Como

In June 1860, gold was discovered in the Pine Nut Mountains, and a camp called Palmyra was soon established. Slow to grow, by 1862 Palmyra had only 400 residents and a small business district. Meanwhile, the camp of Como developed ½ mile away and quickly overshadowed Palmyra, and the earlier camp was left with only a hotel and three saloons.

Como boomed, and in 1864 gained a steam-driven mill built by J.D. Winters as well as a weekly newspaper - the Como Sentinel; though it moved to Dayton after just three months. It was around this time that Alf Doten, a doctor, carpenter, and musician, arrived at Como. While presiding over six mining companies, Doten wrote the "Como Letters," which were sent to the Comstock twice weekly proclaiming that Como would soon develop into a major mining center; he later went broke.

Unfortunately, before the end of 1864 ore was beginning to run out and many of the mines closed. Como was largely abandoned by the next year, though it has undergone subsequent revivals from 1879-1881 and 1902-1905. Though these later revivals were more profitable, Como never drew the prior excitement. In June 1935, a last-ditch effort was conducted when a 300-ton flotation mill was placed into operation by the Como Mines Company. It quickly failed, and Como has remained silent since.

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