Northumberland & Learville
Rich silver discoveries in the Toquima Range in July 1866 led to the organization of the Northumberland Mining District, named for the English county which one of the early prospectors likely hailed from. Ore from the district was initially sent to Austin, but in October 1868 the Quintero Company erected a ten-stamp mill with equipment from San Antonio (45 miles away) and roasting furnaces. The small camp of Learville was born near the mill at this time, but the Quintero Co. went bankrupt in December, and assets valued at $5000 were promptly sold for just $1000.
New discoveries in 1875 led to the rebirth of the district, and the town of Northumberland emerged (after briefly being called Monitor, Revive, and Bartell). By 1879, fifty people lived in the town, which had a store, boarding house, and saloons. A new ten-stamp mill was moved in from the Reese River District to treat ore from the Blue Bell and Monitor mines, with some equipment reused from the earlier Quintero mill. The stage route from Austin to Belmont was rerouted through town, but like Learville, this incarnation of Northumberland was short lived. The mill closed after three months, and by 1881 the district was again abandoned. Another short revival began in 1885, when sixty miners returned to the district, but only lasted a year.
In 1908, more new discoveries again brought life to Northumberland. The Reno Goldfield Mining Company completed a 100-ton cyanide and concentration mill, which operated until 1917. In 1939, the Northumberland Mining Company purchased and, with equipment from Weepah, enlarged the mill to 325 tons to process ore from their new open pit mine. The Company built a new camp at this time, complete with a school and softball team. By 1941, 10,000 tons were produced per month, but Order L-208 shuttered the operation the following year. For four decades, Northumberland was quiet, but new operations at the end of the 20th century have erased most traces of the old camp.
