • HU-417, "Sulphur-Humboldt Co.," Nevada Historical Society.
  • HU-418, "Spring Belonging to Sulphur Works," Nevada Historical Society.
  • HU-661, "Hotel @ Sulphur in the 1920's," Nevada Historical Society.