Tem Piute
[Not to be confused with the newer Tempiute 3 miles north]
After silver was first found in 1865, then again by Service & Plumb in December 1868, the Sheridan District was established. It was later renamed Tem Piute (variously spelled as Tem-Pah-Ute, Tempahute, or Tempiute), a name derived from Southern Paiute meaning "rock water people" after a supposed ambush by a band led by Tem-Pah-Ute Bill led to the death of two white men in 1874. Ore assaying from $72-$300/ton was sent to Hamilton, but work was slow due to lack of water which had to be packed in from twelve miles away. By 1870, fifty miners were in Tem Piute, and ore was being shipped to the mill at Crescent City. That mill closed the next year however, after which some ore was transported to Tybo. By the mid-1880s, Tem Piute was abandoned. Snow hampered my visit, but I look forward to returning to further explore the (expansive) site.
