New Pass

In the early 1860s, an Indian showed prospectors the location of rich gold ore here. By Spring 1864, a district was organized and the Superior shaft was sunk. In 1868, a mill was moved from Austin to Warm Springs, a few miles to the southeast. The camp would only last until 1871.

Following a small revival, a post office known as Franklin opened February 20, 1900. The name changed to Newpass on May 2 of the same year. It closed February 28, 1903 and this revival ended in 1904. In 1917 W.C. Pitt of Lovelock erected a 75-ton cyanide mill here. It wouldn't last and was dismantled by 1920.

The 1930s and 40s brought the most development to New Pass. In 1932, Wayne E. Smith and Tom W. Byers acquired many of the patented claims and began operation of the Thomas W. mine. Howard C. Snyder took over Byers' interest in the mine, and the 5-stamp Smith and Snyder Mill was built. In 1938, Peterson sank a shaft to the northeast near the Superior. In 1946, a large ball mill was erected by Fred Vollmer (Smith and Snyder probably had interests in this mill as well).

The mine has been owned by Don and Kathy Jung since the 1950s and is still operated by them. This means that the mine is private property, so please be sure to obtain permission before poking around! I had the pleasure of visiting as a part of a tour led by historian William C. Davis and Mr. Jung in 2006.

See Also
New Pass StationPeterson's Mill

Bibliography